Randy Travis Biography

Randy Travis was born in 1959 in Marshville, North Carolina. Randy’s father was a big fan of country music and encouraged all his children to pursue their aspirations as performers, and so young Travis began learning the guitar when he was only eight. As a child and teenager, Randy frequently performed in local clubs, churches, and talent competitions. Despite a self-released debut album which arrived in 1978, Travis was unable to garner the attention of labels, until Warner Bros. Records signed him in 1985 and released two singles, “On the Other Hand” and “1982,” the latter of which broke into the top ten.

A debut album, followed, Storms of Live, which rose to multi-platinum status and launched Randy Travis’s career. For the rest of the 1980’s and 1990’s, Randy Travis released a series of highly successful albums, including: Always & Forever (1987), Old 8x10 (1988), No Holdin’ Back (1989), Heroes & Friends (1990), High Lonesome (1991), Wind in the Wire (1993), This is Me (1994), Full Circle (1996), You and You Alone (1998), and A Man Ain’t Made of Stone (1999.) The albums spawned the number one country singles “Forever and Ever, Amen,” “I Won’t Need You Anymore (Always and Forever),” “Too Gone Too Long,” “I Told You So,” “Honky Tonk Moon,” “Is It Still Over?,” “Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart,” “Forever Together,” “If I Didn’t Have You,” “Look Heart, No Hands,” and “Whisper My Name.”

In the new millennium, Randy Travis has shifted his focus to gospel music, releasing a series of successful albums in that genre: Inspirational Journey (2000), Rise and Shine (2002), Worship & Faith (2003), Passing Through (2004), Around the Bend (2008), and Blessed Assurance (2011.) Travis also launched an acting career in the 1990’s which has lasted into recent years, appearing in such films as: Frank & Jesse (1994), The Rainmaker (1997), Black Dog (1998), and Texas Rangers (2001.)

Randy Travis has been recognized with ten American Music Awards, nine Academy of Country Music Awards, and six Grammy Awards, including ones for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Randy Travis continues to perform and record, and is currently planning for his next studio album release.