Randy Owens

He was born in Alabama on December 13th, 1949. He grew up picking cotton and slopping hogs on the family farm. Randy was a ninth grade drop-out until a former teacher took an interest in him. After looking up his past grades and discovering how good a student he actually was, she encouraged him to return to high school. He credits her for the courage it took to return, stick it out, and graduate, despite the stigma of being the oldest kid in his graduating class.

During those years Randy and two of his cousins formed a country music band. Several years later, after a brief hiatus during which Randy earned a college degree from Jacksonville State University, the band, now called Alabama, set their sights on Nashville and started the uphill climb. With Randy Owens as the lead singer, Alabama became one of the most popular country bands of all time, selling 73 million albums worldwide while amassing over 150 industry awards including Entertainer of the Year. The Grammy winning group announced their retirement in 2002 and they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005, but Randy Owens wasn’t through. He soon released his first solo single, Braid My Hair.

It’s the inspirational story of a baseball cap-wearing chemo-suffering little girl holding onto to the faith that one day she’ll grow up to ride her bike, climb a tree, and braid her hair– hair that has grown out to her waist. The little girl’s dream is to cut it off and give it to another little girl who is wondering if she’ll ever do the same. The proceeds from “Braid My Hair” go to St. Jude’s Research Hospital, a work Randy has supported since the mid-eighties.

In today’s Southern Quote we celebrate the music of Alabama and the man who using its success to help others. Randy Owens has said, “We’re a great example of what can happen to people who just won’t quit.”

~Shellie