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Alabama 3




Alabama 3 is a band from Brixton , United Kingdom , a suburb of London , and was formed in 1989 . In the United States , they are known as '''A3''' (the alias was thrust upon them after a lawsuit by the well-established Country Music band Alabama ). They achieved international fame when the producers of hit TV show The Sopranos chose A3's "Woke Up This Morning" track for the opening credits.


BAND MEMBERS

The members of the band are:
  • Jake Black AKA The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love: Vocals

  • Rob Spragg AKA Larry Love: Vocals

  • Piers Marsh AKA The Mountain of Love: Harmonica and programmed beats

  • Simon Edwards AKA Sir Eddie Real: Percussion

  • Orlando Harrison AKA The Spirit: Keyboards

  • Mark Sams AKA Rock Freebase: Guitar

  • John Jennings AKA Segs: Bass Guitar

  • Jonny Delafons AKA L. B. Dope: Drums



MUSICAL STYLE

Alabama 3's sound is a self-professed blend of Country , Blues , Gospel , and Acid House . Their songs have sampled, with a hint of irony and righteous energy, Jim Jones in " Mao Tse Tung Said" and Birmingham Six survivor Patrick Hill in "The Thrills Have Gone."


ALABAMA 3'S MUSIC IN TV AND FILM

  • A shortened alternate version of Alabama 3's song "Woke Up This Morning" from ''Exile on Coldharbour Lane'' plays during the opening credits of the HBO television series '' The Sopranos ''.

  • A snippet of "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife" can be heard at the beginning of the first episode of the Third Season of ''The Sopranos'' as Tony Soprano walks down the drive way to get his morning newspaper.

  • 'Mansion on the Hill' featured on the Kurt Russell/Kevin Costner film ''3000 Miles to Graceland''.

  • "Too Sick to Pray", from La Peste, plays on the radio at one point in the film ''Gone in 60 Seconds'' and "Peace in the Valley" in ''A Life Less Ordinary''.



TRIVIA

It's rumoured that the founding members of the band met each other in a drug Rehab clinic where they were undergoing treatment for Heroin Addiction . There are numerous references to drug addiction in their songs, such as the song "Hypo Full of Love" on their first album, which is a parody of the Twelve-step Program used to cure addicts. In addition the band has displayed a banner on-stage at their concerts which reads "Straight outta rehab".

There were copies of The Sopranos soundtrack that featured "Woke Up This Morning" as being performed by Mask and not Alabama 3.


ALBUMS

Alabama 3's albums most commonly found in the United States include the following:
  • '' Exile On Coldharbour Lane '' (1997)

  • ''La Peste'' (2000)

  • ''The Power In The Blood'' (2002)

  • ''The Last Train To Mashville'' (2003)

  • ''The Last Train To Mashville vol. 2'' (2004)

  • ''Outlaw'' (2005)


Alabama 3 also has a number of imports and bootleg albums nearly doubling their commonly found albums.


EXTERNAL LINKS