Author: DCA WEB

Glen Travis Campbell ~ Albuquerque

Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, guitarist, songwriter, television host, and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.

During his 50 years in show business, Campbell has released more than 70 albums. He has sold 45 million records and accumulated 12 RIAA Gold albums, 4 Platinum albums and 1 Double-Platinum album. He has placed a total of 80 different songs on either the Billboard Country Chart, Billboard Hot 100, and/or the Adult Contemporary Chart, of which 29 made the Top 10 and of which nine reached number one on at least one of those charts. Campbell’s hits include his recordings of John Hartford’s “Gentle on My Mind”; Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”, “Wichita Lineman”, and “Galveston”; Larry Weiss’s “Rhinestone Cowboy”; and Allen Toussaint’s “Southern Nights”.

Campbell made history in 1967 by winning four Grammys total, in the country and pop categories. For “Gentle on My Mind” he received two awards in country and western, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” did the same in pop. Three of his early hits later won Grammy Hall of Fame Awards (2000, 2004, 2008), while Campbell himself won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He owns trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM), and took the CMA’s top award as 1968 Entertainer of the Year. In 1969 actor John Wayne picked Campbell to play alongside him in the film True Grit, which gave Campbell a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. Campbell sang the title song which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Early life

Glen Campbell was born in Billstown, a tiny community near Delight in Pike County, Arkansas, to John Wesley and Carrie Dell (Stone) Campbell. He was the seventh son of 12 children. His father was a sharecropper of Scottish ancestry. He started playing guitar as a youth and credits his uncle Boo for teaching him the guitar.

In 1954 Campbell moved to Albuquerque to join his uncle’s band known as Dick Bills and the Sandia Mountain Boys. He also appeared there on his uncle’s radio show and on K Circle B Time, the local children’s program on KOB television. In 1958 Campbell formed his own band, the Western Wranglers.

1960–66

In 1960, Campbell moved to Los Angeles to become a session musician. Around this time he became part of a group called The Champs. Campbell soon was in demand as a session musician, and was part of a group of studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. During this period he played on recordings by Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, The Monkees, Nancy Sinatra, Merle Haggard, Jan and Dean, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Phil Spector.

By January 1961 Campbell had found a daytime job at publishing company American Music, writing songs and recording demos. In May 1961 he left The Champs and was subsequently signed by Crest Records, a subsidiary of American Music. His first solo release, “Turn Around Look at Me”, was a moderate success, peaking at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also formed The Gee Cees with former bandmembers from The Champs, performing at The Crossbow Inn in Van Nuys, a Los Angeles suburb. The Gee Cees too released a single on Crest, instrumentals “Buzz Saw” b/w “Annie Had A Party”, which did not chart.

In 1962 Campbell signed with Capitol Records. After minor initial success with “Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry”, his first single for the label, and “Kentucky Means Paradise”, released by The Green River Boys featuring Glen Campbell, a string of unsuccessful singles and albums followed.

From 1964 on Campbell began to appear on television as a regular on Star Route, a syndicated series hosted by Rod Cameron, ABC’s Shindig! and Hollywood Jamboree.

From December 1964 to early March 1965, Campbell was a touring member of the Beach Boys, filling in for Brian Wilson. He also played guitar on the group’s Pet Sounds album, among other recordings. On tour, he played bass guitar and sang falsetto harmonies. In April 1966, he joined Ricky Nelson on a tour through the Far East, again playing bass.

In 1965 he had his biggest solo hit yet, reaching number 45 on the Hot 100 with a version of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Universal Soldier”. Asked about the pacifist message of the song, he elected to assert that “people who are advocating burning draft cards should be hung.”

1967–72: Burning Bridges to The Goodtime Hour

When follow-up singles didn’t do well, and Capitol was considering dropping Campbell from the label in 1966, he was teamed with producer Al De Lory. Together they first collaborated on “Burning Bridges” which became a top 20 country hit in early 1967, and the album of the same name. Campbell and De Lory collaborated again on 1967’s “Gentle on My Mind”, written by John Hartford, which was an overnight success. The song was followed by the bigger hit “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” later in 1967, and “I Wanna Live” and “Wichita Lineman” in 1968. Campbell won four Grammy Awards for his performances on “Gentle on My Mind” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”.

In 1967, Campbell was also the uncredited lead vocalist on “My World Fell Down” by Sagittarius, a studio group. The song reached No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The 1969 song “True Grit” by composer Elmer Bernstein and lyricist Don Black, and sung by Campbell, who co-starred in the movie, received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Song and the Golden Globe.

