Country group Alabama frontman Randy Owen will be celebrated as a BMI Icon during the upcoming 72nd annual BMI Country Awards slated for Nov. 19 in Nashville.
The accolade recognizes Owen’s prolific songwriting and significant contributions to country music. The invitation-only BMI Country Awards will be held at the BMI Nashville office and hosted by BMI president/CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI’s Nashville VP of creative Clay Bradley.
“Randy Owen’s impact on country music is immeasurable, and his songwriting has left an undeniable mark on the genre,” Bradley said in a statement. “His talents have solidified Alabama as one of the most successful country bands of all time, and his memorable melodies and relatable lyrics continue to influence countless artists that follow in his footsteps. We are honored to present him with this year’s BMI Icon Award.”
The BMI icon award has previously been bestowed on artist-writers including Matraca Berg, Toby Keith, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Dean Dillon and Hank Williams Jr., in addition to multi-genre artist-writers including Stevie Nicks, Little Richard, Carole King, Patti LaBelle, Brian Wilson, James Brown, Janet Jackson, Bo Diddley, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Peter Gabriel, Al Green, Van Morrison, Sting, Bryan Ferry, Carlos Santana and Los Lobos.
Additionally, the BMI Country Awards will reveal BMI’s annual country songwriter of the year, country song of the year and country publisher of the year, and will honor the songwriters and music publishers behind the 50 most-performed songs in country music over the past year.
Since first affiliating with BMI in 1974, Owen has earned over 25 BMI Million-Air Awards, earned the 2000 BMI President’s Award and was feted with the BMI country song of the year honor in 1989 for “Fallin’ Again.” Starting with the group’s 1980 hit “Tennessee River,” Alabama has earned 33 No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. Owen is a co-writer on at least half of the group’s chart-toppers, including “Tennessee River,” as well as 1981’s “Feels So Right,” 1982’s “Mountain Music” and “Close Enough to Perfect,” and 1989’s “Song of the South.”
In addition to being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Alabama has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. They were also named the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year for three consecutive years.
