alabama

Florida Georgia Line's music may not be considered traditional country, but they say that it's okay that their music shares common ground with rock and pop.

For the first time in 19 years, Alabama is performing at the CMA Music Festival. They'll kick of the June 5 show at LP Field.

Controversy over SeaWorld has been rocking the boat both socially and in country music, and while some artists have declined to play at the park's events, others are on the other side of the pool.

A 2008 lawsuit between Alabama and drummer Mark Herndon revealed that Herndon was just a paid employee of the band, not a fourth official member of the group. Recently, Randy Owen explained why he was still such a visible part of Alabama, which included appearances on many album covers.

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (NaSHof) currently has 188 members from all genres of music, and includes notable artists such as Johnny Cash, Jack Clement, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and Loretta Lynn. This October, four more artists who have reached the pinnacle of their craft will be inducted into the prestigious group.

This year, Alabama has a lot to celebrate. After 40 years together, the iconic country group has released 30 chart-topping singles and sold more than 73 million albums. The band will celebrate their 40th anniversary by releasing a tribute album with special guests.

Randy Owen is being recognized for his talents as a songwriter.  The Alabama co-founder/lead vocalist is among this year's inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and will be added in the Songwriter/Artist category.  Owen will share the honor with Jeffrey Steele and Will Jennings, who are joining the Songwriter category, and Layng Martine Jr., who's entering in the Veteran Songwrite

Here are some of the events that happened on this day in Country music history: 1961: Patsy Cline suffered serious head injuries and a fractured hip in a car accident in Madison, Tennessee. 1977: the "Ol' Waylon" album by Waylon Jennings was certified Gold. 1980: Alabama's first hit, "My Home's In Alabama," made its chart debut.

Alabama will have all hands on deck this fall for their debut Alabama & Friends Festival at Sea event -- a musical cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl. It's slated to be a perfect getaway, with sun, fun and country music. The 2013 cruise lineup has just been announced, with the band planning to fill the ship with celebrity guests who will take the stage each night.

Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith will pay tribute to the band Alabama on the upcoming album Alabama & Friends, according to Billboard magazine, as reported by CMT News.

The last hour of voting during the finals of March Bandness was frenzied, to say the least. Thousands of fans of Alabama and the Charlie Daniels Band cast a ballot in the waning minutes. The boys from Fort Payne, Ala. were trailing until the end, when they surged ahead and took the title of Best Country Band of All Time.

The battle for the best team in American begins today, not next week. Taste of Country's March Bandness is a fan-voted search for the best country band of all time. Sixteen groups from five decades of country music will square off two at a time in this bracket-style tournament. It's a battle of legends versus modern superstars, outlaws versus pop-country herores and trios versus quartets, quintets