May 4: Randy Travis Birthday

 

To me, country music tells a story about, and deals with, the way people live their lives and what they do.
~Randy Travis

I’ve learned the importance of loving what you do. I have also learned more patience due to the nature of the music business.
~Randy Travis

Like the Beatles in rock, Randy Travis marks a generational shift in country music. When his Storms of Life came out in 1986, country music was still wallowing in the post-urban cowboy recession, chasing elusive crossover dreams. Travis brought the music back to its basics, sounding like nothing so much as a perfect blend of George Jones and Merle Haggard.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

On the other hand (live):

Wikipedia:

Birth name	Randy Bruce Traywick
Born	May 4, 1959 (age 58)
Origin	Marshville, North Carolina, USA
Genres	Country, Gospel
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Guitar
Years active	1978–present
Website	www.randy-travis.com

Randy Travis (born May 4, 1959) is an American country music singer and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 50 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and 16 of these were number one hits. Considered a pivotal figure in the history of country music, Travis broke through in the mid-1980s with the release of his album Storms of Life, which sold more than three 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.

By the mid-1990s, Travis saw a decline in his chart success. In 1997, he left Warner Bros. Records for DreamWorks Records and changed his musical focus to gospel music. Although the career shift produced only one more number one country hit “Three Wooden Crosses”, Travis went on to earn several Dove awards, including Album of the Year three times. In addition to his singing career, Travis 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, and seven episodes of the Touched by an Angel television series.

• Travis has sold over 25 million records
• earned 22 number one hits
• 6 number one albums
• 6 Grammy awards
• 6 CMA awards
• 9 ACM awards
• 10 AMA awards
• 7 Dove awards
• and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
  

 

My fav Randy Travis song is Storms of Life: (rare live version from 87): There’s a dirty piece of cardboard That reads Montgomery Ward Taped across the window of my old Ford. A six-pack on the front seat and a box of chicken wings, I’m dialin’ ‘cross the radio for a song that I can sing I’d better change my wandrin ways, I know I’ve seen my better days, Always gettin’ high when I get low. Well, I left my soul out in the rain, Lord, what a price I’ve had to pay. The storms of life are washin’ me away. An old mail pouch, tobacco sign Fadin’ on the barn, Bringin’ back sweet memories of Mama’s farm When love was just a country girl that lived on down the road. Spoken: you know, she almost had me turned around, But that was years ago. I’d better change my wandrin ways, I know I’ve seen my better days, Always gettin’ high when I get low. Well, I left my soul out in the rain, Lord, what a price I’ve had to pay. The storms of life are washin’ me away. Yeah, the storms of life are washin’ me away.

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Randy Travis Live – It Was Just a Matter of Time (documentary – 2000)

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Check out this list:

• Top 10 Randy Travis songs (tasteofcountry.com)

-Egil