Randy Randy Travis (born Bruce Traywick) is an American country and gospel singer, songwriter, and actor. In his singing career, he has released 20 studio albums and more than 50 singles that have hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Travis had a difficult life and was on the verge of becoming a juvenile criminal, facing charges of stealing and burglary, when he was saved by his future manager Elizabeth Hatcher, who hired him as a cook and vocalist at her club. Travis signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records and released hit albums like “Storms of Life,” “Always & Forever,” and others after their personal and professional relationship blossomed. He has 22 number one hits, six number one albums, six Grammy Awards, six Country Music Association Awards, nine ACM Awards, ten AMA Awards, seven Dove Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Travis transitioned from country music to acting, appearing in a number of television shows and features. After a long career in the cinema, he returned to music, this time specializing in gospel singing. He is credited with accidentally paving the way for a slew of young country musicians that wished to return to the genre’s traditional sound.
Childhood and Adolescence
Randy Travis was born to Bobbie Tucker and Harold Traywick in Marshville, North Carolina. His father worked as a horse breeder, turkey farmer, substitute teacher, and construction company owner, while his mother worked in the textile industry.
Travis’ musical skill was encouraged by his father, who was a lover of artists such as Hank Williams and George Jones, and he began playing guitar and singing in church at the age of eight.
Travis and his brother, Ricky, began pursuing their musical aspirations as the ‘Traywick Brothers’ by performing at local clubs and in local talent shows when Travis was ten years old.
Travis had an abrasive childhood, in which he frequently battled with his father and also dropped out of school. He was arrested multiple times as a juvenile delinquent for offenses such as larceny and burglary.
Travis finally won a local talent contest in a North Carolina nightclub in 1975. Elizabeth Hatcher, the club’s owner, employed him as a cook and gave him a regular opportunity to perform at the club.
Career of Randy Travis
Hatcher took over as Travis’ manager, and the two of them began to focus solely on his musical career. With Paula Records, he published his first album, ‘Randy Traywick,’ in 1978. The album was not a commercial success.
Travis and Hatcher relocated to Tennessee and worked menial jobs for several years before being signed by Warner Bros. Records in 1985. Unfortunately, his first single, ‘On The Other Hand,’ failed to chart.
Despite the failure of his debut single, Warner Bros. Records issued his second single, ‘1982,’ in 1986, and the song reached the Top 10 on the country music charts for the first time.
Following the success of ‘1982,’ the recording business re-released ‘On The Other Hand,’ in the hopes of having a stronger response this time, and the tune did extremely well on the charts. It climbed to the top of the rankings.
This led to the release of Travis’ first album, ‘Storms of Life,’ which featured both ‘1982’ and ‘On The Other Hand.’ The album reached the top of the country music charts at No. 1.
Travis received numerous prizes and distinctions for his outstanding achievements in country music, and in the same year, he was inducted into the legendary Grand Ole Opry.
‘Always & Forever (1988)’ and ‘Old 8×10 (1989)’ were issued under Warner Bros. Records in the following years. Travis received Grammy Awards for both albums in the category of Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
Travis focused on his acting career in the 1990s, appearing in films such as ‘Dead Man’s Revenge (1994)’, ‘Steel Chariots (1997)’, ‘The Rainmaker (1997)’, ‘T.N.T (1998)’, ‘The Million Dollar Kid (1999)’, and others.
He transitioned from popular to gospel music in the late 1990s and early 2000s, releasing albums such as “A Man Ain’t Made of Stone (1999),” “Inspirational Journey (2000),” “Rise and Shine (2002),” “Worship & Faith (2003),” and others.
Major Projects of Randy Travis
He began his career as a country singer, winning numerous awards including Grammys and being placed 13 on CMT’s 40 Greatest Men of Country Music, before moving on to acting and gospel music.
Achievements & Awards
Travis has won numerous awards, including six Grammys (one for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, ‘I Told You So’ with Carrie Underwood), seven Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association, and six Country Music Association Awards, and nine American Music Awards, among others.
Personal History and Legacy
Travis married Elizabeth Hatcher, his long-time manager, and fiancée, in Maui in 1991, but their marriage ended in divorce in 2010, ending their business relationship as well.
In 2013, he was taken to a Dallas hospital with viral cardiomyopathy following a viral upper respiratory infection; his status was described as critical at the time. While in the hospital, he had a stroke and underwent brain surgery.
Randy Travis’s Net Worth
Trivia
He was arrested in 2012 after being discovered with an open bottle of wine and smelling of alcohol in a parked automobile outside a church in Texas. He received two years probation, a $2,000 fine, and a 180-day suspended jail sentence after being found guilty in court.