On This Day in 1981, Alabama Notched Their First Multi-Week No. 1 with “Feels So Right”

On this day (July 31) in 1981, Alabama landed topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “Feels So Right.” The single was their fourth consecutive No. 1 single in a long line of chart-toppers. It went on to be one of the group’s signature songs.

Alabama is the best-selling country band in the history of the genre. The band sent more than 40 singles to the top of the charts and has sold more than 75 million records since releasing their debut album Wild Country in 1976. More than that, they are hailed as the first country band. As a result, they laid the groundwork for future bands in the genre.

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Alabama Lands a Multi-Week No. 1 with “Feels So Right”

Alabama’s lead singer, Randy Owen, wrote “Feels So Right” when he was only seventeen, according to Country Thang Daily. Reportedly, Owen wrote the song about his then-girlfriend. The couple had been dating for a couple of years and things were getting serious. Listening to the song, it seems that he was reflecting on intimate encounters with her while writing the song. He said that he put the song together in about fifteen minutes.

The band released the song as the title track and second single from their sophomore album. It went to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and stayed there for two weeks, giving them their first multi-week No. 1.

“Feels So Right” was also the band’s first crossover hit. It peaked at No. 20 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. The song also landed at no. 9 on the publication’s Adult Contemporary chart.

The song also has the distinction of being the first No. 1 to drop out of the top 40 after being dethroned from the top spot. “Feels So Right” spent two weeks at No. 1 before plummeting to No. 43.

It was Alabama’s fourth consecutive No. 1 single on the country chart. They’d get four more before “Christmas in Dixie” broke the streak in 1982. Then, they’d have 13 more consecutive No. 1 singles before “Tar Top” peaked at No. 7, breaking their second hot streak. They would close out the ‘80s with six consecutive trips to the top.

Featured Image by Olga Steckel