Randy Owen Center for the p e r f o r m in g arts
Jacksonville State University to honor Pi Kappa Phi country music superstar with state-of-the-art performing arts center by Arthur Beal III
Randy Owen, Delta Epsilon (Jacksonville State), a 1983 Pi Kappa Phi Hall of Fame inductee, is known for topping the charts with the band Alabama. Rolling Stone and Billboard have ranked Randy among the top 100 country singers. Today, he serves as an at-large member of the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, which is poised to create the state-of-the-art Randy Owen Center for the Performing Arts.
The Early Years
Music, family and education have always been part of Randy’s life. He first picked up a musical instrument at the age of six. After dropping out of high school in ninth grade, he re-enrolled with his sights firmly set on higher education. By the time he graduated from high school, Randy had formed a band with his cousins, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook. As a back-up plan in case the band didn’t work out, Randy attended Northeast Alabama Community College before matriculating at Jacksonville State.
Randy majored in English at JSU while becoming a founding father of Delta Epsilon Chapter. Everything he did was strategic in his quest for stardom. Randy would perform at several venues
30 || FALL2021
on weekends and between classes, and he chose to major in English to supplement his songwriting abilities. "It helped me understand that a kid who was very poor and grew up in the sticks … that it's OK to speak your vernacular," Randy said in 2009.
with no hesitation. Executive Director Emeritus Durward Owen (no relation to Randy) jokingly credits himself as one of the first ambassadors at the band’s first major performance.
The band began to take off by booking a summer gig at The Bowery, a beloved Myrtle Beach bar, in 1973. A few years after Randy’s graduation in 1975, the band was signed by RCA Records in 1980.
Durward recalls it being rainy on the day of the fundraiser, but people gathered to support Randy and the efforts of P.U.S.H. Some wondered if the band would still perform in the rain. As Durward fondly recalls, Randy replied with “They came here for music, so we’re going to give them music.”
One of Alabama’s early concerts was quite near to the fraternity’s heart. A P.U.S.H. (now named The Ability Experience) fundraiser was set at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina. For Randy and his crew, the concert was accepted
“It was never a surprise to see Randy on stage with a Pi Kappa Phi shirt,” Durward reminisced. Randy even included Pi Kappa Phi apparel in Alabama’s album cover for “Just Us,” released in 1987, which charted number one
PIKAPP.ORG/NEWS