His biggest hits in the late 1960s were the songs written by Jimmy Webb: “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman”, “Galveston”, and “Where’s the Playground Susie”. An album of mainly Webb-penned compositions, Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb, was released in 1974, but it produced no hit single records. “Wichita Lineman” was selected as one of the greatest songs of the 20th century by Mojo magazine in 1997 and by Blender in 2001.

After he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for television’s The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour variety show, Campbell hosted his own weekly variety show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, from January 1969 through June 1972. At the height of his popularity, a 1970 biography by Freda Kramer, The Glen Campbell Story, was published.

With Campbell’s session-work connections, he hosted major names in music on his show, including the Beatles (on film), David Gates and Bread, the Monkees, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, and Mel Tillis. Campbell helped launch the careers of Anne Murray and Jerry Reed who were regulars on his Goodtime Hour program.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Campbell released a long series of singles and appeared in the movies True Grit (1969) with John Wayne and Kim Darby and Norwood (1970) with Kim Darby and Joe Namath.

1973–79: “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Southern Nights”

After the cancellation of his CBS series in 1972, Campbell remained a regular on network television. He co-starred in a made-for-television movie, Strange Homecoming (1974), with Robert Culp and up-and-coming teen idol, Leif Garrett. He hosted a number of television specials, including 1976’s Down Home, Down Under with Olivia Newton-John. He co-hosted the American Music Awards from 1976–78 and headlined the 1979 NBC special Glen Campbell: Back To Basics with guest-stars Seals and Crofts and Brenda Lee. He was a guest on many network talk and variety shows, including: Donny & Marie, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Cher, the Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, The Merv Griffin Show, The Midnight Special with Wolfman Jack, DINAH!, Evening at Pops with Arthur Fiedler and The Mike Douglas Show. From 1982 to 1983 he hosted a 30-minute syndicated music show on NBC, The Glen Campbell Music Show.

In the mid-1970s, he had more hits with “Rhinestone Cowboy”, “Southern Nights” (both U.S. No. 1 hits), “Sunflower” (U.S. No. 39) (written by Neil Diamond), and “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.).” (U.S. No. 11).

“Rhinestone Cowboy” was Campbell’s largest-selling single, initially with over 2 million copies sold. Campbell had heard songwriter Larry Weiss’ version while on tour of Australia in 1974. It was included in Dickie Goodman’s Jaws movie parody song “Mr. Jaws”. Both songs were on October 4, 1975 Hot 100 top 10. “Rhinestone Cowboy” continues to be used in TV shows and films, including Desperate Housewives, Daddy Day Care, and High School High. It was the inspiration for the 1984 Dolly Parton/Sylvester Stallone movie Rhinestone. Campbell also made a techno/pop version of the song in 2002 with UK artists Rikki & Daz and went to the top 10 in the UK with the dance version and related music video.

“Southern Nights,” by Allen Toussaint, his other No. 1 pop-rock-country crossover hit, was generated with the help of Jimmy Webb, and Jerry Reed, who inspired the famous guitar lick introduction to the song, which was the most-played jukebox number of 1977.

From 1971 to 1983, Campbell was the celebrity host of the Los Angeles Open, an annual professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour.

1980–present: Later career and Country Music Hall of Fame induction

Campbell made a cameo appearance in the 1980 Clint Eastwood movie Any Which Way You Can, which he recorded the title song for.

In 1991, he provided the voice of the Elvis Presley sound alike rooster Chanticleer in the Don Bluth film “Rock-A-Doodle.”

In 1999, Campbell was featured on VH-1’s Behind the Music, A&E Network’s Biography in 2001, and on a number of CMT programs. Campbell ranked 29th on CMT’s 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003.

He is also credited with giving Alan Jackson his first big break. Campbell met Jackson’s wife (a flight attendant with Piedmont Airlines) at Atlanta Airport and gave her his publishing manager’s business card. Jackson went to work for Campbell’s music publishing business in the early 1990s and later had many of his hit songs published in part by Campbell’s company, Seventh Son Music.Campbell also served as an inspiration to Keith Urban, who cites Campbell as a strong influence on his performing career.

In 2005, Campbell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

It was announced in April 2008 that Campbell was returning to his signature label, Capitol, to release his new album, Meet Glen Campbell. The album was released on August 19. With this album he branched off in a different musical direction, covering tracks from artists such as Travis, U2, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jackson Browne and Foo Fighters. It was Campbell’s first release on Capitol in over 15 years. Musicians from Cheap Trick and Jellyfish contributed to the album as well. The first single, a cover of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”, was released to radio in July 2008. In March 2010, a farewell album titled Ghost on the Canvas was announced which served as a companion to Meet Glen Campbell.

