Famous Musicians from Alabama
W.C. Handy The “Father of the Blues” was born in a log cabin in Florence, North West Alabama which is now the W.C. Handy House Museum. This was where he was living when he wrote "Beale Street Blues" and "Memphis Blues. " The W.C. Handy Music Festival which is held the last week of July every year pays tribute to his work.
Sam Phillips discovered Elvis and is another native of Florence, Alabama. The Elvis contract between Sam Phillips and RCA is located in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in nearby Tuscumbia. The Sam Phillips Music Festival is a week long celebration held every January.
Aretha Franklin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones came to record in FAME Studios in the Shoals region of Alabama during the 60s and 70s. The Fame Studio is still active and open for tours.
Alabama’s capital city of Montgomery is the central point in the Hank Williams legend. Hank was country music’s first superstar, selling 10 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 his powder-blue Cadillac he was riding in when he died. The Hank Williams Trail links four museums and additional points of interest important to his life and career and the Hank Williams Festival held on the first weekend of June is a fun filled weekend of country music.
Mobile in the South of Alabama is the hometown of Jimmy Buffett and Lu-Lu’s on Homeport Marina in nearby Gulf Shores is his Sister Lucy Buffett’s family restaurant offering live music most nights and a great atmosphere.