Randy Travis is one of the biggest country stars of all time, and his fellow country musicians are ready to celebrate him and bring awareness to a health issue that dramatically changed his life. Travis, best known for songs like “Deeper Than the Holler” and “Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart,” will be honored at a concert called “A Heroes and Friends Tribute to Randy Travis.”
Ahead of the concert, scheduled to take place in October, the singer spoke to Fox News Digital about his lengthy career. Travis, who has limited speech after surviving a massive stroke in 2013 that left him with aphasia, said the fact that so many country stars are coming together to honor his career means “a lot” to him.
Mary, his wife, primarily speaks for her husband and elaborated, saying, “It means a lot to him. I mean, to know that he made the music that he made and that it stands the test of time.” Mary told Fox News Digital that she calls Randy’s catalog “the hymn of country music” because “that’s what his songs kind of do for people. They take them to a time and a place that’s very special to them.”
The tribute concert is set to take place at Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 pm. Performers haven’t been named yet, but a portion of the proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Randy Travis Foundation, which focuses on stroke and aphasia awareness and supporting music education in schools.
Travis started making country music in 1978 but didn’t see significant success until 1985. His first single to hit the Top 19 on the Billboard country charts was “1982.” After that song became a hit, his record label re-released an earlier single, “On the Other Hand,” which hit the top of the charts. Those songs were on his debut album, along with the songs “Digging Up Bones” and “No Place Like Home.”
He released four singles from his second album “Forever and Always, Amen,” “I Told You So,” “Too Gone For Too Long,” and “I Won’t Need You Anymore (Always and Forever,” and all four songs became hits on the country charts. The album also gave Randy his first Best Male Country Vocal Performance Grammy.
He continued releasing hits throughout the rest of the ’80s and the ’90s and went on to win another Grammy Award with the album “8×10.” Then in 2000, he began his journey into Christian country music with his debut album in that genre, “Inspirational Journey.” He would win three more Grammys with this music and another hit song in “Three Wooden Crosses.”
After a respiratory infection, he developed viral cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that left him in critical condition. Days after that diagnosis, he had a significant stroke requiring surgery to relieve his brain’s pressure. Because of the stroke, he developed aphasia. While he has no problem understanding what’s said to him, he does have issues with speaking himself, and he’s often only able to talk or sing a few words at a time.
Travis also agreed, while Mary explained that their faith helped them through his health struggles. She said, “He’s very faithful. We, you know, we leaned hard on God. It’s been 10 years since the stroke, and that’s hard to believe. There’s really no words for it, and there’s not a day that goes by that I just don’t thank God for his grace and his mercy.”
She said that the first few years after the stroke were spent in rehabilitation and “wondering if we had another day on this sweet earth,” but Randy is doing very well now – he had an appointment with his cardiologist last week and was told everything looks good. Now that they’re in a more stable place with his health, they look forward to doing more charity work with the Randy Travis Foundation.