Ghost on the Canvas was released on August 30, 2011, with collaborations that include Paul Westerberg (writer of the title track), The Wallflowers singer Jakob Dylan, Chris Isaak, Rick Nielsen and Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins.

In Los Angeles in January 2013, Campbell recorded his final song, titled “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”. The song, which is featured in a new documentary, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, was released on September 30, 2014, with the documentary following on October 24. On January 15, 2015 Campbell and fellow songwriter Julian Raymond were nominated for Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards.

Personal life

Alzheimer’s diagnosis

In June 2011, Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease six months earlier.

Campbell went on a final “Goodbye Tour”, with three of his children joining him in his backup band; his last show was on November 30, 2012, in Napa, California. Campbell sang “Rhinestone Cowboy” as a goodbye at the 2012 Grammy Awards ceremony held on February 12, 2012.

In April 2014, news reports indicated that Campbell had become a patient at an Alzheimer’s long-term care and treatment facility. On March 10, 2015, NBC News reported that Campbell could no longer speak for himself and that two of his children had sought legal action against Campbell’s wife Kim, with the assertion that she had “secluded” the singer and prevented them from “participating” in Campbell’s medical care.

Discography and Videography

Since 1962, Campbell has recorded and released fifty-seven studio albums and six live albums. He has also lent his vocals to four soundtracks for motion pictures (True Grit, Norwood, Rock-A-Doodle and Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me). He has placed a total of eighty-two singles (one of which was a re-release) on either the Billboard Country Chart, the Billboard Hot 100, or the Adult Contemporary Chart, nine of which peaked at number one on at least one of those charts. He has released fifteen video albums and has been featured in twenty-one music videos. His first two music videos, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Wichita Lineman”, were directed by Gene Weed in 1967 and 1968 respectively. Campbell released his final music video, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”, in 2014 to coincide with the release of the documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1965	Baby the Rain Must Fall	Band Member (uncredited)
1967	The F.B.I.	Larry Dana	Episode: “Force of Nature”
1967	The Cool Ones	Patrick
1969	True Grit	La Boeuf
1969–72	The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour	Host
1970	Norwood	Norwood Pratt
1976/77/78	American Music Awards	Host
1980	Solid Gold	Co-host	2 episodes
1980	Any Which Way You Can	Singer at Lion Dollar Cowboy Bar
1982	The Glen Campbell Music Show	Host	24 episodes
1986	Uphill All the Way	Capt. Hazeltine
1991	Rock-A-Doodle	Chanticleer (voice)
1997	Players	Jesse Dalton	Episode: “In Concert”
2014	I’ll Be Me	Documentary subject

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
1967	Best Male Country Vocal Performance	“Gentle on My Mind”	Won
	Best Country & Western Recording	“Gentle on My Mind”	Won
	Best Vocal Performance, Male	“By the Time I Get to Phoenix”	Won
	Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male	“By the Time I Get to Phoenix”	Won
1968	Album of the Year	By the Time I Get to Phoenix	Won
	Best Country Vocal Performance, Male	“I Wanna Live”	Nominated
	Best Contemporary-Pop Vocal Performance, Male	“Wichita Lineman”	Nominated
	Record of the Year	“Wichita Lineman”	Nominated
1975	Best Country Vocal Performance, Male	“Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)”	Nominated
	Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male	“Rhinestone Cowboy”	Nominated
	Record of the Year	“Rhinestone Cowboy”	Nominated
1980	Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group	“Dream Lover” (duet with Tanya Tucker)	Nominated
1985	Best Inspirational Performance	No More Night	Nominated
1987	Best Country & Western Vocal Performance – Duet	“The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” (with Steve Wariner)	Nominated
	Best Country & Western Vocal Performance – Duet	“You Are” (with Emmylou Harris)	Nominated
2000	Grammy Hall of Fame Award	“Wichita Lineman”	Won
2004	Grammy Hall of Fame Award	“By the Time I Get to Phoenix”	Won
2008	Grammy Hall of Fame Award	“Wichita Lineman”	Won
2012	Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[67]		Won
2014	Best Country Song	“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” (shared with co-writer Julian Raymond)	Won
	Best Song Written for Visual Media	“I’m Not Gonna Miss You”	Nominated

