Alabama’s Randy Owen – HuffPost 10.15.14

Mike Ragogna: Hey Randy, what advice do you have for new artists?

Randy Owen: Well that’s a very individual thing. If you’re talking to artists and they’re serious I would hope that they have the chance to face some of the audiences that hate them like we have. Back in the early days when you were on stage, you could tell if they absolutely hated you and wished to hell you weren’t on stage. I can tell just as well when I hear people start singing that they’re great singers, but they have no grit and no soul in what they’re doing. I think it’s great to go back and cut your teeth on some adverse conditions. I’m not talking about where somebody’s trying to kill you or something. I’m talking about the places where when you leave they try to kill you. I left the Bowery so many times with enough tips in my hand that I’d think, “I’m gonna get killed before I get home.” Then, of course, I remember a lot of the clubs where you’d get out of the way of fights as you were leaving the door. Not that everybody has to do that, but I just think you appreciate stuff better if you do. And it’s always good to try to write, and if you can’t write then that’s okay, but you sure need to have an idea.

And if you’re going to work the United States, you have to go to the United States and work. I remember a guy told me something I’ll never forget as long as I live, he said, “Once you’ve toured the United States you’ll have a much better idea of what you need to do to write a song that’s commercially successful.” That’s true. It may not be my favorite song but it might be a song that works for the entire country. There’s people who spend their whole time working in one city, and they’re great, they do really good there, but they never open up and try to do something that works in Seattle, or that also works in Detroit. And don’t forget about the northeast. And I’m talking about country music. We made a point to try to do as many shows as we could in the northeast because folks in the Northeast love country music too, you’ve just got to take it to them. I think it’s the same story there as it is in California. The people are the same. I look at the crowd and they may look different or be dressed a little different in one place or the other but why are they there? They’re there to hear your music. I’ll never forget what Eddy Arnold told me: “Find you a good-looking girl and you sing most of your songs to her, as if it’s just you and her in the studio.” I will never forget that. Eddy did pretty good.