REAL
COUNTRY
MUSIC
JUKEBOX
Randy Travis
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Randy Bruce Traywick was born on May 4, 1959, in Marshville, North Carolina, the second of six children of Bobbie Tucker a textile factory worker, and Harold Traywick, a horse breeder, turkey farmer, substitute school teacher, and construction business owner.
Travis and his brother, Ricky, were encouraged to pursue their musical talents by their father, who was a fan of Hank Williams, George Jones, and Lefty Frizzell. In 1967, at the age of eight, Randy began playing guitar and sang in his Church of Christ choir. Two years later, he and his brother began performing at local clubs and talent contests, calling themselves the Traywick Brothers. Although his father encouraged Travis in his pursuit of music, the two often quarreled, which was a contributing factor in Travis dropping out of high school, he later became a juvenile delinquent and was arrested for various offenses, including auto theft and burglary. However, Travis has since voiced regret for his past misdeeds.
In 1975, Randy won a talent contest at a nightclub, Country City USA, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club's owner, Elizabeth "Lib" Hatcher, took an interest in the young singer, hired him as a cook, and gave him regular singing jobs at the club. During the late 1970s, Randy worked and sang at Country City USA. Still in his late teens, Travis had one more encounter with the law. At his hearing, the judge told Travis that if he ever saw the singer back in his court, he should be prepared to go to jail for a long time. Travis was released into the guardianship of Hatcher, who also became his manager. The two began to focus on his career full-time.
In 1978, he began recording for Paula Records. His first single with the label, "Dreamin'", was released in April 1978 and failed to chart. A second single, "She's My Woman", was released in September 1978 and spent four weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 91. A full album on Paula Records was never released. During the early 1980s, Travis was rejected by every major record label in Nashville. His early demo tapes were criticized by record executives as being "too country." In 1982, Travis recorded an independent album Live at the Nashville Palace, and changed his stage name to Randy Travis. In 1985, Warner Bros. Records released the single "On the Other Hand" which peaked at No. 67 on the country charts. His next single, "1982", became a Top 10 hit single.
In 1986, Warner Bros. re-released "On the Other Hand", and the re-release became Travis's first No. 1 single on that chart. These songs were included on his major-label debut Storms of Life, which produced another number-one country single in "Diggin' Up Bones", plus "No Place Like Home", which held the No. 2 position on the Billboard country charts in early 1987. "On the Other Hand", "Diggin' Up Bones", and "No Place Like Home" were all co-written by Paul Overstreet. Storms of Life received its highest Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sales certification in 1992, when it was certified triple-platinum for shipments of 3 million copies. The album's producer was Kyle Lehning, who would also serve in this capacity for nearly all of Travis's subsequent albums. In December 1986, Travis became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Travis's second album for Warner Bros. was Always & Forever. Released in April 1987, it accounted for four singles, all of which made No. 1 at Billboard: "Forever and Ever, Amen" (also co-written by Overstreet), "I Won't Need You Anymore (Always and Forever)", "Too Gone Too Long", and "I Told You So", the last of which Travis wrote himself. Of these, "Forever and Ever, Amen" held the top position for three weeks. Always & Forever won Travis his first Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1987. Old 8×10, his third album, was issued in July 1988. Its first three singles, "Honky Tonk Moon", "Deeper Than the Holler", and "Is It Still Over?", all reached No. 1 as well, while "Promises" was less successful at No. 17. The album achieved its highest RIAA certification of double-platinum in 1996, and won Travis his second Grammy, for Best Country Vocal Performance, with Old 8x10 in 1988. This was followed by Travis's first Christmas album, An Old Time Christmas, late in 1989.
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In 1989, Travis recorded a cover of "It's Just a Matter of Time", which was originally recorded by Brook Benton 30 years prior. Travis cut the song for a multi-artist tribute album titled Rock, Rhythm & Blues which was also released by Warner Bros., and persuaded the label to include it on what would become his fourth Warner album, No Holdin' Back. Travis's version of the song, produced by Richard Perry (who also provided bass vocals on it), was the lead single to that album, and charted at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs in December 1989. It was the second time that a rendition of that song had topped the country charts, as Sonny James had previously sent his version to No. 1 in 1970. Two more singles were released from No Holdin' Back: "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart", which became Travis's longest-lasting No. 1 single at four weeks in 1990, and "He Walked on Water", which peaked at No. 3. The album included one other cover song, "Singing the Blues", along with the track "Somewhere in My Broken Heart", co-written and later recorded by Billy Dean.