Academy of Country Music

Year	Category	Work	Result
1967	Single of the Year	“Gentle on My Mind”	Won
	Album of the Year	Gentle on My Mind	Won
	Top Male Vocalist		Won
1968	Album of the Year	Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell	Won
	Top Male Vocalist		Won
	TV Personality of the Year		Won
1971	TV Personality of the Year		Won
1975	Single of the Year	“Rhinestone Cowboy”	Won
1998	Pioneer Award		Won
2014	Video of the Year	“I’m Not Gonna Miss You”	Nominated

• American Music Awards
  • 1976: Favorite Pop/Rock Single – “Rhinestone Cowboy”
  • 1976: Favorite Country Single – “Rhinestone Cowboy”
  • 1977: Favorite Country Album – Rhinestone Cowboy

• Country Music Association Awards
  • 1968: Entertainer of the Year
  • 1968: Male Vocalist of the Year

• GMA Dove Awards
  • 1986: Album by a Secular Artist – No More Night
  • 1992: Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year – “Where Shadows Never Fall”
  • 2000: Country Album of the Year – A Glen Campbell Christmas

• Other honors
  • 1974: Country Music Association of Great Britain’s Entertainer of the Year
  • 2005: Country Music Hall of Fame induction^{[citation needed]}
  • 2007: Musicians Hall of Fame induction (as a member of The Wrecking Crew)^{[citation needed]}
  • 2008: Q Legend Award
  • 2012: Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. Career Achievement Award
  • 2014: HMMA Lifetime Achievement Award
  • 2014: Academy Award nomination for “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” (co-writer); sung by Tim McGraw

above: “Wichita Lineman” is a song written by American songwriter Jimmy Webb in 1968. It was first recorded by American country music artist Glen Campbell with backing from members of The Wrecking Crew and widely covered by other artists. Campbell’s version, which appeared on his 1968 album of the same name, reached #3 on the U.S. pop chart, remaining in the Top 100 for 15 weeks. In addition, the song also topped the American country music chart for two weeks, and the adult contemporary chart for six weeks. It was certified gold by the RIAA in January 1969. The song reached #7 in the UK. In Canada, the single also topped both the RPM national and country singles charts.

In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” ranked “Wichita Lineman” at #195. It has been referred to as “the first existential country song”. British music journalist Stuart Maconie called it “the greatest pop song ever composed”; and the BBC referred to it as “one of those rare songs that seems somehow to exist in a world of its own – not just timeless but ultimately outside of modern music”

for more information: glencampbellmusic.com

source: wikipedia.org

Chris Calloway ~ Santa Fe

Calloway (d. 2008), the daughter of the legendary Cab Calloway, made her home in Santa Fe for many years, where she was known as the “Reigning Diva of the Night.” Her consummate talent as a singer combined with her comic timing, her irreverent humor, her ability to laugh at herself and her circumstances set her apart as a performer.

Chris performed her final concert with the Bert Dalton Trio at the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 20, 2008. The audience was spellbound. Chris sang beautiful material made famous by her godmother, Lena Horne. In her one-of-a-kind style, she told delightful stories of her birth and childhood. Although Chris was in the final stages of her struggle with cancer, she performed at the top of her game. The entire concert was skillfully recorded by Daniel Ward, and is presented in its entirety with minimal editing. As fate would have it, this was her last public performance, and is a testament to her greatness.

above: Chris Calloway singing “Kicking The Gong Around,” filmed at the Scottish Rite Temple in Santa Fe, NM. The video is a Stars Never Fade Production.

for more information: The Chris Calloway Lena Horne Songbook

source: emphasisentertainment.com

Rolph Cahn ~ Santa Fe

Cahn (b. 1924 – d. August 1, 1994) was a folk musician, martial arts teacher, author, and social activist. Born in Germany, he and his family, who were Jewish, fled from Adolf Hitler’s oppression and arrived in the United States in 1937. They settled in Detroit, Michigan. Cahn later moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, then to Berkeley, California and on to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Cahn died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had been living for many years and was a well-loved local personality.

Folk music career

Cahn played guitar and recorded several albums of folk music during the time he lived in Berkeley. He was married for a time to the folk singer Barbara Dane, and their son, Jesse Cahn, also became a folk musician.

In 1962 Cahn was one of the co-founders (with Debbie Green and Howard Ziehm) of The Cabale, at 2504 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, a folk club that featured performers like Mississippi John Hurt, Jesse Fuller, Elizabeth Cotten, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and The Chambers Brothers. The Cabale closed in mid 1965.

