Alabama 3 are a British/English musical group founded in Brixton, London in 1995. They are best known for their track "Woke Up This Morning", which was used for the opening credits of the TV series The Sopranos.[2][3] In the United States, the band is known as A3, to avoid legal conflict with the country music band Alabama.[4]
Alabama 3
Alabama 3, or A3, playing live at the London Astoria on 7 October 2007
Background information
Also known as
The First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine (UK)
The band formed when Jake Black (born in Glasgow, Scotland; 27 April 1960 – 21 May 2019)[5] met Rob Spragg (from Wales)at a rave in Peckham. They decided that a fusion of country music with acid house was a musical possibility.[6] Other members of the band were added later: Nick Reynolds is the son of one of the Great Train Robbers;[7] Rob Spragg was at university with Piers Marsh, the harmonica player and synthesiser programmer for the band; while Orlando Harrison, the group's keyboardist, used to live with Jake Black.[6]
Forming initially under the name the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine (UK), and after having been dismissed by the mainstream media as a novelty act, the group switched names to Alabama 3. As with their performances under the previous name, their sound fuses electronic pop with elements of country and blues styles. They signed with One Little Indian Records in 1997 for the release of their debut album, Exile on Coldharbour Lane.[8] Every member of the group has an alias, the band's founding members adopting the personas Larry Love (Rob Spragg) and The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love (Jake Black). Their second album, La Peste, featured bassist John "Segs" Jennings of the Ruts under the stage name Frank Zappatista.
In August 2007, the group toured under the name of Alabama 3: Acoustic and Unplugged, with Harpo Strangelove and Devlin Love, to promote new album M.O.R.. Bassist John "Segs" Jennings left the band, saying he was "busy elsewhere and [he doesn't] have the time".[9]M.O.R. included a cover of Jerry Reed's 1970s hit "Amos Moses", and features The Proclaimers on the track "Sweet Joy". Having recorded and toured with the band in the early days, Aurora Dawn rejoined the band in 2009. Between late 2010 and early 2011, programmer, harmonicist and founding member Piers Marsh left the band.
Jake Black, a founding band member and songwriter died of Addison's disease on 21 May 2019, several days after falling ill during a show at Highest Point Festival in Lancashire. He was 59.[5][10]
Mountain of Love
Mountain of Love
Mountain of Love is a dubtronica group formed by two of the original three members of Alabama 3, Piers Marsh and Sir Eddie Real, in 2011 in Brixton, London.[11] The band's eponymous first album was released in 2013 on Cooked Griffin Records.
Style
Alabama 3's sound is a blend of country, blues, and acid house.[1] The band's songs have sampled Jim Jones in "Mao Tse Tung Said" and Birmingham Six survivor Patrick Hill in "The Thrills Have Gone." Trouser Press reviewer Jason Reeher wrote that A3's "debut is brilliant and shambolic...owing huge debts to both Hank Williams and Happy Mondays."
The band's music has been featured in numerous films, TV shows and video games, along with being sampled by other musicians, most famously through The Sopranos.
The band is featured in the documentary We Dreamed America. The film, which explores the influence of American country music on British artists, features three songs by the band.
"Mansion on the Hill" is used in the opening credits of mockumentary Good Arrows, written by Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh. It also appears in The House.
Television
Lillyhammer- visit to NYC
Episode four of the BBC Three series Being Human features "Too Sick to Pray" at its opening and "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife" at its end. The songs were omitted from the DVD release of the episode due to copyright issues.[citation needed]
"Mansion on the Hill" features in the sixth episode of the ABC television series Carpoolers.
On the Region 4 DVD release of season one of The Sopranos, the music video to "Woke Up This Morning" is included as a special feature; it is incorrectly credited as being performed by "Alabama 5".
A snippet of "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife" can be heard at the beginning of The Sopranos: "Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood" (episode 3.1) as Tony Soprano walks down the driveway to get his morning newspaper.
"Woke Up This Morning" was also used in an episode of BBC series Top Gear, in which the team were driving through Alabama.
The closing scene to first season Criminal Minds episode titled "Won't Get Fooled Again" (10/05/05) plays "The Night We Nearly Got Busted".
"Mao Tse Tung Said" features in the first episode of the second season of Torchwood:.
