04/16/2008
Cheyenne Frontier Days announces comedian Bill Engvall and singer Randy Owen with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra on July 26

Cheyenne Frontier Days is pleased to announce two kinds of entertainment for Saturday, July 26. Both comedian Bill Engvall, and Randy Owen, performing with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, will take the stage on the final night of the Frontier Nights concert series. Tickets will go on sale Monday, April 21 and will range from $25 to $45.

Comedian Bill Engvall is starring in and executive producing the new half hour sitcom for TBS entitled "The Bill Engvall Show." The show centers on Bill as the father at the core of a family comedy. He also hosts one of the top rated shows on CMT, "Country Fried Home Videos."

Engvall is currently filming the movie "Bait Shop" which co-stars Billy Ray Cyrus. The story centers around a small town bait shop owner who finds his beloved business threatened with foreclosure. In an attempt to raise the money to save it, he enters a high profile fishing tournament. The film will be released on DVD in the summer of 2008. Additionally, Bill starred in the movie "Delta Farce" with Larry the Cable Guy and D.J. Qualls, which was released in 2007 and is currently available on DVD.

Prior to his big screen debut, Engvall was one of the stars of the sketch comedy show, "Blue Collar TV," on the WB network. The ensemble cast included Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. He also shot a special for the WB network called "Mobile Home Disasters," which was a blue collar version of "Extreme Home Makeover." The episode took a deserving family and completely transformed their mobile home. Engvall also starred in "Blue Collar Comedy Tour, The Movie," which premiered on Comedy Central and at that time was the most watched movie in the channel's history. The sequel "Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again" also premiered on Comedy Central and was the third most watched telecast ever for the network.

Along with his Blue Collar movies, Bill also has two solo specials which aired on Comedy Central. "15° Off Cool" and "Here's Your Sign, Live," were hits on Comedy Central.

As the lead singer of the legendary group Alabama, Randy Owen would appear to have seen and done it all - 73 million albums sold, countless miles on the road touring, a warehouse full of awards and a coveted spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Yet this singer/songwriter/entertainer/rancher is embarking on a new path - a solo career with a new album One On One set for an early summer release, and a tour kicking off around the same time with a 10-piece band and an attitude that rivals a brand new artist.

"I'm as excited about this as I've ever been," said Owen. "Before I decided to do the solo thing, we put a band together and did some dates late last year to see if the fans were still out there. When I came back I was totally convinced we needed to do this."

Randy teamed up with John Rich to produce One On One for the newly-formed DMP Records label. The multi-faceted Rich, who has produced Gretchen Wilson, his own duo Big & Rich, James Otto, Jewel, and John Anderson's critically-acclaimed Easy Money album, jumped at the chance to work with the legend. "John's so smart about what he wants to hear," said Randy of the experience. "And the musicians he works with in the studio understand what he wants. We really took our time with it and didn't rush it, and I'm really pleased with what we came out with."

His long connection with his fans is the exact reason he titled the album One On One. "I feel like this album is a real personal thing - me to you," he says passionately. "The song 'One On One' is one of the most personal songs on the album."

The first single from One On One¸ entitled "Braid My Hair," came to Randy in a very creative manner. Writers Chris Gray and Brent Wilson - who never had a song released as a single - knew Randy Owen was the man to cut the song but ran into brick walls on every avenue they used to get the song to him. Gray finally tracked down the address to Randy's mother's house and sent the song to her. She listened to the song, liked it and passed it along to her son.

The song became the first single from One On One, and 100% of the publishing proceeds from the song will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "How much more loving and compassionate can you get than that song," asked Randy. "It's so real, and I've seen this lived out over and over at St. Jude. It's an incredible story done in song. To kick this album off with this song is definitely right way to go."

For over 25 years Randy was the front man and lead vocalist of one of the most prolific groups in the history of music. The band signed a recording contract with RCA Records in 1980, launching a career that to date has resulted in 21 gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums, 42 number one singles and, again, over 73 million albums sold. Alabama received over 150 industry awards including eight country music "Entertainer of the Year" honors, two Grammys, two People's Choice Awards and their very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They were named the "Artist of the Decade" by the Academy of Country Music in 1989 and "Country Group of the Century" by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1999. In November 2005, Randy and his Alabama Band mates received Country Music's highest honor, being inducted into The Country Music Hall of Fame.

"I'm very proud of everything we accomplished, and I hold what we did with Alabama as a very sacred part of my life," Randy concludes.

Randy's passion for helping others is evident through the types of causes he and the band choose to support. Alabama played an integral role in raising millions of dollars for schools, public service organizations, hospitals, youth ranches and scholarships. But no organization is dearer to Randy's heart than the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Tickets for this show will be available on Monday, April 21 at www.cfdrodeo.com, by calling 800.22.RODEO or 307.778.7222, or at TicketsWest by calling 866.464.2626.

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