What Happened to Randy Travis, the Country Music Singer?
Randy Travis is a country music singer who shot to fame in the 1980s. He’s best known for his hits like “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “I Told You So.” In recent years, Travis has been through a lot of personal struggles, and many fans are wondering what happened to him. Here’s an update on the singer’s life and career.
Introduction
Randy Travis is a country music singer who enjoyed success in the 1980s and 1990s. He has sold more than 25 million records and has had 22 number one singles. He is also a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. However, in recent years, Randy Travis has been in the news for his legal troubles and health problems rather than for his music.
In 2012, Travis was arrested for driving while intoxicated. He pled guilty and was fined and placed on probation. In 2013, he was arrested again for driving while intoxicated, this time with a blood alcohol level that was nearly twice the legal limit. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 180 days in jail, although he was given credit for time served and ended up serving only two weeks.
In July 2013, Travis was hospitalized for viral cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that can be caused by certain viruses. He underwent surgery to receive a mechanical assist device to help his heart pump blood. He spent several months in the hospital recovering from his condition.
In 2014, Travis pleaded guilty to charges of driving while intoxicated and driving with an invalid license stemming from an arrest in 2012. He was sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and spend at least 30 days at an inpatient alcohol treatment facility.
Travis’ health problems have continued in recent years. In 2016, he suffered a stroke while undergoing surgery to relieve pressure on his brain from a cerebral hemorrhage. The stroke left him with difficulty speaking and walking. In 2017, he had surgery to insert a pacemaker.
Despite all of these challenges, Randy Travis continues to perform occasionally and is working on new music. In 2019, he released a new album called “First Time Forever.”
Early Life and Career
Randy Bruce Traywick, better known as Randy Travis, was born on May 4, 1959, in Mars Hill, North Carolina. The youngest of six children, he was raised in a strict Pentecostal home. His father, Harold Traywick, was a construction worker and his mother, Diane Ogletree Traywick, was a beauty salon owner. When he was three years old, his parents divorced and he was raised by his mother. Growing up, Travis had a troubled relationship with his father and he dropped out of high school when he was only seventeen years old.
Travis began his singing career in the early 1980s performing at country clubs and bars in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1983, he recorded an album titled Storms of Life which was released the following year. The album was a huge success and helped to launch Travis’s career in country music. He went on to release several more successful albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s including Always & Forever (1987) and High Lonesome (1991).
In the early 2000s, Travis’s career began to decline due to personal problems including alcohol abuse and divorce. He struggled with alcoholism for many years and was arrested several times for drunken driving. In 2012, he suffered a stroke which caused him to lose the ability to speak and walk. Although he has since made a recovery, his health problems have prevented him from returning to his singing career.
Health Issues
Randy Travis is a country music singer who has had a number of health issues in recent years. In 2013, he suffered a stroke and had to be hospitalized for several weeks. In 2014, he underwent brain surgery to remove a blood clot. Then, in 2015, he was hospitalized again with congestive heart failure. He has since made a slow but steady recovery and has even started performing again.
Later Career
In the mid-2000s, Travis’ career was rejuvenated. He began touring again and released several new albums, including 2006’s Worship & Faith and 2008’s Around the Bend, which featured a collaboration with country music legend Willie Nelson. In 2010, he won a Grammy Award for “I Told You So,” a duet with Carrie Underwood.
In 2012, Travis was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. That same year, he was hospitalized with a viral heart infection and underwent brain surgery. He made a partial recovery but has since been plagued by health problems. In 2013, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and in 2015, he was sentenced to two years probation after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated from an incident in 2012.
Personal Life
Randy Travis was born in 1959 in Marshville, North Carolina, the youngest of six children. His father, Harold Traywick, was a truck driver who later abandoned the family; his mother, Margaret (Peggy) Traywick, worked as a waitress. Drumming and singing from an early age, Travis played basketball in high school and was offered a music scholarship to Appalachian State University but declined it to focus on his music. He began performing with various country acts in the late 1970s and soon after moved to Nashville, where he worked as a demo singer for $10 an hour. In 1983 he landed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records and released his debut album, Storms of Life, which went on to sell more than three million copies.
Death
Randy Travis, the country music singer, died on July 26, 2019, at the age of 54. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Travis rose to fame in the 1980s with a string of hits, including “On the Other Hand” and “Forever and Ever, Amen.” He won six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
In recent years, Travis had been beset by health problems. In 2013, he suffered a stroke and underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. In 2014, he was hospitalized with viral cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that can be caused by viral infections.