Rob Spragg (as Rob Love) wrote and recorded the theme to Welsh TV series Y Pris.[13] He and John Hardy won the Best Original Music Soundtrack award at BAFTA Cymru 2008.[14]
^"Alabama 3 - Artist profile". eventseeker.com. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^"The Sopranos Intro". xekivivetige.ml. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^"Alabama 3 | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
^ abPendreigh, Brian (21 June 2019). "Obituary: Jake Black, lead singer of the Alabama 3, who provided the theme song to The Sopranos". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
^ ab"Alabama 3 - Interview: Contact music spoke to Jake Black". Contactmusic.com. 22 October 2002. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
^Campbell, Duncan (29 September 2019). "Has the Great Train Robbery's leader finally been unmasked?". The Observer. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
^. Indian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
^. 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
^Lavin, Will (21 May 2019). "Alabama 3 co-founder Jake Black has died". Nme.com. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
^Marsh, Piers. "Mountain of Love". Mountainoflove.org. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
^. S4C. 2007. Archived from the original on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
^"Bafta Cymru 2008 Winners" (PDF). Bafta-cymru.org.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
External links
Official website
London gig review November 2006
January 07, 2023
alabama, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2019, learn, when,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Alabama 3 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Alabama 3 are a British English musical group founded in Brixton London in 1995 They are best known for their track Woke Up This Morning which was used for the opening credits of the TV series The Sopranos 2 3 In the United States the band is known as A3 to avoid legal conflict with the country music band Alabama 4 Alabama 3Alabama 3 or A3 playing live at the London Astoria on 7 October 2007Background informationAlso known asThe First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine UK A3 US OriginBrixton London EnglandGenresAcid house 1 electronictrip hopcountrybluesYears active1995 presentLabelsHostage MusicOne Little IndianGeffen MCA RecordsColumbia SME RecordsMembersRob SpraggSteve FinnertyAurora DawnOrlando HarrisonMark SamsNick ReynoldsBe AtwellJonny DelafonzPast membersJake BlackSimon EdwardsPiers MarshZoe DevlinJohn Segs JenningsRobert Hacker JessettRob BaileyWebsitealabama3 wbr co wbr uk Contents 1 History 1 1 Mountain of Love 2 Style 3 Members 3 1 Current 3 2 Former 4 In popular culture 4 1 Film 4 2 Television 4 3 Games 4 4 Samples by other artists 5 Discography 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditThe band formed when Jake Black born in Glasgow Scotland 27 April 1960 21 May 2019 5 met Rob Spragg from Wales at a rave in Peckham They decided that a fusion of country music with acid house was a musical possibility 6 Other members of the band were added later Nick Reynolds is the son of one of the Great Train Robbers 7 Rob Spragg was at university with Piers Marsh the harmonica player and synthesiser programmer for the band while Orlando Harrison the group s keyboardist used to live with Jake Black 6 Forming initially under the name the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine UK and after having been dismissed by the mainstream media as a novelty act the group switched names to Alabama 3 As with their performances under the previous name their sound fuses electronic pop with elements of country and blues styles They signed with One Little Indian Records in 1997 for the release of their debut album Exile on Coldharbour Lane 8 Every member of the group has an alias the band s founding members adopting the personas Larry Love Rob Spragg and The Very Reverend Dr D Wayne Love Jake Black Their second album La Peste featured bassist John Segs Jennings of the Ruts under the stage name Frank Zappatista In August 2007 the group toured under the name of Alabama 3 Acoustic and Unplugged with Harpo Strangelove and Devlin Love to promote new album M O R Bassist John Segs Jennings left the band saying he was busy elsewhere and he doesn t have the time 9 M O R included a cover of Jerry Reed s 1970s hit Amos Moses and features The Proclaimers on the track Sweet Joy Having recorded and toured with the band in the early days Aurora Dawn rejoined the band in 2009 Between late 2010 and early 2011 programmer harmonicist and founding member Piers Marsh left the band Jake Black a founding band member and songwriter died of Addison s disease on 21 May 2019 several days after falling ill during a show at Highest Point Festival in Lancashire He was 59 5 10 Mountain of Love Edit Mountain of Love Mountain of Love is a dubtronica group formed by two of the original three members of Alabama 3 Piers Marsh and Sir Eddie Real in 2011 in Brixton London 11 The band s eponymous first album was released in 2013 on Cooked Griffin Records Style EditAlabama 3 s sound is a blend of country blues and acid house 1 The band s songs have sampled Jim Jones in Mao Tse Tung Said and Birmingham Six survivor Patrick Hill in The Thrills Have Gone Trouser Press reviewer Jason Reeher wrote that A3 s debut is brilliant and shambolic owing huge debts to both Hank Williams and Happy Mondays Members EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Current Edit Rob Spragg a k a Larry Love vocals Orlando Harrison