See ALABAMA Light Up the Stage with ‘Mountain Music’ From ‘CMT GIANTS’ Special

Tonight, country supergroup ALABAMA will take over the small screen with CMT GIANTS: ALABAMA, a star-studded special honoring the group’s iconic career and country music legacy. 

Star-Studded Lineup

Premiering exclusively on CMT, the show will feature performances by Blake Shelton featuring Steve Wariner + Kara Britz, Brad Paisley, Jamey Johnson, Jason Aldean, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Pam Tillis with Lorrie Morgan, Riley Green, and Sam Hunt. 

Plus, ALABAMA will take the stage to perform “Mountain Music” and “My Home’s in Alabama.”

Additionally, Evander Holyfield, Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, Martina McBride, Vince Gill, and more make appearances, both in-person and virtually, to share personal stories about ALABAMA’s lasting influence on music. The special also features rare photos, performance footage, and interviews from the archives, along with a brand-new sit-down with ALABAMA as they reflect on their legendary career.

Ahead of the CMT GIANTS: ALABAMA premiere, CMT gave fans a sneak peek of the special with an early release of ALABAMA’s performance of “Mountain Music.”  

As the invitation-only audience at Belmont’s Fisher Center in Nashville clapped along, the group’s Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry brought the song to life on the stage as they have time and time again throughout their storied career. 

ALABAMA PERFORMS “Mountain Music”

Several artists could be seen smiling, singing, and clapping along from their sets, including Tillis and Morgan, Aldean and his wife, Brittany, Old Dominion, and more. 

“Mountain Music” is one of Alabama’s most iconic hits. It was written solely by Randy Owen in 1981 and released the as the lead single and title track from the band’s sixth studio album.

In his autobiography, Born Country: How Faith, Family and Music Brought Me Home, Owen reflected on writing the chart-topping song and shared how he drew from his real-life experiences when crafting the lyrics. 

“It took me three years to write it, and I wanted to get my own experience of growing up in the mountains in the lyrics,” Owen wrote. “This came together in such very specific lines. Take, for instance, the stanza that begins ‘swim across the river, just to prove that I’m a man.’ When I was a kid, if you could make it across the Little River and back in one fell swoop, well, that was a big deal. It doesn’t look that wide today, but back then it seemed like an Olympian challenge.”  

How To Watch CMT GIANTS: ALABAMA

CMT GIANTS: ALABAMA will premiere on Thursday, August 15th at 8p/7c exclusively on CMT. 

The special will be available the next day on CMT VOD on Friday, August 16, with subsequent encores on CMT MUSIC and MTV LIVE. Catch it on Saturday, August 17, at 12pm on CMT, Sunday, August 18, at 6pm ET on MTV Live, Wednesday, August 21, at 2pm ET on MTV Live, Friday, August 23, at 8pm ET on MTV Live, Saturday, August 24, at 8pm ET on CMT Music, and Sunday, August 25, at 8am ET and 5pm ET on CMT Music.

ALABAMA is the most successful country group of all time with 43 No.1 hits and 80 million records sold. The group was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. To this day, ALABAMA continues to tour on a limited basis, following the 2022 passing of the group’s co-founder, Jeff Cook.