‘Down home never left them’: How Randy Owen and Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter forged a lifelong friendship from DeKalb County

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July 21, 2025

At Randy Owen’s farm in Fort Payne on a recent summer day, the story of two men unfolded like an old country ballad to Yellowhammer News.

One of them grew up to become the voice of a generation: Randy Owen, the iconic frontman of “Alabama” – the most successful country band in history. The other became one of the most powerful men in state politics today – Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter.

They are also just two mountain boys from DeKalb County. One from Lookout Mountain and the other from Sand Mountain. Farm kids and neighbors in all the ways that count, with only a valley separating them.

Owen grew up in the small community called Adamsburg which back in the day had five country stores and the Adamsburg Fire Station. The fire station was the gathering place for many fund raising events and political meet-and-greets. That location is where Owen and Ledbetter first met.

Owen reminisced about the many days he spent at the fire hall with his mother, sister, and daddy. The building served as a local community gathering place for fundraisers.

Owen shared that his mother, a gifted pianist, played music for the events and also served her delicious fried apple pies — so good that people would practically come to blows over them.

Owen said the fire hall was also a very special place because it was where he first heard or read the name Nathaniel Ledbetter.

He saw a sign outside the firehall that read, “Come meet Nathaniel Ledbetter.” He thought, “Who is Nathaniel Ledbetter?”

Now he considers him one of his dearest friends.

Ledbetter served on the Rainsville City Council during the 1980s and later as Mayor of Rainsville until 2002. When he launched his campaign for the Alabama House of Representatives, the Adamsburg Fire Hall became a key stop on the trail.

There, neighbors hosted a meet-and-greet that sparked a lasting friendship.

“He hasn’t lost that ‘down home’ country boy that I first met,” Owen recalled. “And that means something, because not everybody stays that way.”

“You treasure friendship more as you get older – and the ones that last, you hold on to.”

Owen also shared stories of his mother buying a pressure cooker to can vegetables on a wood stove, of keeping bookkeeping ledgers for his parents’ cotton sales when he was ten, and his mother’s willingness to feed all the farm workers with what her hands prepared.

Ledbetter reminisced about family trips to Fort Payne every other Saturday – a town outing that, if they were lucky, ended with a hamburger from the Pine Ridge Café, which was a real treat for anyone living on the mountain.

“We didn’t have much,” Ledbetter said, “but we had enough.”

Growing up in a rural community and learning to get by with what they had taught both young men to work hard and take care of what was theirs.

When Owen was honored as the BMI Icon Award recipient in 2023 – the most prestigious award a songwriter can receive – he insisted Ledbetter be there.

“It meant a lot,” Owen said. “They didn’t even know who he was at first, I said, ‘That’s the Speaker of the Alabama House. He’s my friend.’” At that private ceremony in Nashville, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, and Riley Green performed Owen’s songs.

Ledbetter replied, “I am humbled you invited us to share that special night with you.”

In 2024, they stood side by side with Governor Kay Ivey and Jacksonville State University leaders at the groundbreaking of the Randy Owen Center for the Performing Arts.

It was Ledbetter who helped shepherd $15 million in funding through the Alabama Legislature to bring it to life.

“Randy is a true ambassador for JSU and for Alabama,” Ledbetter told the crowd gathered at the event. “Generations of students will learn in a building that bears his name. And that means something to us.”

It was a personal win for the two DeKalb County boys doing what they could to give back.

Ledbetter also made sure Owen’s voice didn’t go unheard at the Alabama State House.

In June 2023, the Alabama Legislature adopted a resolution to formally honor Owen’s lifetime contributions to music and charity. Owen said that moment was deeply emotional.

Owen has famously raised approximately $1 billion for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his Country Cares initiative and lent his voice to causes such as Alabama’s state parks and census participation.

In the text of the resolution honoring Owen, Ledbetter highlighted many of these charitable contributions, from Owen’s public service announcements to his decades of charity concerts, as well as the numerous honors Owen has received for humanitarian work.

“I’ve known governors, even had presidents dancing to our songs,” Owen said. “But Nathaniel – I know his heart. It’s different when you’ve shared dirt roads and apple pie with someone.”

June Jam

Perhaps no event better symbolizes the path they’ve forged over the years than June Jam – the storied Fort Payne music festival that raised millions for charity in the 1980s and ’90s, and returned triumphantly in 2023 and 2024.

Ledbetter was instrumental in helping revive the event, rallying support among fellow lawmakers and coordinating resources behind the scenes.

More than just entertainment, June Jam raises money for tornado relief, education, and local nonprofits – causes both men are deeply invested in.

“The money goes back into the community,” Owen said. “Nathaniel’s been a big part of making sure that still happens.”

Ledbetter has said the humility Owen shows, whether it’s calling at 1 a.m. to check on tornado damage, or pitching an idea to expand FFA programs across Alabama – is the kind of quiet leadership he looks up to.

The FFA expansion, in fact, was Owen’s idea. “I want kids to know what it’s like to live on a farm,” he told Ledbetter.

The next legislative budget included funding to triple Alabama’s FFA membership, now nearing 40,000 students.

“That came from standing in front of a barn and talking,” Ledbetter said. “It’s amazing what a simple conversation with Randy can turn into.”

What’s right with America

Ask either man what makes DeKalb County special and the answer is immediate: the people.

“People still wave when they drive past,” Ledbetter said. “If you don’t wave, they wonder what’s wrong.”

“Still go to church. Still say ‘Yes, ma’am,’ and ‘No, sir,’” Owen added. “They don’t show off about their faith. They live it.”

Ledbetter remembers watching neighbors climb onto his roof after a tornado to cover it with tarps before he even got home. Owen recalls his father mourning at the window as floodwaters tore through a cotton field, praying aloud to God for a better season.

These moments, they say, define where they’re from – and who they still are.

“If your word ain’t good, you’re not,” Ledbetter said. “It’s that simple around here.”

Owen nods, “It’s all about doing what you say,” he adds. “And not forgetting who helped you along the way.”

Now in their later chapters, both men continue to lead with gratitude.

Owen runs his Hereford cattle operation, still writes songs, still calls friends just to check in.

Ledbetter, at the height of his political career, still leans on advice from his old pal.

“I’ve never known anyone who’s done more for this state, and expected less credit for it, than Randy,” Ledbetter said. “And the fact that he still calls me just to talk? That means more than he probably knows.”

Owen feels the same. “Friendship,” he said, “shouldn’t be about what somebody can do for you. It should be about what you can do together.”

And together, they’ve done plenty.

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.