"Mountain Music" is a song written by

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 ...

, and recorded 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 ...

. It was released in January 1982 as the lead-off single and title track to Alabama's album '' Mountain Music''.

About the song

"Mountain Music" — a song melding the Southern rock and bluegrass genres — has variously been described by country music writers as "a modern country classic"Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 ()), p. 319 and a song that "practically defined what country groups have strived to accomplish." According to Randy Owen's book, ''Born Country'', "Mountain Music" took three years to write. He wanted to put his childhood experiences into a song. The song references

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...

rocks, which according to the band is one song lyric that is commonly misheard.

Vocals

"Mountain Music" is one of the only Alabama songs where solo vocals can prominently be heard from band members Teddy Gentry and

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 ins ...

(in the song's third verse, where lead singer Owen trades off lead vocals with his bandmates).

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

's 2011 single "

Old Alabama "Old Alabama" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Brad Paisley, featuring guest vocals from the band Alabama. It was released in March 2011 as second single from Paisley's 2011 album '' This Is Country Music''. Con ...

" incorporates the bridge from "Mountain Music", again sung by Owen, Gentry and Cook.

Single and album edits

The single edit to "Mountain Music," released for retail sale and radio airplay, excises the following from the album version: * The introduction, wherein an old mountain philosopher speaks about someday climbing a mountain. This

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

impression was done by Bob Martin, a guitar handler and roadie with the band. It's in reference to a song Brennan recorded called "Old Rivers", which repeats the line, "... one of these days I'm gonna climb that mountain..." A harmonica solo can also be heard at the very beginning. * A series of guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

s slowly builds in tempo from slow to very fast. This is nestled between the third refrain and the fast-tempoed fiddle-heavy musical bridge before the finalé.

Charts

Released in January 1982, "Mountain Music" became Alabama's sixth No. 1 song on ''

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart - the same week the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

named the group the Top Vocal Group and Entertainer of the Year. To date, "Mountain Music" remains one of the group's most popular songs.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Works cited *Morris, Edward, "Alabama," Contemporary Books Inc., Chicago, 1985 () {{authority control 1982 singles 1982 songs Alabama (American band) songs Song recordings produced by Harold Shedd RCA Records singles Songs written by Randy Owen Songs about music