<\/p>\n
A historic moment happened at one of Alabama\u2019s recent concerts.<\/p>\n
The country music<\/a> band surprised fans with special reunion during their show at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama on Saturday night, Aug. 23.<\/p>\n Before Alabama\u2019s last song of the night, \u201cMountain Music,\u201d singer\/guitarist Randy Owen and bassist\/backing singer Teddy Gentry, the group\u2019s two surviving founding members, were joined onstage by drummer Mark Herndon.<\/p>\n The performance marked the first time that Herndon played with the band in more than 20 years, according to a Facebook post<\/a> from Alabama. The last time Herndon played with Alabama was during a 2003 to 2004 farewell tour.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like a little kid all day,\u201d Herndon said, according to PEOPLE<\/a>. \u201cIt was so cathartic for everybody. I think it was on God\u2019s time. I really do. It was magic all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n Herndon was Alabama\u2019s longtime touring drummer. He joined the group \u2014 consisting of Owen, Gentry, and now-deceased guitarist Jeff Cook<\/a> \u2014 in the late \u201870s. Herndon was part of the group when Alabama reached their peak of fame in \u201880s \u2014 racking up 26 country No. 1 hits, earning several multi-platinum albums and winning numerous major awards.<\/p>\n In 2008, as reported by USA Today<\/a>, Alabama sued Herndon for around $200,000 in alleged overpayments following the band\u2019s last tour. Herndon denied the allegations.<\/p>\n When Owen, Gentry and Cook reformed Alabama in 2013, Herndon was left out of the reunion. Owen told the press Herndon was never an official band member. And although Herndon was pictured in band photos and on albums, that was at the behest of Alabama\u2019s label, RCA Records, and Alabama used session drummers in the studio drummer.<\/p>\n \u201cThey [RCA Records] wanted the four [members] so they could compare it to The Beatles,\u201d Owen said in a 2014 interview with the Tennessean<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI never thought anything about it because everybody knew Mark had nothing to do with the structure with Alabama,\u201d he continued. \u201cHe didn\u2019t play on the albums. He was just on the stage with us, as were several other people. Had we been smart enough, there never would have been four people in the pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n Owen added that he doesn\u2019t \u201chave one thing against [Herndon] in any way in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n After the show Saturday night, Gentry explained how he always hoped to play with Alabama again.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t burn bridges,\u201d Gentry said, per PEOPLE. \u201cMe and Mark continued to be friends over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n Alabama has several shows<\/a> scheduled from now through October, including an Oct. 9 show at the DCU Center<\/a> in Worcester<\/a>.<\/p>\nMore Country Music News<\/h2>\n