Alabama

Websites:  No
Origin: Toronto, Ontario, 🇨🇦
Biography:

Alabama was a Toronto-based band formed around 1972 by James “Buster” Fykes, Hector McLean, Rick Knight, and Len Sembaluk—four musicians who together forged a distinctive blend of progressive rock, Cajun rhythm, country warmth, and blue-eyed soul. Fykes and Knight, both originally from Alabama, brought their southern influences north to Ontario, where they settled and began shaping a sound that merged roots sensibility with the open-minded experimentation of the early seventies. Their approach stood apart from the polished Nashville mainstream, favouring instead a looser, road-worn spirit reflective of Canada’s own cross-country bar-band tradition.

The group’s songwriting partnership of Fykes and Knight yielded eight originals, and their first single, “Song of Love,” reached the Canadian RPM Top 100, peaking at No. 26 in June 1973. Its follow-up, “Highway Driving,” climbed to No. 42 two months later and became the band’s signature piece—a free-wheeling ode to the Trans-Canada Highway that captured the essence of restless touring life. Its lyrics, opening with the immortal line “Ninety miles to North Bay, and I’m on the road again”, turned the song into an unofficial anthem for long-haul musicians and weekend travellers alike. Both singles were issued on Toronto’s Smile Records imprint, distributed nationally through London Records.

That same year the band released their lone LP Close to Home, recorded at Eastern Sound Studios with producer Hilly Leopold and engineer Ken Friesen. It showcased a richly layered studio production unusual for a regional country-rock act, featuring contributions from many of Toronto’s leading session players: Al Cherny on fiddle, Bob Lucier on pedal steel, Hagood Hardy handling orchestrations and vibraphone, and an ensemble of string, brass, and vocal collaborators including Colina Phillips, Diane Brooks, and Patty Van Evera. The material ranged from the dreamy introspection of “Children’s Castles” and “People and Places” to the cinematic sweep of “Gunslinger’s Lament” and the bittersweet reflections of “The Ones You Love.” For a brief moment, Alabama seemed poised to bridge Canada’s growing fascination with roots music and the broader progressive scene.

At the 1974 Juno Awards, Alabama received nominations for Best Country Group and for Country Single of the Year with “Highway Driving,” placing them among the first wave of acts to modernize Canadian country-rock with a distinct national character. Despite the acclaim, the group dissolved soon after the album’s release, leaving behind only those two singles and one LP—but their music lingered on local radio playlists for years, remembered for its craftsmanship and its evocation of open-road freedom.

In later years, Buster Fykes remained active across Central Ontario, performing as both solo artist and sideman, while Rick Knight and Len Sembaluk moved into studio work, lending their engineering and production skills to projects by The Stampeders, Brent Williams, and other artists in the Toronto scene. Sembaluk, who had earlier drummed with Brutus, passed away after a long career in Canadian music. Fykes eventually settled near Pickering, continuing to perform and record independently.

Though Alabama’s time together was brief, Close to Home stands today as a small masterpiece of early-seventies Canadian roots-rock—a record that captured the optimism and openness of its era. Original pressings on Smile Records have become sought-after collector’s items, not just for their rarity but for the warmth and sincerity that define this overlooked gem of Canadian music history.
-Robert Williston

Buster Fykes: lead vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, flute
Rick Knight: keyboards, rhythm guitar, vocals
Hector McLean: bass, vocals
Len Sembaluk: drums, percussion, vocals
John Swainson: banjo, guitar
Al Cherny: fiddle
Bob Lucier: pedal steel guitar
Erica Goodman: harp
Hagood Hardy: vibraphone, orchestrations
Arnie Chycoski: brass
Bob Livingston: brass
Bruce Cassidy: brass
Jack Zaza: reeds

Strings:
Andy Benac, Arnie Chycoski, Bill Richards, Harry Bregart, Josef Sera, Maurice Solway, Peter Schenkman, Ron Laurie, Vicki Richards

Dick Smith: steel drums
Earl LaPierre: steel drums
Colina Phillips: backing vocals
Diane Brooks: backing vocals
Patty Van Evera: backing vocals

Ninety miles to North Bay, and I’m on the road again
I’ll make it home sometime tonight with my Mary Jane
We'll be smoking numbers way up in the night
Till it's time to slumber waitin' for the light
You know that highway driving, it’ll get you down, it’ll get you home.