Alabama Shakes is an American rock band formed in Athens, Alabama, in 2009. The band consists of lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, and bassist Zac Cockrell.
members: Steve Johnson, Zac Cockrell, Heath Fogg, Brittany Howard
formed in: Athens
labels: ATO Records
genres: Southern rock, blues rock, garage rock, soul, rockabilly, punk blues, roots rock
awards: Americana Award for Emerging Act of the Year, Libera Award for Best Live Act, Libera Award for Record of the Year
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Brittany Howard grew up interested in music, filling notebooks with lyrics and teaching herself to play drums, bass, and guitar.
Howard met Heath Fogg in junior high when he played guitar at house parties. She met classmate and bassist Cockrell in a psychology class some time later, and they soon began to spend time listening to their favorite music together and writing their own. After graduation, Howard hosted twice-weekly jam sessions at her great-grandparents' former home. Drummer Steve Johnson, who had heard Howard singing at a party years prior, began attending the jam sessions at the suggestion of Cockrell. They began making music together and recording homemade demos having little else to do in the small town.
In 2018, the band went on hiatus to allow Howard to focus on her debut solo album, Jaime, which was released to critical acclaim in 2019. The following year, in June 2020, guitarist Fogg released his debut solo project under the name Sun on Shade.
Early critical reviews of their debut, Boys & Girls (2012), noted that the band borrowed from mid-20th century rhythm and blues. Alongside Howard's voice, the songs were compared to artists such as Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, and Aretha Franklin. Howard herself took inspiration from Bon Scott of AC/DC in her vocal style, praising his "soulful" way of singing. As the acclaim mounted, "reviewers speculated" that their sound was in homage to the music produced in Muscle Shoals, Alabama nearly five decades prior. Cockrell and Fogg were aware of the Shoals legacy, but Howard was more influenced by bands such as Led Zeppelin and artists like David Bowie. The success of debut single "Hold On" led some to believe the group "[was] trying to pass...
"Don't Wanna Fight" is a song performed by American rock band Alabama Shakes, issued as the lead single from the band's second studio album Sound & Color. The band performed the song live for the first time on February 28, 2015 on Saturday Night Live.
The song won two awards at the 58th Grammy Awards on February 15, 2016. It was also featured in a season 2 episode of the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley.
The song has received positive reviews from critics. Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone called the song a "chunky, funky soul cut" as well as a "knockout blow". The same magazine ranked "Don't Wanna Fight" at number 20 on its annual year-end list to find the best songs of 2015. Ann Powers of NPR called the song a "deep soul track" and further stated that the song is "just a taste" of what the band has to offer on the new album. In December 2015, the song received two Grammy Awards nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance, winning both in February 2016. Stephen Thomas Erlewine on AllMusic described the song as "strong, boundless funk". NME described it as "taut, lascivious funk".