The Closer You Get...

The Closer You Get... is the seventh studio album by American country music band Alabama, released in March 1983. All three singles from this album — "The Closer You Get", "Lady Down on Love" and "Dixieland Delight" — reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1983. The album itself reached number ten on the Billboard 200, becoming the band's highest-charting album. Considered a stylistic move towards a more pop-friendly sound, the album was described as a mix of "easy listening" country pop and neotraditional country by AllMusic's Vik Iyengar.^[1]

For the album by Six by Seven, see The Closer You Get (Six by Seven album).

The Closer You Get...
Studio album by Alabama
Released	March 1983 (1983-03)
Recorded	1981 (1981)–1982 (1982)
Studio	The Music Mill (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre	Neotraditional country
Length	40:53
Label	RCA Nashville
Producer	Alabama Harold Shedd
Alabama chronology
Mountain Music (1982) The Closer You Get... (1983) Roll On (1984)
Singles from The Closer You Get...
"Dixieland Delight" Released: January 28, 1983 "The Closer You Get" Released: April 29, 1983 "Lady Down on Love" Released: August 5, 1983

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[2]

Track listing

The Closer You Get... track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Closer You Get"	J.P. Pennington, Mark Gray	4:33
2.	"Lady Down on Love"	Randy Owen	4:00
3.	"She Put the Sad in All His Songs"	Robert Byrne, Mac McAnally	4:03
4.	"Red River"	Bud McGuire, George Pearce	4:20
5.	"What in the Name of Love"	Bill Boling, Chris Deal, Rick Wayne	3:54
6.	"Dixieland Delight"	Ronnie Rogers	5:25
7.	"Very Special Love"	Teddy Gentry, Owen	4:50
8.	"Dixie Boy"	Jim McBride	4:20
9.	"Alabama Sky"	Larry Shell	3:21
10.	"Lovin' Man"	Jeff Cook	2:33

Personnel

Alabama

• Randy Owen – lead vocals, electric guitar
• Jeff Cook – electric guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (5, 10)
• Teddy Gentry – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (4, 9)
• Mark Herndon – drums

Additional musicians

• Shane Keister – keyboards
• Willie Rainsford – keyboards
• Jack Eubanks – acoustic guitar
• George "Leo" Jackson – acoustic guitar
• Dave Kirby – electric guitar
• Fred Newell – electric guitar
• William Adair – bass guitar
• Larry Paxton – bass guitar
• Steve Schaffer – bass guitar
• Hayward Bishop – drums
• Farrell Morris – percussion
• Bruce Watkins – fiddle
• Kristin Wilkinson – string arrangements
• Nashville String Machine – strings

Production

• Alabama – producers
• Harold Shedd – producer
• Paul Goldberg – engineer
• Gene Rice – engineer
• Randy Kling – mastering at Randy's Roost (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Hogan Entertainment – art direction
• Gabrielle Raumberger – art direction, design
• Moshe Brakha – photography

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1983) Peak position Canadian Albums (RPM) 17 US Billboard 200[3] 10 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[4] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1983) Position US Billboard 200[5] 29 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[6] 2 Chart (1984) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[7] 10

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US	US AC	CAN Country	CAN AC
1983	"Dixieland Delight"	1	—	—	1	—
	"The Closer You Get"	1	38	9	1	1
	"Lady Down on Love"	1	76	18	1	10

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[8]	4× Platinum	4,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.