{"id":14852,"date":"2019-05-03T23:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-05-04T05:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1794278"},"modified":"2019-05-03T23:00:59","modified_gmt":"2019-05-04T05:00:59","slug":"ten-favorite-randy-travis-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/music-news\/ten-favorite-randy-travis-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Favorite Randy Travis Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"byline\">by <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/author\/morrise\/\" title=\"Posts by Edward Morris\" rel=\"author\">Edward Morris<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"date\">11h ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<p>Apart from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/artists\/george-strait\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">George Strait<\/a>, who seemed to create his own category, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/artists\/randy-travis\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Randy Travis<\/a> stood tallest among the \u201cNew Traditionalists\u201d who brought so much excitement to country music during the 1980s.<\/p>\n<p>This tribe of young males also included such back-to-basic figures as Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam, John Anderson and Ricky Van Shelton.<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"d115c127\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"><noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-85850661-1525442870.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-85850661-1525442870.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-85850661-1525442870.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-85850661-1525442870.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-85850661-1525442870.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-85850661-1525442870.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-85850661-1525442870.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-85850661-1525442870.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Photo of Randy TRAVIS\" class=\"js-srcset-img shortcode-image\" alt><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<div class=\"photocredit\">Ebet Roberts\/Redferns<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He was born Randy Traywick May 4, 1959 in Marshville, N.C. into a family that loved country music. He became something of a hellion in his teenage years and was facing jail time for a series of minor offenses until an understanding judge released him into the custody of Elizabeth \u201cLib\u201d Hatcher in whose Charlotte nightclub he had been performing.<\/p>\n<p>Impressed by his rich, resonant singing voice and skill as a songwriter, Hatcher moved with him to Nashville in 1981, where he took a job as a dishwasher at the Nashville Palace club near what was then the Opryland theme park. There, between bouts in the kitchen, he would go out on stage and sing under the name Randy Ray.<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"a612f1b1\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"><noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-91148568-1525442896.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-91148568-1525442896.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-91148568-1525442896.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-91148568-1525442896.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-91148568-1525442896.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-91148568-1525442896.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-91148568-1525442896.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-91148568-1525442896.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Photo of Randy TRAVIS and George JONES\" class=\"js-srcset-img shortcode-image\" alt><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<div class=\"photocredit\">Beth Gwinn\/Redferns<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Finally, he was signed by a talent scout for Warner Bros. Records, where he debuted as Randy Travis. His first single for the label, \u201cOn the Other Hand,\u201d went No. 1 in 1985. From there on it was bright lights all the way.<\/p>\n<p>During his recording career, Travis charted 50 singles, 16 of which went No. 1. Among the chart-toppers were \u201cForever and Ever Amen,\u201d \u201cI Told You So,\u201d \u201cToo Gone Too Long\u201d and \u201cHard Rock Bottom of Your Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Because he was shy and not known to date anyone, rumors persisted that Travis was gay. In 1991, the singer interrupted his performance at the annual Country Radio Seminar to angrily deny a story to that effect that has just appeared in <em>The National Enquirer<\/em>. That same year, he married the considerably older Hatcher. They would remain wed until 2010.<\/p>\n<p>The New Traditionalists \u2014 again excepting Strait \u2014 were somewhat eclipsed in the early 1990s by the meteoric rise of such stars as Garth Brooks and Clint Black. During that decade, Travis hits became fewer, although partly because he had moved from Nashville to Hawaii and was also acting in movies. His last No. 1, the religiously tinged, \u201cThree Wooden Crosses,\u201d came in 2002.<\/p>\n<p>After his divorce from Hatcher, Travis embarked on series of drinking escapades near his ranch in Texas that led to his being arrested, fined and sentenced to probation. In 2013, he suffered a near-fatal stroke that cost him both his mobility and his singing voice, a tragedy from which he is still recovering under the care of his second wife, Mary.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"d1f2790a\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"><noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-615066158-1525383131.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-615066158-1525383131.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-615066158-1525383131.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-615066158-1525383131.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-615066158-1525383131.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-615066158-1525383131.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-615066158-1525383131.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-615066158-1525383131.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Garth Brooks helps induct Travis into the Country Music Hall of Fame.\" class=\"js-srcset-img shortcode-image\" alt><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<div class=\"photocredit\">Rick Diamond\/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame &amp; Museum<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Here are 10 songs that illustrate the starry trajectory of Travis\u2019 career:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"listicle-container\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cOn the Other Hand\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriters: Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cForever and Ever Amen\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriters: Overstreet and Schlitz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cI Told You So\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriter: Travis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cDiggin\u2019 Up Bones\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriters: Overstreet, Nat Stuckey and Al Gore<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cHe Walked on Water\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriter: Allen Shamblin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cHeroes and Friends\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriters: Schlitz and Travis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cBetter Class of Losers\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriters: Songwriters: Alan Jackson and Travis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cIf I Didn\u2019t Have You\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriters: Max D. Barnes and Skip Ewing<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cThe Box\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriters: Buck Moore and Travis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cThree Wooden Crosses\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Songwriters: Doug Johnson and Kim Williams<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"author\">\n<div class=\"description\">Edward Morris is a veteran of country music journalism. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a frequent contributor to CMT.com.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1794278\/ten-favorite-randy-travis-songs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Edward Morris 11h ago Apart from George Strait, who seemed to create his own category, Randy Travis stood tallest among the \u201cNew Traditionalists\u201d who brought so much excitement to country music during the 1980s. This tribe of young males also included such back-to-basic figures as Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam, John Anderson and Ricky Van [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14852","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-11 11:35:01","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}