Cody Jinks has been covering Randy Travis in concert for years, but the moment became extra special on Friday night, January 25th at Heritage Hall in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Shortly after Jinks performed “Diggin’ Up Bones,” Randy Travis himself surprised Cody Jinks by coming out on stage.
Country music legend and Hall of Famer Randy Travis suffered a life-altering bout of viral cardiomyopathy in 2013 that led to a massive stroke and brain surgery, leaving him unable to speak and sing like he did when he was amassing 18 #1 hits and selling over 25 million records.
Beloved and influential country music songwriter Phil Thomas passed away Saturday, January 5th. With prominent songs recorded by artists such as Johnny Paycheck, George Strait, Randy Travis, Alabama, Barbara Mandrell, and more, his fingerprints are all over the sound and style of country from the late 70’s into the early 2000’s.
Whether it was our vehement protestations, or simply patience revealing a more balanced perspective, the recent additions to the Randy Travis Spotify playlist have done a complete 180, and deserve recognition, if not outright praise.
The effrontery of whomever is really responsible for compiling these five songs together and presenting it as an expression of Randy’s tastes or desires is appalling. This is ridiculous, and everyone involved in the perpetration of this ruse must think we are all incredibly gullible, and should be called out publicly.
After five years of legal wrangling, the video of Randy Travis being arrested for DWI after crashing his Trans Am and being found naked in the middle of the road by sheriff’s deputies near Tioga, TX has finally been released. The Randy Travis arrest tape case cuts at very critical matters facing Freedom of the Press, privacy laws, and criminal justice.
Mel Tillis was known for many accomplishments in music, but he’s also known to a generation as being one of the most famous people with the speech impediment known as stuttering. In the 80’s, Whataburger decided to take the initiative with their famous stammering spokesperson to make a point and inspire people.
To put it bluntly, the ability of Blackbird Presents to curate talent for events is pretty terrible, and appears to be done without any true understanding of the layout of the current country music landscape. Some of the invites for these Blackbird Presents events seem so incredibly blind to the realities present in country music fandom, it’s remarkable.
Though perhaps best known for his towering hits for Randy Travis, including “Deeper Than The Holler,” “Heroes and Friends,” “On The Other Hand,” and the aforementioned “Deeper Than The Holler,” Schlitz wrote signature songs for Alabama, Mary Chapin Carpenter, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Paul Overstreet, and scores more.
In the mid 80’s, it was Randy Travis and his neotraditional sound that led country music out of the great abyss of the earlier decade and returned country to its rightful place as a powerful voice for rural people in popular culture. With over 20 million records sold and his recent induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame…
The amount of older talent announced on the presentation so far is quite unprecedented. According to Saving Country Music’s calculations, of the announced performers so far, 16 performers who could be considered either country legends or artists whose careers started before or during the “Class of ’89.”
Well now, perhaps there is a reason for old school traditional country fans to tune into the CMA Awards in 2016. Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, the Country Music Association has promised to honor country music’s past in the presentation, and they have put their money where their mouth is.
Despite still attempting to gain the full ability to speak and walk after his devastating health setbacks of 2013, Randy Travis reportedly stunned the crowd when he sang a rendition of “Amazing Grace” for the assembled country music dignitaries.
Harold Traywick was a big fan of classic country, including Hank Williams, George Jones, and Lefty Frizzell, encouraging his children to pursue their musical talents from a young age. At the age of eight, Randy Travis began playing guitar and singing at the local Church of Christ.
Randy Travis may still be battling back from the multiple health ailments he suffered in 2013 that left the Country Music Hall of Famer with difficulty speaking and walking without assistance, but fans will get a chance to see Randy the way he was right before his stroke when a new short film shot in 2013 called The Price is released.
Tuesday morning (3-29) found country music dignitaries and CMA executives gathered in the rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville to announce the newest members to the storied institution. The event was hosted by the fiery Brenda Lee. The 2016 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees were: — Randy Travis in the […]
Before there was Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, and the other big commercial powerhouses of country music in the late 80’s and early 90’s, there was Randy Travis setting the table for them all, revitalizing the neotraditional sound in country music, opening the door for a new era where country music would reach its commercial pinnacle, and playing a pivotal role in the history of the genre.
As we get to mid February each year, it comes down to nut cutting time for deciding who the next class of inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame will be. Though who gets to decide is a big secret kept by the Country Music Association, or CMA, we all should feel like we have a say so and voice our opinions and hope the right people listen.
Many news outlets have reported on Randy’s performance, but questions remained on just how capable Randy was in singing “Amazing Grace.” Fans of Travis have been hoping and praying for a full recovery for the singer since his health issues. Singing is sometimes easier for individuals dealing with impediments than talking is.
So what’s to learn from hitching a ride in Marty McFly’s time machine and traveling back to 1985? That the problems country music is facing today are virtually the same ones that were being faced 30 years ago. It’s all cyclical, as canonized in the old Gospel tune enshrined in the architecture of the Country Music Hall of Fame asking the question, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?”
We bitch, we moan, we criticize, we celebrate the symbolic little victories that give us hope that a sea change for country music is imminent, or at least slowly taking hold, even though in many respects things only seem to get worse every year. And we look for ways to implement meaningful solutions to the problems plaguing country music so it can once again become a medium of creativity.
A group named “Induct Keith Whitley into The Country Music Hall of Fame” has started a campaign to try and get the Kentucky-born singer and songwriter who died tragically in 1989 into country music’s most elite class. The group has set up an online petition and is asking Keith Whitley fans to add their voices and signatures in support of the effort.
There’s very little that transpired at the 50th Annual ACM Awards that could be salvaged as memorable. But one especially memorable moment transpired when Lee Brice took the stage and started playing Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen.” And when Randy Travis himself emerged from the crowd, standing under his own power, and being acknowledged by a standing ovation, it was hard to not feel the emotion.
It’s about that time of year again to start considering who the Country Music Hall of Fame will include in their list of 2015 inductees. That said, this announcement seems to inch later, and later (and later) each year. Nonetheless, if you want your opinion to amount to anything, you better get it out there early in the year as the people who make the picks for the final ballots and eventually inductees are doing their homework.