'' Dancin' on the Boulevard'' is the seventeenth studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

band

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, released in 1997 by RCA Records. It includes the singles "Dancin, Shaggin' on the Boulevard", "Sad Lookin' Moon," "She's Got That Look in Her Eyes" and "Of Course I'm Alright". Also included on the album are

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

' "My Girl" and

Bruce Channel Bruce Channel ( ; born November 28, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his 1962 million-selling number-one hit record, " Hey! Baby". Career Channel performed originally for the radio program '' Louisiana Hayride'' and t ...

's "Hey! Baby". The album peaked at No. 5 on

Billboard Country Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

Chart and No. 55 on

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

Content

''Dancin' on the Boulevard'' was produced by the band, along with Don Cook. "Sad Lookin' Moon" was the first single-release from the album, peaking at No. 2 on the U.S. country singles charts in 1997. Following it was the title track which, like "Sad Lookin' Moon", was co-written by lead singer

Randy Owen Randy Yeuell Owen (born December 13, 1949) is an American country music artist. He is best known for his role as the lead singer of Alabama, a country rock band that saw tremendous mainstream success throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Alabama became ...

along with bass guitarist Teddy Gentry and frequent collaborator Greg Fowler. This song reached #3 on the same chart late that year. "Of Course I'm Alright" followed late in the year and reached No. 22. Finishing off the single releases was "She's Got That Look in Her Eyes", an Owen-Gentry collaboration which peaked at #21. Two

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

s are included on the album as well: "

Hey! Baby "Hey! Baby" is a song written by Margaret Cobb and Bruce Channel, first recorded at Clifford Herring Studios in Ft. Worth Tx, and recorded by Channel in 1961, first released on LeCam Records, a local Fort Worth, Texas label. After it hit, it was ...

" and " My Girl", originally Number One pop hits for

and

, respectively.

Critical reception

Thom Owens of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album a two-star rating out of five, calling it "a fairly predictable and routine record that only catches fire on its singles".

Track listing

Personnel

As listed in liner notes. Alabama *

– lead vocals, backing vocals *

Jeff Cook Jeffrey Alan Cook (August 27, 1949 – November 7, 2022) was an American country music artist. He was best known for being a founding member of the band Alabama, in which he contributed to lead vocals, guitar, fiddle, piano and other musical in ...

– electric guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals (10) * Teddy Gentry – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (5) Alabama's drummer, Mark Herndon, does not play on the album. Additional musicians *

John Barlow Jarvis John Barlow Jarvis (born January 2, 1954 in Pasadena, California)Paul Kingsbury, editor"The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music" 2004 is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before mov ...

– acoustic piano, keyboards,

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

Wurlitzer organ The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

, synth bass *

Steve Nathan Steven Jay Nathan is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios. Biography Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After touring wit ...

– acoustic piano, keyboards, Hammond B3 organ * Mark Casstevens – acoustic guitars *

Brent Rowan Brent Rowan (born May 28, 1956 in Waxahachie, Texas) is an American session musician and record producer who works primarily in country music. Active since the 1970s, Rowan began working with John Conlee through the recommendation of record produce ...

– electric guitars,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

, 12-string guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

* Larry Paxton – bass guitar *

Lonnie Wilson Lonnie Wilson is an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Wilson was originally the lead singer of the band Bandana, which charted ten singles on the Hot C ...

– drums, percussion * Don Jackson – baritone saxophone * Denis Solee – tenor saxophone * Dennis Good – trombone * Chris McDonald – trombone * Mike Haynes – trumpet * George Tidwell – trumpet * Dennis Burnside – horn arrangements and conductor *

Terry McMillan Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States. Early life McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...

–

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(10) *

– backing vocals (10) ;String section * Dennis Burnside – string arrangements and conductor * John Catchings and Bob Mason – cello * Jim Grosjean, Gary Vanosdale and Kristin Wilkinson – viola * David Angell, David Davidson, Conni Ellisor, Carl Gorodetzky, Lee Larrison, Pamela Sixfin, Alan Umstead and Catherine Umstead – violin Production * Alabama – producers * Don Cook – producer * Mike Bradley – recording, mixing * Mark Capps – additional recording, recording assistant, mix assistant * Bart Pursley – additional recording, recording assistant * John Dickson – mix assistant * Hank Williams – mastering at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee) * Susan Eaddy – art direction * Bill Brunt – design * Blake Morgan – design * Peter Nash – photography * David Haskell – background photography

Chart performance

Album

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1997 albums RCA Records albums Alabama (American band) albums Albums produced by Don Cook