Alabama 3 formed when Jake Black met Rob Spragg at a rave in Peckham and they decided that a fusion of country music with acid house was a musical possibility. Other members of the band were added later. Nick Reynolds is the son of one of the Great Train Robbers. Rob Spragg was at university with Piers Marsh, the harmonica player and synthesiser programmer for the band, while Orlando Harrison, the group’s keyboardist, used to live with Jake Black. Prior to the formation of Alabama 3 and following the demise of The Jangletties, Black generated little or no recorded output for several years.

Starting their act under the alias the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine (UK), the group eventually switched names to Alabama 3 and after having been dismissed by the mainstream media as a novelty act, signed with One Little Independent Records in 1997 for the release of their debut album, Exile on Coldharbour Lane. Their second album, La Peste, featured bassist John “Segs” Jennings of the Ruts under the stage name Frank Zappatista.

In August 2007, the group toured under the name of Alabama 3: Acoustic and Unplugged, with Harpo Strangelove and Devlin Love, to promote its new album M.O.R.(released 10 September 2007). Bassist John “Segs” Jennings left the band, saying he was “busy elsewhere and [he doesn’t] have the time”. In September and October 2007, the band toured the UK in support of M.O.R. with Irish band Republic of Loose supporting.

Having recorded and toured with the band in the early days, Aurora Dawn rejoined the band in 2009. Between late 2010 and early 2011, programmer, harmonicist and founding member Piers Marsh left the band.

Jake Black had Addison’s disease, and died on 21 May 2019, several days after falling ill during a show at Highest Point Festival in Lancashire