"Rollin' down a backwoods Tennessee byway/One song in the deal."
"Dixieland Delight," a 35-year-old title that Alabama made famous, is taking its rural imagery uptown: Downtown Music purchased it rights from songwriter Ronnie Rogers, the sole author, in a rare single-song deal.
The song's copyright, which at least two publishers had previously owned, had reverted to Rogers, who was not in a position to market it properly. Downtown, with its multiple offices and ongoing connections with synch licensees, expects to garner favorable placements and higher visibility by highlighting its attributes. The song has distinctly Southern lyrics, is heavily associated with 1980s country and came along during the commercial peak years of the multiplatinum Alabama. It has also become something of a fight song for the University of Alabama, played regularly at Crimson Tide home football games.