Randy Owen

Frontman of the band Alabama, Randy Owen was born on December 13, 1949 in Fort Payne, Alabama. He started playing in amateur bands in high school but put his music on hold to get an English degree at Jacksonville State University. After graduation, he moved in with his two cousins Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook and the three formed the band, originally named Wildcountry, and toured bars in the Alabama area. They changed the band name to Alabama in 1977 and signed a deal with RCA Records. Their first album released under RCA, "My Home's in Alabama" (1980), reached number three on the Billboard Country Album chart and proved to be their breakthrough to success. Owen and his bandmates went on to release 26 studio albums, including 32 singles that reached the number one spot. Alabama's sound, with a blend of country, rock, bluegrass and pop, achieved mainstream success in the 80s. The group charted several songs that crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100 list and pop radio. In 1999 Alabama was named RIAA's Country Group of the Century. In 2002, Owen announced the band's retirement. Randy Owen appeared as a judge on the fifth season on "Nashville Star" (USA Network, 2003-08).