Love in the First Degree (Alabama song)

Infobox Single
Name = Love in the First Degree


Artist = Alabama
from Album = Feels So Right
A-side = "Love in the First Degree"
B-side = "Ride the Train"
Released = October 2, 1981 (U.S.)
Format = 7"
Recorded = August 30, 1980
Genre = Country
Length = 3:19
Label = RCA Records 12288
Writer = Tim DuBois, Jim Hurt
Producer = Harold Shedd and Alabama
Chart position =

• #1 (Billboard Hot Country Singles)
  
• #15 (Billboard Hot 100)
  Last single = "Feels So Right" (1981)
  This single = "Love in the First Degree"
  (1981)
  Next single = "Mountain Music"
  (1982)"Love in the First Degree" is a song made famous by the country music band Alabama. The song was released in 1981 and is included on the band's second RCA Records album, "Feels So Right". It became the group's fifth straight No. 1 single (and second multi-week No. 1) on the "Billboard magazine" Hot Country Singles chart.

  The song, a mid-tempoed song with a strong country-pop beat, uses the analogy of being found guilty of a crime (this time, of love) and the perpetrator throwing himself on the mercy of the object of his affection.

  "Love in the First Degree" became Alabama's biggest crossover hit, peaking at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1982.

  As with the previous single, "Feels So Right," the song's pop "love ballad" style — along with the country rock style of its other songs — became the cornerstone of Alabama's sound throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Today, "Love in the First Degree" remains one of Alabama's most popular songs.

  References

  *Morris, Edward, "Alabama," Contemporary Books Inc., Chicago, 1985 (ISBN 0809253062)
  *Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005," 2006.
  * [http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:kjfixql5ldae All Music Guide — "Feels So Right" by Alabama] .