It's been 40 years since Randy Owen, his cousin Teddy Gentry, and Jeff Cook started playing together at the Bowery in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The pride of Fort Payne took their name from their home state of Alabama and inspired a legion of contemporary artists, as well as fans. To honor Alabama's unparalleled contributions to country music, Show Dog Universal (the record label partially owned by Toby Keith) is releasing a compilation album called Alabama & Friends, Billboard reports.

Toby, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Eli Young Band and Trisha Yearwood are among those lending their talents to the project. The record will also include two new Alabama tunes, the first since the threesome's farewell tour 10 years ago.

"Alabama isn't on every track," Show Dog Universal President Mark Wright tells Billboard. "They'll come and do some harmonies just to put the flavor on there, but it's kind of hard when you have Rascal Flatts and Eli Young [Band], people who have their own band. It's hard to put a band with a band."

That said, Alabama & Friends will include duets with the legendary group, one of which will be with Jason Aldean. A firm release date hasn't been announced yet, but Wright tells the publication it is expected during the third quarter of 2013.

In addition to the album, Alabama is commemorating their achievements with the Back to the Bowery tour, which kicked off earlier this month. See a list of tour dates here.

Watch Alabama's 'Song of the South' Video

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