| "Love in the First Degree" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Alabama | ||||
| from the 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(s) | Tim DuBois, Jim Hurt | |||
| Producer | Harold Shedd and Alabama | |||
| Alabama singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"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.
"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.
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.
| Chart (1981-1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Preceded by "All Roads Lead to You" by Steve Wariner |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single December 26, 1981-January 2, 1982 |
Succeeded by "Fourteen Carat Mind" by Gene Watson |
| Preceded by "I Never Figured on This" by David Thompson |
RPM Country Tracks number-one single January 16, 1982 |
Succeeded by "I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World" by Ronnie Milsap |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||