The band began its career touring and performing at bars and clubs around the Southeastern United States for two years while honing its sound and writing music.

Online acclaim led ATO Records to sign the band, which released Boys & Girls in 2012 to critical success.

[2] Brittany Howard grew up interested in music, filling notebooks with lyrics and teaching herself to play drums, bass, and guitar.

[3] Howard played in multiple bands at East Limestone High School that helped to formulate and craft her taste in music.

They went on to have a single titled "Coffins and Cadillacs" featured on a compilation track from now defunct indie label Volital Records.

Drummer Steve Johnson, who had heard Howard singing at a party years prior, began attending the jam sessions at the suggestion of Cockrell.

"[6] Fogg, at this point a guitarist in the Athens-based Tuco's Pistol, invited the group to open for his band at Brick Deli & Tavern in Decatur.

[3] During this time the band members held other day jobs: Howard as a fry cook and then a postal worker, Johnson at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, Cockrell at an animal clinic, and Fogg painting houses.

[9] Their breakthrough came when Justin Gage, a Los Angeles music blogger and SiriusXM host, found a photo of Howard performing online.

"[3] The group received three nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance for "Hold On," and Best Recording Package for their debut album, Boys & Girls.

[17] The record's lead single, "Don't Wanna Fight", was a number two hit on the Adult Alternative Songs chart.

[30] In March 2020, drummer Steve Johnson pleaded guilty to domestic violence, harassment and stalking in relation to his ex-wife, following their divorce after three and a half years of marriage.

On December 18, 2024, Brittany Howard, Zac Cockrell and Heath Fogg reunited for a surprise performance at the Druid City Music Hall in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Howard stated: "Last year, Heath, Zac, and I started chatting about how much fun it would be to make music together and tour again as Alabama Shakes.

[36][37] Alongside Howard's voice, the songs were compared to artists such as Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, and Aretha Franklin.

[6] As the acclaim mounted, "reviewers speculated" that their sound was in homage to the music produced in Muscle Shoals, Alabama nearly five decades prior.

Cockrell and Fogg were aware of the Shoals legacy,[18] but Howard was more influenced by bands such as Led Zeppelin and artists like David Bowie.