Heartland -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

NASHVILLE, June 6 (UPI) -- The band Lonestar has become known for music that captures the nation's emotions, songs that seem to say exactly what many of us are thinking.

A couple of years after "Amazed" became a country and pop standard love song and wedding staple, the multiplatinum-selling band brings us "I'm Already There," a poignant song about missing those you love.

The No. 1 song has been out for months, making its round around the nominations ballots for multiple award shows. Now, it has brought a unique honor to Lonestar.

The four men in Lonestar will be given the 2002 Fatherhood Award at the National Fatherhood Initiative's fifth annual Awards Gala Dinner on Tuesday in San Antonio, Texas.

The honor is going to men who know all about fatherhood. Collectively, the band members have six children and one on the way (Guitarist Michael Britt's first child is due in July).

"No matter how much success we may achieve, our families will always be the greatest rewards of our lives," keyboardist Dean Sams said. "As fathers we have had to balance our careers and family lives for years. It's no surprise that in this time of our society, so many others share a similar experience."

The story of the song has become almost as popular as the single itself.

"I'm Already There," written by lead singer Richie McDonald with Gary Baker and Frank Myers, was inspired by a conversation McDonald had with his young son, Rhett, while McDonald was hundreds of miles away, on the road with the band.

When Rhett asked his dad when he would be home, McDonald replied "he was already there, just look around." The song lists the subtle ways that his father's presence is always with him from the way the child looks to items in the home.

In the months since the title track to Lonestar's latest album has been on the radio, the single has become an anthem for many families who are separated, including those in America's military forces.

In a touching TV moment, Lonestar was on-hand in early January for a reunion on "Good Morning America" when U.S. Navy Chief Brett Litchfield returned from more than a year of service overseas.

On a show the week before that featured Navy wives, the Litchfield family said they had adopted "I'm Already There" as the family theme song and that the two young daughters would sing this song to their absent father. Hearing this, "Good Morning America" host Diane Sawyer coined the song "The Daddy Come Home Song."

So on the morning of Litchfield's return and televised reunion with his family, Lonestar was on-hand to surprise the family with a performance of the song.

"We've have received a ton of mail from people letting us know about the impact that 'I'm Already There' has had on their lives," McDonald said following the CBS performance. "To see it first hand was a tremendous thrill."

Lonestar is not the first country act to receive the Fatherhood Award. Tim McGraw has been among the recipients since the awards began in 1997. The Fatherhood Awards are presented annually to men, women and organizations who, by virtue of their accomplishments, contributions or the example they have set in their every day lives, make a substantial contribution to strengthening involved, responsible, and committed fatherhood. The 2002 Fatherhood Awards Gala Dinner, is being held in conjunction with the fifth annual National Summit on Fatherhood.