Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor.[3]
Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 50 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including 16 that reached the No. 1 position. Considered a pivotal figure in the history of country music,[1] Travis broke through in the mid-1980s with the release of his album Storms of Life, which sold more than four million copies. The album established him as a major force in the neotraditional country movement. Travis followed up his successful debut with a string of platinum and multi-platinum albums. He is known for his distinctive baritone vocals, delivered in a traditional style that has made him a country music star since the 1980s.
By the mid-1990s, Travis saw a decline in his chart success. In 1997, he left Warner Bros. Records for DreamWorks Records and then for Word Records, where he began recording more Christian material. Although the career shift produced only one more number-one country hit "Three Wooden Crosses", Travis went on to earn several Dove Awards, including Country Album of the Year five times. Since his stroke, which severely limited his singing and speaking ability, he has released archival recordings and made limited public appearances. In addition to his singing career, he pursued an acting career, appearing in numerous films and television series, including The Rainmaker (1997) with Matt Damon, Black Dog (1998) with Patrick Swayze, Texas Rangers (2001) with James Van Der Beek, National Treasure 2 (2007) and seven episodes of the Touched by an Angel television series. He appeared in two episodes of the crime solving television series, Matlock.
Travis sold over 25 million records and has won seven Grammy Awards,[4] six CMA Awards, eleven ACM Awards, 10 AMA Awards, eight GMA Dove Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[1][5] In 2016, Travis was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.[6]
Randy Bruce Traywick was born on May 4, 1959, in Marshville, North Carolina,[1][7] as the second of six children of Bobbie (née Tucker) (May 16, 1937 - May 21, 1998), a textile factory worker, and Harold Traywick (March 31, 1933 - October 8, 2016), a horse breeder, turkey farmer, substitute school teacher, and construction business owner.[8][9]
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.[3] 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.[1] 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;[10] he later became a juvenile delinquent and was arrested for various offenses, including auto theft and burglary.[3] However, Travis has since voiced regret for his past misdeeds.[11]
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,[3] hired him as a cook, and gave him regular singing jobs at the club.[9] 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.[1]
In 1978, he began recording for Paula Records.[3] 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.[2] A full album on Paula Records was never released. Travis moved in with Hatcher, which put further strain on her already fragile marriage. She eventually left her husband and, in 1982, she and Travis moved to Nashville, Tennessee. During this time an unlikely romance began to form between the two. Travis would later comment, "I think we discovered how much we needed each other."[12] He and Hatcher eventually came forward with their relationship and were married in a private ceremony in 1991.[12]
Music career[edit source]
Travis performing in 2003
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."