Randy Travis Health Update: First Video of Star Since Stroke
Ever since Randy Travis suffered a severe heart malady and subsequent stroke on July 7th of 2013, fans have been concerned about the condition of the country star, with little to no true information about his health condition or status, or his prognosis for recovery. Pictures have emerged of the ailing country star upon occasion as Randy still tries to recover from paralysis suffered during the stroke and emergency brain surgery he underwent to relieve pressure on his brain, but video that can help more clearly define how Randy has been doing has been absent.
Now we get to see the first video of Randy, who is seen walking with the aid of a cane and looking good as he attended an annual fundraising function in in Denison, TX for Four Rivers Outreach at a North Texas Regional Airport hangar. Though Randy looks healthy, he is still not speaking much, which is what he’s working most on according to his fiancee Mary Davis.
“Every day we go to speech therapy and physical therapy and occupational therapy,” says Mary Davis to ABC’s KTEN in Texoma who was was covering the function. “We’re learning words and phrases, learning to sing, of course, the music and the songs come easy for him, just the enunciation of words. But he’s working on it! He’s got the heart of a warrior and he doesn’t stop … He knows that the road ahead of us is is long and tedious, but he’s up for the challenge and he’s never never shied away from it. Never asked why me.”
The fundraiser crowd applauded when Travis walking into the hangar and was able sit down unassisted. Randy was released from impatient care in October of 2013.
Larry Gatlin was also at the fundraiser. “I have not seen randy since last year when we were here. I really feel bad about what has happened to him.” Randy performing at the Four River Outreach benefit helped the organization raise $169,000 last year. This year they hoped to crest $200,000, and though Travis couldn’t perform, his appearance after his health issues still made the night special. “Just being able to be here is a big improvement because he couldn’t even get out of the hospital and travel for a long time,” said Executive Director Arthur Horn.
See the complete report from KTEN below.
September 19, 2014 @ 10:28 am
Assuming no additional setbacks, I am betting RT comes back well enough to perform again. That would be awesome. Go Randy!
(Hey, if Brian Wilson can perform brain-damaged, anybody can! 😯 )
September 19, 2014 @ 1:06 pm
100% agree.
It’s pisses me off when articles like this are lucky to get 10 reply’s but a Taylor Swift/FGL article would already have 50 comments!
September 19, 2014 @ 12:45 pm
I’m glad he feels better, I think he’s had a pretty troubled life and I wish him the best!
also bought his new album ‘Influences vol.2’ and it is great!
September 19, 2014 @ 2:35 pm
Way to go, Randy! Good to see him out and about and smiling. Here’s to continuing to regain strength and vocal abilities. Thanks for the update, Trigger!
September 19, 2014 @ 3:28 pm
I appreciate you posting this update Trigger . I have Randy on the iPod when I’m driving , hiking or on set breaks . Man he did justice to some incredible writes .
There are only a handful of singers who can bring me to tears with a performance and Randy has always been one of them .
This is encouraging news and that is all we can hope for for Randy .
September 19, 2014 @ 4:34 pm
I realize other neo-traditionalist performers were around and having success before Randy Travis ‘Storms of Life’ but for me that record was a turning point in country music. Here’s hoping Randy Travis continues to improve.
September 19, 2014 @ 4:56 pm
A guy can dream: but imagine the emotion if Randy made a “comeback” appearance on a major award show to sing Three Wooden Crosses.
September 19, 2014 @ 8:12 pm
I thought Jack White’s “tirade” was hilariously on-point. I personally wouldn’t characterize it as “vehement,” since I thought it was pretty clear from the audio that he was clowning around rather than going on some kind of crazy, out-of-his-mind angry rant, but he *did* rag on RollingStone.com pretty hard. Yeah, sites like Buzzfeed are much worse than Rolling Stone, but given Jack’s aversion to social media, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not even aware of Buzzfeed.
Anyway, regarding Jack’s alleged “diss” of the Foo Fighters: apparently at the time the audio above was recorded, Jack had just had a guitar malfunction onstage in the middle of a song (not surprising, given that he uses vintage instruments and equipment most of the time) which created an awkward pause in the live performance, presumably while Jack switched guitars.
