Randle Lynn Chowning (born April 4, 1950, in Mountain View, Missouri) is an American musician best known as the founder, one of the lead vocalists, and the lead guitarist of the

Ozark Mountain Daredevils The Ozark Mountain Daredevils are an American rock band formed in 1972 in Springfield, Missouri. They are most widely known for their singles " If You Wanna Get to Heaven" in 1974 and " Jackie Blue" in 1975. Bassist Michael "Supe" Granda has a ...

High school and college

From a very early age Chowning was surrounded by electric guitars and amplifiers in his father’s TV and radio shop. In 1960 Randle and his family moved to

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

where the

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s American television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ''Country Mu ...

country music show was in its heyday. Randle’s musical interest broadened. Taking up guitar around this time he began learning songs in a variety of styles. He played a number of club bands during high school and college.

Ozark Mountain Daredevils

In 1971 Chowning put together several local songwriters with the intent of performing their material as a group. They later would be known as The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Chowning sang the band’s first chart success “If You Wanna Get To Heaven” which was released on the band's first album, ''The Ozark Mountain Daredevils'', in 1973. The Daredevils continue to perform with two of the original members, Michael "Supe" Granda and John Dillon; however Chowning no longer performs in concert with the band.

Recent work

In the mid 90s, Chowning moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and ultimately teamed up with Ozark Mountain Daredevils co-founder Larry Lee in 2005 to release Beyond Reach, a collection of pop originals backed by some of Nashville’s most versatile studio musicians. After nearly ten years in Nashville, Chowning returned to Springfield, Missouri where he is writing songs that are influenced by rock, country, bluegrass, folk, and blues. He’s still performing with bands, including an acoustic version of Beyond Reach, and also as a solo artist. Randle just finished a much anticipated CD - R.C. and the Keys/All Over the Place, May 2013. The style of the music is "all over the place" and includes a new version of one of his fan's favorite song "Whippoorwill". This CD was recorded in Nashville, TN and in Springfield, MO. In March 2015, Randle Chowning and Larry Lee were inducted into the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame, receiving the coveted Quill Award. This was the first time that the award was given to songwriters. Randle completed a successful Kickstarter Campaign in Dec. 2014. His new Ozark Joe CD is nearing completion at this time. This body of work is a return to his acoustic/folk roots.

References

External links

* http://www.beyondreachmusic.com/ * https://www.facebook.com/pages/Randle-Chowning-Founder-of-the-Ozark-Mountain-Daredevils/167837646057 * https://youtube.com/@RandleChowning2023?feature=shared * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chowning, Randle Living people 1950 births People from Howell County, Missouri Singer-songwriters from Missouri