Randy Owen
Randy Yeuell Owen was born at The Guest’s Clinic in Fort Payne, Alabama on December 13, 1949. Randy was raised with his two younger sisters in a frame farmhouse near Adamsburg, Alabama in DeKalb County, very close by to Lookout Mountain. Randy is married with three children.
After graduating from Fort Payne High School, Randy attended Jacksonville State University. Randy’s hobbies include watching sports of all kinds, writing short stories, and composing poetry. In the kitchen, Randy also prefers to eat vegetables, home-raised meats, and home cooking. When not playing with Alabama, Randy enjoys listening to The Eagles, Anne Murray, and Ronnie Milsap.
When not touring with Alabama, Randy says he enjoys being alone with immediate family and most importantly, away from the telephone. While on the job, he strums a smooth and steady rhythm guitar and sings most of the solo vocals on the group's hits. He has played music since the age of 6 and has been performing with Alabama for over five decades. Randy plays by ear and says that he doesn't know how many songs he has written but jokes that "some of them have been recorded on the albums.”
Before and during his early music career, Randy took jobs laying brick, painting, farming, and hanging sheet rock. He says his long range goals are "To help my family achieve a gentle way of living and to be known as friendly to the fans and have a good reputation with fellow musicians.”
His favorite career memory is winning both the ACM and CMA Entertainers of the Year for three years in a row. When asked if there was anything he wanted of the fans, Randy asked "I want the fans to enjoy themselves and feel they've gotten their money's worth from our concerts and records. Also, I want them to understand that they are the most important people in our lives." Randy said that if he could only tell his fans one thing, it would be "I love and appreciate all of you.”
Over 50 years ago, Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry and Randy Owen left the cotton farms of Fort Payne, Alabama to spend the summer playing music in a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina bar called The Bowery. It took them six long years of tip jars and word-of-mouth to earn the major label deal they'd been dreaming of. Then, seemingly no time at all to change the face of country music. ALABAMA, country music’s first band, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. The group is known for hit songs including “Mountain Music,” “Roll On,” “Dixieland Delight” and “If You're Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band).” From humble beginnings picking cotton in the fields, to international stars, ALABAMA went on to sell 80 million albums and charted 43 No.1 hits, becoming the most successful band in the history of country music. In November 2022, ALABAMA co-founder Jeff Cook passed following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. With his prior encouragement and wishes, ALABAMA continues touring on a limited basis, keeping the iconic music they created alive for the current and future generation of fans. Most recently, ALABAMA was honored by CMT with the nationally-televised CMT GIANTS: ALABAMA. The two-hour special featured Blake Shelton ft. Steve Wariner, Brad Paisley, Jamey Johnson, Jason Aldean, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Pam Tillis & Lorrie Morgan, Riley Green, and Sam Hunt performing some of the band’s most legendary hits.
In November 2024, Randy was honored with BMI’s Icon Award.