Numerous artists performed as part of the CMT Giants: Alabama tribute, honoring the legendary group, Alabama, including Blake Shelton, Jamey Johnson,  Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Little Big Town, Old Dominion and more. Shelton was joined by Steve Wariner and background singer Kara Britz to sing “Old Flame,” one of Alabama’s biggest hits.

It was Shelton who was invited to sing in honor of Alabama, and who later asked Wariner to join him.

“I just always felt like ‘Old Flame’ was one of the best Alabama songs,” Shelton said backstage at CMT Giants. “I loved the melody, I loved the harmonies. When I got invited to be a part of this concert, that was the song I instantly thought of. I was hoping nobody else had already picked that song. And once they said, ‘Yeah, it’s cleared, you can do that one,’ that’s when I called Steve Wariner and said, ‘Man, come do this tribute concert with me, and help me recreate these harmonies,’ because it’s very involved vocally, that song, maybe more than most.

“And so, it just turned out to be a really fun, magical night to get to work with Steve and honor Alabama at the same time,” he added.

For Shelton, his appreciation for Alabama and their music goes back decades, long before he ever knew that he would have his own career in country music.

“My earliest memories of country music, to me it was just music on the radio, were Alabama,” the 48-year-old said. “I remember — I don’t know what year it was, early 1980s, I guess — when ‘Love In the First Degree’ was a hit. I remember hearing that song on the Fourth of July at Wintersmith Park in Ada, Oklahoma as a kid, knowing that that was the biggest hit in the world in my mind. You look around, everybody’s singing it. It’s one of the first, early moments I remember music having an impact on me. Like, ‘Wow, everybody here doesn’t even know each other, and they’re all singing this song together.'”

Shelton was inspired by Alabama as a kid, but even more so when he became a country music singer. And now, with more than 20 years as a successful artist, Shelton still looks to Alabama for inspiration.

“Alabama’s just always been a group who musically would push the boundaries, especially for country music,” the Grand Ole Opry member said. “Just about the time you think you know what their sound is, they come with something like ‘In A Hurry and Don’t Know Why’ or ‘Cheap Seats.’ … That’s one of the things I think I probably picked up from them as an artist is, I’m always trying to reinvent myself musically. I haven’t been as successful at is as Alabama has, but they’re definitely a big inspiration for me.”

Alabama broke down walls and blurred genre lines, both with their music and their image. Their formula worked well for them for more than five decades, forever inspiring countless other country music artists, like Shelton.

“For country music, they were a little bit rebellious,” Shelton admitted. “They didn’t look like anything else going on in country music. Here’s these guys with long hair and these beards like they’ve been in the backwoods. I think part of people’s connection to Alabama beyond the music was they looked like somebody next door, people you see in your town, and you feel like you know them and have a connection with them. And then you couple that with their music. They really were very rebellious, but also untouchable, because the success was just too enormous for anybody to push back against.”

Several encore performances of CMT Giants: Alabama will air on CMT, MTV and CMT Music throughout the month.

Photo Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMT