Sweet Home Alabama
"Sweet Home Alabama" was written as an answer to two songs, "Southern Man" and "Alabama" by Neil Young, which dealt with themes of racism and slavery in the American South. "We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van Zant at the time. The following excerpt shows the Neil Young mention in the song:
In his 2012 autobiography "Waging Heavy Peace", Young commented on his role in the song's creation, writing "My own song 'Alabama' richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. I don't like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue".
Alison McCreary
McCreary was Alabama's representative at the Miss America 1997 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 1996. Her competition talent was singing the gospel hymn "How Great Thou Art". She was third runner-up for the national title and received a $15,000 scholarship prize. She also won the Quality of Life award and an additional $10,000 scholarship for her community service work related to hospice care. Her reign as Miss Alabama continued until Beth Stomps was crowned on June 14, 1997.