BUENA PARK, Calif. -- The band Alabama rode their hit album 'Feels So Right' to Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year honors Thursday night in the Academy of Country Music Awards.
David Frizzell and his sister-in-law Shelly West won Song of the Year honors for 'You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma,' and also were named Top Vocal Duet.
The Oak Ridge Boys won the award for Single Record of the Year for their romantic rhythmic hit, 'Elvira.'
Dottie West, Conway Twitty and Mickey Gilley hosted the 17th annual awards show, a nationwide telecast from Knotts Berry Farm, which presented the 'Hat' awards chosen by the academy's 2,600 voting members.
Alabama -- composed of two brothers, a cousin and a friend of the family -- also won Top Vocal Group honors in 1981.
The band and their road crew got together backstage after the show and shouted over and over again in unison, 'Ain't We Having Fun Now.'
Barbara Mandrell, who recorded 'I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool' with George Jones, was named Top Female Vocalist. 'This warms my heart,' she told the audience. She won the Entertainer of the Year award last year.
Merle Haggard, whose most recent hit is 'My Favorite Memory,' was named Top Male Vocalist but was not present to accept the award.
Ricky Skaggs was named Top New Vocalist. Among the losers in that category was John Schneider, who portrays Bo Duke on the 'Dukes of Hazzard' TV series. Juice Newton was named Top New Female Vocalist.
The Clint Eastwood movie 'Any Which Way You Can' was chosen Motion Picture of the Year.
Losing to Alabama in the competition for Entertainer of the Year were the Oak Ridge Boys, Miss Mandrell, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.
Runners-up to 'Feels So Right' for Album of the Year were 'Fancy Free' by the Oak Ridge Boys, '9 to 5' by Miss Parton, 'Seven Year Ache' by Rosanne Cash and 'Still the Same Ole Me' by Jones.
Defeated by 'Elvira' for Record of the Year were 'I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool,' 'You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma' and 'There's No Getting Over Me' by Ronnie Milsap.
Other nominees for Song of the Year were Alabama's 'Feels So Right' and 'Love in the First Degree,' Haggard's 'My Favorite Memory' and Lee Greenwood's 'It Turns Me Inside Out.'
Leo Fender, who developed the Fender guitar, won the academy's Pioneer Award. 'Country Music has been very good to me,' he said. 'Thank you.'
The Jim Reeves Memorial Award was given to music publisher Al Galico.
Earlier this week, the academy announced the winners of instrumentalist categories for the 'Hat' trophies.
Joe Osborn and Curtis Stone tied for bass player of the year; Buddy Harmon was selected best drummer; Johnny Gimble for fiddle; James Burton for guitar; Hargus 'Pig' Robbins for keyboard; harmonica player Charlie McCoy for specialty instrument and Buddy Emmons for steel guitar.
Radio station WPLO in Atlanta won best country radio station of the year and Arch Yancey of KNUZ radio in Houston, Texas, was named disc jockey of the year.
