On This Day in 1982, Alabama Released a No. 1 Hit That Took Three Years To Write and Features a Few Appalachian References

On this day (January 22) in 1982, Alabama released “Mountain Music” as the lead single from their album of the same name. Later that year, it would reach the top of the Hot Country Songs chart, extending the band’s string of No. 1 singles.

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“Mountain Music” is more than a celebration of rural life in the Appalachian regions of Alabama. It also presents a near-perfect blend of Southern rock and bluegrass–two of the genres heavily associated with the area.

[RELATED: The Story Behind the Song That Accidentally Became a Crossover Hit for Alabama]

The song also contains a few references that some who didn’t grow up or spend time in the region may not get. Both come from the third verse. “Climb a long, tall hick’ry / Bend it over, skinnin’ cats” is one. “Playin’ baseball with chert rocks / Usin’ sawmill slabs for bats” is another.

Randy Owen and his childhood friends weren’t actually skinning cats. Instead, the line references an exercise in which one hangs from a beam or rings and lifts their feet between their arms and over their head. The simplest way to explain chert is to point out that flint, commonly used for making arrowheads and other tools, is a type of chert. What Owen called “sawmill slabs” are usually called live-edge slabs today.

Randy Owen Reflects on the Alabama Hit That Was Years in the Making

When Alabama released “Mountain Music”, they were already on a winning streak. They had already launched five consecutive singles to the top of the country chart. However, their label, RCA, was unsure about this song because of its drum solo. It was something country and bluegrass listeners were unfamiliar with. That didn’t stop “Mountain Music” from becoming the sixth of 21 consecutive No. 1 singles, though.

After three years of work, Randy Owen finished the song and was excited to show it off. “I told the folks at RCA, ‘I’ve written this song, and it’s got a drum solo in it!’ They were like, ‘Radio’ll never play that,’” Owen recalled.

“The reason I wrote the drum solo part of it was so that Jeff [Cook] could have time to put down the guitar and pick up the fiddle,” Owen explained.

Despite misunderstood lyrics and a drum solo, “Mountain Music” extended Alabama’s reign over the country charts.

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