| "Christmas in Dixie" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byAlabama | ||||
| from the album A Country Christmas | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | December 6, 1982 | |||
| Studio | The Music Mill Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:37 3:42 (with spoken outro) | |||
| Label | RCA Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Alabama singles chronology | ||||
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"Christmas in Dixie" is a song by Americancountry bandAlabama. It was released as a single in December 1982 from theRCA Nashville compilation albumA Country Christmas. TheChristmas song celebrates the holiday in thesouthern United States. This song was included on Alabama's first Christmas album released in 1985 (titledAlabama Christmas) and has since been included on many Christmas compilations in both the country and all-genre music fields. In 2017, Alabama updated the song by re-recording the unplugged version of it for their third Christmas album titled American Christmas which celebrated its 35th anniversary when they first released the song in 1982. It is the only song credited solely to the four band members, and the one of only two songs to feature a songwriting credit for drummer Mark Herndon.
This country song is a celebration of Christmas in southeastern American states. Each verse begins with two references to non-Southeastern areas (New York City;California;Chicago andDetroit which is referred as "Motown") followed by two references to Southeastern cities (Memphis, Tennessee;Atlanta,Georgia;Jackson, Mississippi andCharlotte, North Carolina referred as "Caroline" in this song) and a final reference toFort Payne, Alabama (the group's hometown).
The version released originally onA Country Christmas, as well as the version most often played on radio in the U.S., features a spoken-word Christmas greeting by each member of Alabama, after the line "And from Fort Payne, Alabama", and prior to the song's conclusion ("Merry Christmas tonight"). It was featured on the 2006 box set,Livin' Lovin' Rockin' Rollin': The 25th Anniversary Collection. The original single release was part of adouble A-sided holiday release issued byRCA Nashville, paired with "Christmas Is Just a Song for Us This Year" byLouise Mandrell andR.C. Bannon. A 1997 rerelease had "Thistlehair the Christmas Bear" as its b-side.[1]
In 2010,Allan Caswell initiated a lawsuit against ATV/Sony, who published both his song, "On The Inside" and the Alabama song "Christmas In Dixie", because he thought that it plagiarized the theme song he wrote forPrisoner,On the Inside.[2] This action was based on ATV Sony commissioning a copyright expert to provide advice as to whether a plagiarism had taken place.
The original version spent seven weeks on the charts between late 1982 and early 1983, peaking at number 35. It re-entered the chart three times between 1997 and 2000.[1]
| Chart (1982-1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S.Billboard Hot Country Singles | 35 |
| Chart (1997-1998) | Peak position |
| U.S.Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 47 |
| Chart (1998-1999) | Peak position |
| U.S.Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 40 |
| Chart (1999-2000) | Peak position |
| U.S.Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 37 |
The song was covered byKenny Chesney on his 2003 albumAll I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan and featured Alabama's lead singerRandy Owen joining him on the track. Country a cappella bandHome Free covered it on their 2020 albumWarmest Winter, with Owen singing lead and Alabama credited as a featured artist.Jason Aldean covered the song which was released in 2022.[3]