Alabama’s “Love in the First Degree” (released Oct. 2, 1981) was the third single from Feels So Right, written by Jim Hurt and Tim DuBois and produced with Harold Shedd—a polished pop-country arrow that became the band’s fifth straight No. 1 on the country chart.
It held the Billboard Hot Country Singles summit for two weeks at year’s end, while crossing to No. 15 on the Hot 100 and No. 5 Adult Contemporary; in Canada, it topped both Country and AC.
What lingers is more than the hook: early-’80s radio warmth, courtroom metaphors turned tender vows, and those seamless harmonies that ushered country’s mainstream embrace.
For many of us, it’s the sound of winter 1981—AM dials glowing on night drives—when Alabama made heartache feel dignified, hopeful, and utterly singable.
