Born Country: How Faith, Family, and Music Brought Me Home

Very good book. I live in Alabama so this group is royalty here. I attend Church with a lady who is a personal friend of Randy Owens and he is genuine. Just an ole' country boy who made good and remembers where he came from; this book reflects his philosophy of being true to your heritage.

If your heart and soul have ever opened to the South, country living, loving nature and family, as well as music of course, you'll find reading this book a big bonus to your life. It takes the reader deep into the life of a famous person who inspires us with his down to earth strength and humility without denying his huge talent and success. The area he lives in, where he grew up, in north Alabama is truly one of the most beautiful spots in the entire US. Randy Owen inspires the reader with his love of this area and compells the reader to visit there, the source of much of his talent. Another book that inspires the reader along these lines is by another author who lives in Fort Payne, Alabama just a few miles from Mr. Owen's home: Cherokee author, Jerry Ellis, was the first person in the modern world to walk the 900 mile route of the Cherokee Trail of Tears and his book about that journey, Walking the Trail, One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. Both books are highly recommended.

A truly WONDERFUL WELL WORTH READ, this book had many tears from laughter to sad ones, Randy is an insperation to us all. I've read it once but I can say it won't be the last makes you understand why he is such a great artist & an all round GOOD GUY. Everyone should take the time to read it. May the songs & music NEVER stop from Wonderful Guy. Many more stories to come.

A great inspirational read by someone who has been very high and very low! I always loved Alabama and especially Randy, who seems to be the most sincere one.

I want to say first off I have been a big fan of Alabama ever since 1979 when I first heard 'My Home's In Alabama' so I had extremely high hopes for this book and I wasn't disappointed at all...as a matter a fact it's even better than I could have imagined. The book starts out with Randy going for his morning drive around Lookout Mountain to start his day.....His and his daughter's dogs all go on this drive through the country with Randy describing the area and how beauiful it is and how much he loves it....From that first chapter you feel like you are going along for a ride with Randy and he is talking to you telling you his story...The book is written in such an easy fun style to read...It makes it very enjoyable...I read it in less than 2 days (for me that is pretty remarkable---never read a book of almost 300 pages that fast before )...I just couldn't put it down ! You will read so many things you never knew..... Like when you hear them sing about a place in one of their songs...you find it's a REAL place that they went to and wrote it into their songs....There is a line in one of their songs called 'Vacation'...Where he talks about going swimming in the Blue Hole...Come to find out in this book....there really is such a place...but you probably wouldn't know that if you didn't live up there....Another cool one is the song 'Ole Baugh Road' on the Southern Star album.....He really did grow up on Baugh Rd ! Liking Alabama as long as I have I feel like I was right there with them all these years and knew the guys (Randy, Teddy, Jeff and Mark) pretty well....but there are so many things that you don't know since they are all private people and don't want to be all over the news (that's a good thing !)....Anyway...some of the things you will remember right along with Randy and some will be brand new ! (For example---In the video 'Tar Top'....That is his son Heath riding the bicycle)...Growing up reading everything I could back then about Alabama...I didn't know that. He also mentions Dale Earnhardt in here a couple of times (Dale is a big hero of mine) and I didn't know they had known each other since 1981...I knew they were good friends..but had no idea it was for such a long time. Randy talks alot about his wife (Kelly) and his 3 kids (Alison, Heath and Randa)....His parents also play a huge role in the book.....St Jude's Childrens Hospital is also metioned obviously since it's such an important part of his life....I just can't see how the book could be any better...He intertwined his personal life with his life with the group Alabama so perfectly.....you really get to learn about the whole person...not just the singer. Honestly I would recommend this book for anyone to read it's just a terrific book, period....but for fans of Alabama this is a must read !....All my friends are wanting copies after seeing mine and hearing me talk about it....Oh yeah I almost forgot...there are some wonderful pictures in it I had never seen before too !