by Lee Ann Hughes
It’s a long way from a small country-western honky-tonk to a platinum record, but the red-hot musical group “Alabama” made that trip in less than a year!
Between performances at the TCC Auditorium on November 13, lead singer Randy Owen and guitarist Teddy Gentry confessed that the story that the group once played for $5 a night plus tips wasn’t true, but only because they played for tips only.
On stage, the group gives the impression that they enjoy what they’re doing and appreciate the audience. In a backstage interview, there is that same feeling.
“We really enjoyed playing here,” Owen said. “The audience was terrific, and we hope to come back to Texarkana within the next 12 months or so.”
During their first performance here, the group played to a capacity crowd of 2500, and more than 2000 tickets were sold for the second show. “Alabama” booked themselves in Texarkana since they had an open date with an engagement in Alexandria, La., the following night. While the TCC Auditorium may seem large to Texarkanians, it is considerably smaller than most halls in which “Alabama” has played in recent months.
“We really like playing in smaller auditoriums, such as this one,” Owen commented. “We’re close to the audience and we get a good sound.”
Those who attended either of the concerts on November 13 would certainly agree with the latter statement, as the music did sound great. It might come as a surprise to many to learn that none of the four group members can read a note of music!
Each concert lasted for approximately 90 minutes, and if crowd reaction is any gauge, the high point of each show was “Old Flame”, the group’s biggest hit.
The other two members of the group are Jeff Cook, lead guitarist, and Mark Herndon, drummer.