a k a The Spirit keyboards keyboard bass backing vocals Mark Sams a k a Rock Freebase guitar bass guitar Steve Finnerty a k a LOVEPIPE production guitar and vocals Jonny Delafons a k a L B Dope drums percussion Greg Fleming a k a Wizard sequencer and effects Ese Okorodudu a k a Sister Ese guitar vocals Sheena Ross a k a Sister Sheena vocals Be Atwell The Reverend Be Atwell vocals Nick Reynolds a k a Harpo Strangelove harmonica percussion vocalsSource 12 Former Edit Jake Black a k a The Very Reverend D Wayne Love vocals d 2019 Aurora Dawn vocals Brian O Horain Paddy Love vocals John Jennings a k a Segs backing vocals bass guitar Zoe Devlin a k a Devlin Love vocals Simon The Dude Edwards a k a Sir Eddie Real percussion vocals Piers Marsh a k a The Mountain of Love synths programming harmonica Marianna Little Eye Ty dancer Laura Lady Love dancer dancer Robert Hacker Jessett a k a El Comandante harmonica guitar backing vocals Rob Bailey guitarIn popular culture EditThe band s music has been featured in numerous films TV shows and video games along with being sampled by other musicians most famously through The Sopranos Film Edit Peace in the Valley is featured in the film A Life Less Ordinary 1 Too Sick to Pray plays on the radio in the film Gone in 60 Seconds A snippet of Speed of the Sound of Loneliness appears in Some Voices Mansion on the Hill featured in 3000 Miles to Graceland A part of M I A played in The Football Factory The song Sister Rosetta from Exile on Coldharbour Lane can be heard in Barnyard A snippet of Bulletproof appears in A Very British Gangster 2007 Donal MacIntyre s documentary film about Manchester crime boss Dominic Noonan The song Ain t Goin to Goa is featured in Definitely Maybe The band is featured in the documentary We Dreamed America The film which explores the influence of American country music on British artists features three songs by the band Mansion on the Hill is used in the opening credits of mockumentary Good Arrows written by Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh It also appears in The House Television Edit Lillyhammer visit to NYC Episode four of the BBC Three series Being Human features Too Sick to Pray at its opening and Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife at its end The songs were omitted from the DVD release of the episode due to copyright issues citation needed Mansion on the Hill features in the sixth episode of the ABC television series Carpoolers A remixed version of Woke Up This Morning plays during the opening credits of the HBO television series The Sopranos A shortened alternate version of Woke Up This Morning appears in The Simpsons episode Poppa s Got a Brand New Badge in a parody of the opening sequence of The Sopranos It also appears in the later episode The Mook the Chef the Wife and Her Homer which guest starred Sopranos regulars Michael Imperioli and Joe Pantoliano On the Region 4 DVD release of season one of The Sopranos the music video to Woke Up This Morning is included as a special feature it is incorrectly credited as being performed by Alabama 5 A snippet of Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife can be heard at the beginning of The Sopranos Mr Ruggerio s Neighborhood episode 3 1 as Tony Soprano walks down the driveway to get his morning newspaper Woke Up This Morning was also used in an episode of BBC series Top Gear in which the team were driving through Alabama The closing scene to first season Criminal Minds episode titled Won t Get Fooled Again 10 05 05 plays The Night We Nearly Got Busted Mao Tse Tung Said features in the first episode of the second season of Torchwood Rob Spragg as Rob Love wrote and recorded the theme to Welsh TV series Y Pris 13 He and John Hardy won the Best Original Music Soundtrack award at BAFTA Cymru 2008 14 Games Edit The Night We Nearly Got Busted is featured on the soundtrack of the MMO game All Points Bulletin Samples by other artists Edit Rapper Nas sampled Woke Up This Morning for his 2001 hit Got Ur Self A Discography EditMain article Alabama 3 discographyReferences Edit a b c Colin Larkin ed 2000 The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music First ed Virgin Books p 12 ISBN 0 7535 0427 8 Alabama 3 Artist profile eventseeker com Retrieved 24 March 2020 The Sopranos Intro xekivivetige ml Retrieved 24 March 2020 Alabama 3 Biography amp History AllMusic AllMusic Retrieved 24 June 2017 a b Pendreigh Brian 21 June 2019 Obituary Jake Black lead singer of the Alabama 3 who provided the theme song to The Sopranos The Scotsman Retrieved 2 February 2020 a b Alabama 3 Interview Contact music spoke to Jake Black Contactmusic com 22 October 2002 Retrieved 21 May 2019 Campbell Duncan 29 September 2019 Has the Great Train Robbery s leader finally been unmasked The Observer Retrieved 29 September 2019 ONE LITTLE INDIAN HOME Indian co uk Archived from the original on 28 July 2011 Retrieved 21 May 2019 Benefit Gig for Paul Fox of The Ruts Free A3 The unofficial Alabama 3 forum 29 September 2007 Archived from the original on 29 September 2007 Retrieved 21 May 2019 Lavin Will 21 May 2019 Alabama 3 co founder Jake Black has died Nme com Retrieved 21 May 2019 Marsh Piers Mountain of Love Mountainoflove org Retrieved 31 March 2013 The Band Alabama 3 Y Pris News S4C 2007 Archived from the original on 3 October 2008 Retrieved 10 May 2008 Bafta Cymru 2008 Winners PDF Bafta cymru org uk Retrieved 10 May 2008 External links EditOfficial website London gig review November 2006 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alabama 3 amp oldid 1126535833, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