Travis's sixth studio album, Heroes & Friends, consisted almost entirely of duets. It produced two singles: "A Few Ole Country Boys" (featuring George Jones) and the title track, also the only solo cut on the album, both made top 10 on the country music charts in 1991. Also in 1991, Travis took part in "Voices That Care", a multi-artist project that featured other top names in music for a one-off single to raise money for the allied troops in the Gulf War. Later in 1992, Travis cut the album Wind in the Wire, a disc of cowboy-inspired Western music intended to accompany a television movie of the same name in which Travis appeared. This disc was his first not to produce any Top 40 country singles. His last album for Warner was 1996's Full Circle, which featured the singles "Are We in Trouble Now" (written by Mark Knopfler), "Would I", and "Price to Pay", the last of which failed to reach the country top 40. Also in 1996, Travis covered Roger Miller's "King of the Road" for the soundtrack to Traveler.
In 1998, Travis won his third Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for Same Old Train. He then signed to DreamWorks Records later in 1998, where he issued You and You Alone. His only other DreamWorks album, A Man Ain't Made of Stone, followed in 1999.
Travis's career from 2000 onward was dominated by Christian country music. His first full album in the genre, 2000's Inspirational Journey, was issued via Word Records. One cut from this album, "Baptism", was originally recorded by Kenny Chesney as a duet with Travis on Chesney's 1999 album Everywhere We Go. The version appearing on Inspirational Journey, a solo rendition by Travis, charted at No. 75 on the country charts in late 2000. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Travis recorded the patriotic song "America Will Always Stand", which charted via distribution from Relentless Records.
Travis's most successful venture in Christian country music was "Three Wooden Crosses". Released in December 2002, In addition, Rise and Shine and Worship & Faith earned Travis his fourth and fifth Grammys in 2003 and 2004, respectively, with Travis taking home the award for Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album in both years. Next came Passing Through, which accounted for his last solo chart entries in "Four Walls" and "Angels". Glory Train: Songs of Faith, Worship, and Praise in 2005 also consisted largely of gospel covers, while his second Christmas album, Songs of the Season, followed in 2007. Travis won his sixth Grammy, for Glory Train, for Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album of the year in 2006.
Around the Bend in 2008 returned Travis to a traditional country style, coinciding with a return to Warner Bros. Nashville. In 2009, Carrie Underwood covered "I Told You So" with Travis on duet vocals, and this collaborative version charted at No. 2 on the country charts and won Travis his seventh Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Travis released two more covers albums in 2013 and 2014: Influence Vol. 1: The Man I Am, and Influence Vol. 2: The Man I Am.
On July 7, 2013, Travis was admitted to a Dallas-area hospital for viral cardiomyopathy after a viral upper respiratory infection. His condition was classified as critical. Three days later, Travis suffered a massive stroke and had surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. On July 15, 2013, it was reported that Travis was awake and alert after undergoing brain surgery, that his heart was pumping without the assistance of machines, and that he was on the road to recovery. In 2016, it was reported he had recovered his voice after about three years of rehabilitation and therapy and could perform again. He attended his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame on October 16, 2016, where he performed a rendition of "Amazing Grace." In 2017, it was noted that Travis had suffered permanent damage,
which disabled his right hand and has limited much of his speech and singing ability; he continues to make public appearances but no longer sings, mainly because of apprehension about his ability to do it as well as he used to. He appeared on-stage with Michael Ray during a cover performance of "Forever and Ever Amen" in June 2017, to which Travis contributed the final "Amen." He did the same during his 60th birthday party, thrown by the Grand Ole Opry on May 4, 2019.
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In September 2019, Travis announced he would return to touring. The tour will feature James Dupré as lead vocalist singing the repertoire with Travis's backing band, with Travis having a limited presence similar to his one-off appearances since 2017.
