Bridges first recorded for the Nashville-based Mega Records with two 1973 single releases of her original material: both singles flopped but Bridges came to the attention of the president of the publisher of her songs: Bill Lowery, who signed as her manager, subsidizing Bridges over a roughly two-year period of canvassing record labels which ended when she was signed to Polydor in 1977.

In 1978 Bridges was a Grammy nominee and was the opening act, performing “I Love the Nightlife”. Bridges’ self-titled LP, Alicia Bridges, was also rising on the Billboard, Cash Box and Record World charts and the LP remained on the charts for up to 35 weeks. Both the LP and the single release were international successes, and “I Love the Nightlife” went top 40 in the UK and Germany, Spain and other European countries. Bridges’ music was especially popular in Japan. She received an RIAA Certified Gold Record for the sale of over one million copies of her hit single in the US, as well as a gold record from Canada.

In 1983, a woman was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee for pretending to be Alicia Bridges during a country music convention. Bridges drove from her home in Atlanta to give evidence in the case. Bridges stated that she had been plagued by an impostor for five years.

Alicia Bridges Music Publications was founded in 2006 and has produced three albums.

In November 2006 Bridges released a remixed and remastered compilation of her songs titled This Girl Don’t Care. In 2007 she released Say It Sister. Her third CD, Faux Diva, was released in 2008; this included a remix of “I Love The Nightlife”.

In 2009 Bridges was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.