Inspired by a trip on U.S. Route 11W in Tennessee taken by songwriter Ronnie Rogers, it was written by Rogers and was released on January 28, 1983, by RCA Nashville Records as the lead single for Alabama's seventh studio album, The Closer You Get.... "Dixieland Delight" drew commercial success, peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs list amongst the release of the album in April 1983.

[3] The song officially released on January 28, 1983 as a lead-off single for The Closer You Get..., Alabama's seventh studio album.

Later in the song, Rogers conjures up images of various forest animals, such as a white-tailed buck deer and a red-tailed hawk, and how they bring peace to him before returning to how the main character plans to become intimate with his girlfriend during their weekend outing, in a truck in a meadow.

[6][7] Country music singer Riley Green covered the song from the television special CMT Giants: Alabama.

"[10] In 2019, Rolling Stone placed "Dixieland Delight" seventh on in their 25 Best Songs About the South ranking, describing it as an example of "high-octane, country-rock number with a hint of bluegrass that are so distinctly from the lower half of the Mason–Dixon they smell like whiskey and wisteria.

[11] "Dixieland Delight" has been remarked by writer Tom Roland as one of the band Alabama's most enduring singles, and is closely associated with 1980s country music as a whole.

They both have pride: in where they came from and in being the best," referring to the relative dominance and success of the Alabama Crimson Tide in American college football.

As a result, Alabama Assistance Director of Marketing Ryan Majercik ordered the university to drop the tradition at the end of 2014 until further notice.