NASHVILLE — BMI will celebrate the legendary career of Alabama frontman Randy Owen next month by naming him a BMI Icon during the 72nd annual BMI Country Awards.
The Fort Payne native will be recognized for his prolific songwriting and significant contributions to country music. The Nov. 19 event at BMI’s Nashville office will be hosted by BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill with BMI’s Nashville Vice President 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. “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.”
Since his 1974 affiliation with BMI, Owen has received more than 25 BMI Million-Air awards, earned the 2000 BMI President’s Award and received the BMI Country Song of the Year accolade in 1989 for “Fallin’ Again.” Owen has been a cornerstone in country music for more than five decades and remains an influential figure with 43 No. 1 singles and 80 million records sold.
Owen has helped cement Alabama’s legendary status by co-writing at least half of the band’s signature chart toppers including their first No. 1, “Tennessee River” and countless others such as “Mountain Music,” “Song of the South,” “Can’t Keep a Good Man Down,” “Feels So Right,” and “Close Enough to Perfect.”
Throughout Alabama’s renowned career, they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Musician’s Hall of Fame, and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. They have collected 20 American Music Awards, 12 ACM Awards, two Grammy Awards and were named CMA’s Entertainer of the Year three years in a row.
Owen’s impact extends beyond his work with Alabama as other artists have also recorded his songs, further demonstrating the appeal and quality of his craft.
In November 2022, Alabama co-founder Jeff Cook died following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. With his prior encouragement and wishes, Alabama continues touring with Owen and original member Teddy Gentry on a limited basis, keeping the iconic music they created alive for the current and future generation of fans.
The BMI Icon Award is given to exceptional songwriters in recognition of their unique and indelible influence on music makers over many generations. In receiving this award, Owen’s joins an impressive list of country legends including Toby Keith, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Dean Dillon, and Hank Williams Jr., as well as multi-genre creative/songwriting royalty Stevie Nicks, Little Richard, Carole King, Patti LaBelle, Brian Wilson, James Brown, Janet Jackson, Bo Diddley, Peter Gabriel, Al Green, Van Morrison, Sting, Bryan Ferry, and Carlos Santana.
Celebrating over 80 years of service in music rights management, BMI represents the public performance rights in over 22.4 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers.
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