“If you’re the Foo Fighters, or some band like that, where you have a second guitar player playing the same parts I play so in case I make a mistake he’s still playing it for you… we [unintelliegible] do stuff like that nowadays… but when you uh… when you’re up at bat at Fenway Park, it’s just you up there, and that’s it! [Audience cheers] And that’s I how I play music! [More cheers]”
It seems to me that Jack was commenting on the fact that he doesn’t have any other musicians around him doubling his parts, so if something malfunctions, the audience just has to put up with it, which is what happened at Fenway. As far as I know, the Foos are just an example of a band which has three guitarists onstage in the live setting, one of whom sometimes plays the exact same parts as Dave Grohl, as Jack described.
Also, as others online have pointed out, some popular bands also have extra musicians who play offstage or behind backdrops (not to mention pre-recorded tracks.) And supposedly, some stadium bands like U2 actually have several musicians playing behind or beneath the stage in order to bolster the sound and keep the music flowing smoothly in case anyone screws up or breaks a string. I think this is an important point which also merits discussion.
Anyway, I thought White’s stage banter was more of a “humble brag” than an “attack” on the Foo Fighters per se, but I think he probably realized as soon as he mentioned another band by name that his comments would get posted online and run through the mill of media sensationalism, which is exactly what happened.
Today the PR firm Nasty Little Man, which represents both Jack White and the Foo Fighters released a statement saying that Jack was trying to make a “self-deprecating joke,” and that he has the “utmost respect” for the Foo Fighters, and contacted Grohl to talk today.
Anyway, I’m just glad the hype-machine blog world we have today didn’t exist during the prime careers of our favorite legendary country performers. I bet Johnny Cash said some pretty crazy stuff onstage during his wild days. And I know Waylon had an unfortunate tendency to go off on “rants” at times, including against some of his best friends, such as Willie Nelson.
September 19, 2014 @ 8:14 pm
Dang it!
Trigger, can you please delete this comment… I accidentally left it on the wrong article somehow.
Thanks.
September 20, 2014 @ 8:30 am
In all of the post-stroke photo’s we’ve seen of him so far he’s always had the same look on his face and I’ve been worried that he was basically a vegetable. It was great to see him actually moving around a bit, walking, scratching his face, little things to show he’s not a vegetable and he is improving.
And I’m not saying this as a joke, but my wife was watching some reality show about Tree House builders last night and Brian Kelley was having one built for him, and I swear Randy looked just as vibrant sitting at the table in this video as Kelley did talking to the host of the show.
September 20, 2014 @ 10:09 pm
If there is ever a time we need him in Country Music it is now.
September 21, 2014 @ 2:18 pm
I am a Randy fan, always will be.
Country Music has many, many good artists like Randy.
There’s no lack of good artists….it’s the lack of Country Music fans. The fans are fading and not buying their music. It all falls back on the lack of authentic Country Music fans. They’ve flown the coop.
I listened to the Pop station today. Every single song had the same beat and recipe. I switched to the Country station and heard the same rhythmic recipe. They have it down to a science. The words change, but buying fans…consumers want that beat.
September 22, 2014 @ 10:44 am
Thanks for sharing and posting Trigger. I try to stay updated on him when at all possible!! First time I’ve read about this latest update.
Think of him often. Play his music even more. I agree with his fiance… heart of a warrior. Don’t doubt it for a second. He is our country music gem. Golden voice.
Thanks again.
September 22, 2014 @ 4:58 pm
He looks a little out of it. It still does the heart good to see him doing better, though. Get well, Randy!
September 25, 2014 @ 7:08 pm
So glad to hear he’s fighting for his recovery, and doing well with it .Prayers up for Mr Travis, would love to hear from him musically again, he’s sorely missed.
October 31, 2014 @ 5:45 am
Hang in there brother. I know strokes are a real pain. I’m a 61 year-old veteran who suffered my first one at 29 and subsequently ended up getting medically discharged from the Navy. God bless you
June 12, 2015 @ 3:54 am
Get well soon Randy. I had a stroke in 2008 and decided to live with it.