Music

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The roots of American music can be found in Alabama where such music legends as Hank Williams, The Temptations, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, the Commodores, Alabama and record-producer Sam Phillips made their mark.

The Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia showcases the state's famous music icons and has identified over 1,300 notable music achievers that call Alabama home. The state produced the mothers and fathers of American music: W.C. Handy, father of the blues; Dinah Washington, queen of the blues; Jimmie Rodgers, father of country music; Hank Williams, legend of country music; and Sam Phillips, founder of rock and roll. They are among the 48 people already inducted into Alabama's Music Hall of Fame. Others include Nat King Cole, Tammy Wynette, Wilson Pickett, The Temptations, the Commodores and Alabama ... to name a few.

Across the river in Florence, visit the modest log cabin where the "Father of the Blues," W.C. Handy, was born. His best-known song is "St. Louis Blues." Visitors will see his trumpet and piano and hear how, as a boy, his passion for music couldn't be suppressed. A big event Florence hosts every summer is the W.C. Handy Music Festival where musicians descend on the city and music literally fills the streets.

Recording studios in the Shoals were a Who's Who of the music industry in the 1960s and 1970s. The first hit song to come out of Muscle Shoals was "You Better Move On" by Arthur Alexander, a song that topped the Rhythm and Blues charts in 1961. Later, the Rolling Stones recorded "Brown Sugar" and Paul Simon recorded Rhymin' Simon in the small northwest Alabama town. Tour the studios.

As the largest city in the far north of Alabama, Huntsville's night life is filled with downtown live music venues and one of the state's largest music events, Big Spring Jam.

Birmingham is Alabama's largest city and home to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. In this two-story building in the city's Civil Rights District, visitors will learn the story of unsung heros such as John T. "Fess" Whatley. He was one of the most influential educators in American music during the 1920s and 1930s.

In 1986, Ona Watson of Birmingham was the youngest person ever inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Eleven years later, Watson established Ona's Music Room. This downtown establishment is as popular as ever today and has been named the "best Jazz Club" in Birmingham by Birmingham Magazine and one of the top "10 Jazzy Places" in the country by USA Today.

Other popular clubs that feature live performances are The Nick and Zydeco. WorkPlay is a combination office-theater-nightclub-recording studio complex that regularly features live music.

Alabama's capital city of Montgomery is the central point in the Hank Williams legend. Hank was country music's first superstar, selling ten million records from 1947 to 1953. Hank's final resting spot is located a mile from the Hank Williams Museum, which houses Hank artifacts including the powder-blue Cadillac he was riding in when he died.

Mobile is the hometown of Jimmy Buffett and a historic port city featuring delicious seafood and an array of bars, restaurants and live music venues. A few miles away, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are resort towns with 32 miles of white sandy beaches off the Gulf of Mexico. Live bands perform at entertainment establishments on the beach including the Florabama, the famous roadhouse beach bar right on the Alabama/Florida state line, and at intercoastal waterway establishments like LuLu's Marina operated by Jimmy Buffett's sister.

Country music fans will find a museum dedicated to one of the most successful bands to ever hit the airwaves. When the music group Alabama sang "My Home's in Alabama," they weren't lying. The four band members live in DeKalb County in the northeast corner of the state, where their hometown, Fort Payne, has the Alabama Fan Club and Museum. It's filled with instruments, memorabilia and music.

The Sucarnochee Revue is a one-hour radio program recorded live in Livingston, Alabama, several times a year. The radio show, performed before a live audience, highlights music and musicians from the Black Belt region.

The small town of Vernon also has a one-of-a-kind Saturday evening attraction, the Back Street Opry, held in an old theater building. The Opry, known for its country music, is free.

There are music festivals around the state.