Christmas in Dixie

"Christmas in Dixie" is a Christmas song made famous by the country music band Alabama. Originally released in 1982, the song was included on Alabama's 1985 Christmas album (titled Alabama Christmas), and has since been included on many Christmas compilations in both the country and all-genre music fields.

Content

The song is a celebration of Christmas in the southern United States. Each verse begins with two references to non-Southern areas (New York City, California, Chicago and Detroit which is referred as "Motown") followed by two references to Southern cities (Memphis and Atlanta, Jackson, Mississippi and Charlotte) and a final reference to Fort Payne, Alabama (the group's hometown).

The original single release was part of a double A-sided holiday release issued by RCA Records, paired with "Christmas Is Just a Song For Us This Year" by Louise Mandrell and R.C. Bannon. A 1997 rerelease had "Thistlehair the Christmas Bear" as its b-side.^[1]

Lawsuit

In 2010, Allan Caswell initiated a lawsuit against ATV/Sony, who published both his song, "On The Inside" and the Alabama song "Christmas In Dixie", because he thought that it plagiarized the theme song he wrote for Prisoner, On the Inside.^[2] This action was based on ATV Sony commissioning a copyright expert to provide advice as to whether a plagiarism had taken place.

Chart performance

The original version spent seven weeks on the charts between late 1982 and early 1983, peaking at number 35. It re-entered the chart three times between 1997 and 2000.^[1]

Chart (1982-1983)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	35
Chart (1997-1998)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	47
Chart (1998-1999)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	40
Chart (1999-2000)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	37

Covers

The song was covered by Kenny Chesney on his 2003 album All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan and featured Alabama's lead singer Randy Owen joining him on the track.

References

1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 20. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
↑ "US group 'ripped off' Prisoner theme tune". news.com.au. 8 May 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2011.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Alabama (band) 1977–1989 singles

Deuces Wild	"I Want to Be with You Tonight"

My Home's in Alabama	"I Wanna Come Over" "My Home's in Alabama" "Tennessee River" "Why Lady Why"

Feels So Right	"Old Flame" "Feels So Right" "Love in the First Degree"

Mountain Music	"Mountain Music" "Take Me Down" "Close Enough to Perfect"

The Closer You Get...	"Dixieland Delight" "The Closer You Get" "Lady Down on Love"

Roll On	"Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" "When We Make Love" "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)" "(There's A) Fire in the Night"

40-Hour Week	"There's No Way" "40 Hour Week (For a Livin')" "Can't Keep a Good Man Down"

Greatest Hits	"She and I"

The Touch	"Touch Me When We're Dancing" ""You've Got" the Touch"

Just Us	"Tar Top" "Face to Face" "Fallin' Again"

Southern Star	"Song of the South" "If I Had You" "High Cotton" "Southern Star"

Other singles	"Christmas in Dixie" "Deep River Woman" (with Lionel Richie)

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