By the mid-1980s, Alabama had become the most dominant act in country music. During the first half of the decade, the Fort Payne, Alabama-based group had 18 No. 1 songs in as many single releases (discounting their 1982 Christmas single, "Christmas in Dixie"). They had released six multi-platinum albums and had won many awards from the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music.
Alabama's first greatest hits album includes eight of their hit singles; seven of those reached No. 1 on the Billboard magazineHot Country Singles chart between 1980 and 1985. The eighth song of that group was "My Home's in Alabama", widely considered by fans to be their signature tune (despite only reaching No. 17).
Extended live concert versions of "My Home's in Alabama" and "Tennessee River", recorded at June Jam in 1985, are presented on this album. The album-length versions of "Why, Lady, Why" and "Mountain Music" are also included, as opposed to their respective single/radio edits. The version of "She and I" included here (complete with false fade-out toward the end of the song) runs more than five minutes, nearly 1½ minutes longer than the single edit.
The album contains two new tracks. Of these, "She and I" was the only single release, and it became the band's 19th No. 1 song in April 1986. The other song, "The Fans", is Alabama's ode of thanks to their fans. It was played in the 1993 DieHard 500 during the pre-race ceremonies to dedicate the now-deceased Davey Allison.
