Last week we wrote of Arthur Alexander whose sound originated out of northern Alabama and influenced the music world: from southern rock, to R&B, to country, and soul. The Beatles loved Alexander and included one of his songs on their debut studio release.

The Muscle Shoals sound, a "cross-pollination" of musical stylings is arguably the most influential "brand" of music to emerge in the 20th Century. Motown certainly has an argument, but the Muscle Shoals sound permeated most genres in a way that many other "sounds" could not. It was called the "Hit Recording Capital of the World" in the 1960s and 70s.

There was always a lot of work for session musicians. Lynryd Skynyrd reminds us, "Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers / And they've been known to pick a song or two."

A 2013 documentary called Muscle Shoals is a great place to start.

Anyway...

In 1984, a "house band" that formed in Muscle Shoals featured four fellows who had already been working as session musicians plus the addition of their lead singer. Though only 24, the new lead vocalist was already a veteran of the bluegrass scene, having played in American Bluegrass Express and Heartbreak Mountain.

This band cut a demo for Columbia Records but had to come up with a name for the band. The label suggested "Rhythm Rangers" and one other.

The lead singer thought Rhythm Rangers "sounded like an amateur band," and chose the other option. Marty Raybon thus became the lead singer of the newly-minted "Shenandoah."

AllMusic says, "Shenandoah successfully mined a musical vein halfway between the new traditionalists and slicker, more pop-oriented groups."

While their 1987 self-titled debut album had more of a pop flavor than their later style would ultimately reflect, Shenandoah did manage a Top 30 country hit in 1988. Later that same year, however, their most successful album, The Road Not Taken, was released.

Six singles off Shenandoah's sophomore effort made it into the Top Ten, with familiar favorites "The Church on Cumberland Road," "Sunday in the South," and "Two Dozen Roses" each reaching number 1.

The band's third album, Extra Mile, released in 1990, garnered Shenandoah's biggest hit, "Next to You, Next to Me." This ditty topped the charts for three weeks, followed up by three more songs in the Top Ten and one more in the Top 40.

Success literally bankrupted the quintet the next year. Several bands claimed the rights to the name "Shenandoah"—a quite generically southern appellation, after all.

With court costs and legal fees adding up, the group ran out of money...bankrupt.

To further rub salt in the wounds, Columbia Records, the label that named the band dropped them from the roster.

In 1992, Shenandoah settled—somehow—with the vultures within the industry and were under contract with RCA in no time.

By 1993, Under the Kudzu, their 5th album continued producing hits. "If Bubba Can Dance (I Can Too)" reached the top of the charts and they took "I Want to Be Loved Like That" (which we wrote about several months ago) to #3.

The debut single off Kudzu was "Janie Baker's Love Slave," written by none other than—O’Leary favorite—Dennis Linde, who also penned the title track. More tales from Norwell, the fictional town of Linde's that his characters—and their stories—lived in.

Shenandoah kept smacking the ball all over the yard for a few more years. Marty Raybon left the band, however, in 1997, which more or less halted the 10-year heater Shenandoah had been riding.

Hit-making songwriter Linde passed away in 2006.

Raybon rejoined Shenandoah in 2014, but the success has not been as great as it was in the heyday of their run.

Meanwhile, check out our Dennis Linde resource page. We should be adding more to it very soon:

As always,

Brian

P.S. —

WELL HER LOVE WAS A HABIT AND I TRIED TO KICK IT

SO I WENT DOWNTOWN AND BOUGHT A ONE-WAY TICKET

AND I RODE THAT GREYHOUND DOWN TO MACON

THEN I HICH-HIKED BACK CAUSE MY HEART WAS BREAKIN'

OH NOW I SEE

IT'S DESTINY

I CAN'T BE FREE

I'M HER LOVE SLAVE

JANIE BAKER'S LOVE SLAVE