Alabama Praise Friends, New Hall of Fame Inductees Charlie Daniels, Randy Travis

Alabama have been members of the Country Music Hall of Fame since 2005, and the trio's Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook count their induction into the prestigious hall among their biggest honors -- which is why they're thrilled that their friends Charlie Daniels and Randy Travis will become members in mid-October.

"Charlie’s been a dear friend for years," Gentry recently told The Boot and other reporters. "He toured with us for five or six years back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and also he’s working with us some this year again ... Almost every afternoon, we would sit on the bus after soundcheck and swap stories and songs.

"We just became good friends of him and Hazel, his wife ... He taught both of my kids to ride horses when they were about 10 or 11 years old," Gentry continues. "I’ve never asked Charlie to do a charity benefit that he didn’t do, and he would never take a penny for doing it, so Charlie has been a hero of Alabama over the years. And then the more we got to know him, the more we became fans of Charlie Daniels, and we look forward to being there when they induct Charlie into the Hall of Fame."

Speaking about Travis, Owen compliments the singer's signature sound, which has made him one of the most successful country artists of the past few decades, in spite of his recent hardships over the last few years.

"I think the highest compliment I can pay a fellow entertainer is Randy Travis, because if Randy Travis sings, you know exactly who he is," explains Owen. "He has his own style, and he certainly deserves that. It’s so hard to see what happened, but he’s really tough and resilient. Just the body of work that he’s already done is amazing, but I think the highest compliment you can pay someone as a fellow entertainer is that you know exactly who it is when they start singing, and he’s got a bunch of great songs."

Daniels and Travis will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Oct. 16, along with songwriter and producer Fred Foster. Alabama's special Hall of Fame exhibit, Alabama: Song of the South, is on display now at the museum.

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