K’ang jo fu

Cahn popularized a self-defense technique called k’ang jo fu (also known as kang jo fu or “the kang”) in his 1974 book K’ang Jo Fu: Self Defense for Gentle People.

K’ang jo fu can loosely be translated as “the way of health”. Cahn learned the martial art from a visiting Chinese professor at UC Berkeley, Ch’eng Hsue’ Yi in 1943. Ch’eng returned to China and Rolf continued to study and teach kang. One of his students, described as a young boy in the introduction of Cahn’s 1974 book, Robert Rawlings, taught kang jo fu to martial artist and acupuncturist Charles Peri, who continues to teach kang jo fu in Novato, California. Although kang jo fu is based on a 95 movement form, it does not attach its movements to any ideology or scenario and can be described as pure form. It is described as placing a practitioner inside of everyone elses time and all directions (like bagua and xinyi).

Discography

• A Night at The Ashgrove (World Pacific, 1958)
• California Concert with Rolf Cahn (Folkways Records, 1959)
• Rolf Cahn and Eric Von Schmidt (Folkways, 1961)
• If You Ain’t Got The Do-Re-Mi (Smithsonian Folkways, 2007)

above: Rolf Cahn & Eric Von Schmidt performing, “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out.”

for more information: Rolph Cahn on Facebook

source: wikipedia.org

Charles Billingsley ~ Clovis

Billingsley (b. January 7, 1970) is a Christian singer, worship leader, songwriter, speaker and author. Born and raised in Clovis, Charles is currently the worship leader at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, which is led by Pastor Jonathan Falwell, son of the late Jerry Falwell.

Billingsley began his solo career the day after he graduated from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama in 1992. After two years, he joined the Christian Contemporary Music group NewSong. In 1994, they released People Get Ready featuring “Arise My Love.” That album had four Number 1 hits. After two years with NewSong, Charles left to pursue a solo career, averaging 200 concerts a year.

The year 2002 brought change as Charles became the worship pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church, as well as the artist-in-residence at Liberty University. The year 2005 brought even more change as Charles moved to San Diego, California to work with Dr. David Jeremiah at the Shadow Mountain Community Church, home of Turning Point Ministries.

Discography

2014	Only Jesus	Charles Billingsley Concert Ministry
2013	In Concert	Charles Billingsley Concert Ministry / InPop
2012	20	Charles Billingsley Concert Ministry
2011	Never Forsaken	Charles Billingsley Concert Ministry
2010	Women of Joy: Weekend of Praise	Red Tie Music/PWM
2009	God of the Ages	Red Tie Music
2009	Extraordinary Women Live Worship	EWomen
2009	Thomas Road Worship	Red Tie Music
2008	Classics	Red Tie Music
2008	Hope, Love and Music	Red Tie Music
2007	Enduring Treasures	Red Tie Music
2007	Better than Life**	Discovery House
2007	Christmas	Red Tie Music
2004	We Bless Your Name	Perpetual Entertainment Group
2004	American Worship Gathering**	Worship Alliance
2003	Secret Conversation	Perpetual Entertainment Group
2003	Toddler Lullabies**	Discovery House
2002	Celtic Cry**	Discovery House
2002	What’s It All About?**	Discovery House
2001	Reflections	Crest Music
2000	Marks of the Mission	Pamplin Music
1998	Between The Now and Then	Pamplin Music
2000	Great Choirs of America**
1998	Grateful Hearts**	EMI
1997	Charles Live!	Crest Music
1997	Change	Crest Music
1994	People Get Ready (with NewSong)	Benson
1993	Until Then	Crest Music
1992	Choice of a Lifetime	Crest Music

 

above: Charles Billingsley sings Kyrie “Lord have Mercy” on Live from Liberty in 2007.

for more information: charlesbillingsley.com

source: wikipedia.org

Randy Travis ~ Santa Fe

Randy Bruce Traywick (b. May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 50 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and 16 of these were number-one hits. Considered a pivotal figure in the history of country music, Travis broke through in the mid-1980s with the release of his album Storms of Life, which sold more than four million copies. The album established him as a major force in the Neotraditional country movement. Travis followed up his successful debut with a string of platinum and multi-platinum albums. He is known for his distinctive baritone vocals, delivered in a traditional style that has made him a country music star since the 1980s.

Travis lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico from 2002 to 2010.

By the mid-1990s, Travis saw a decline in his chart success. In 1997, he left Warner Bros. Records for DreamWorks Records and changed his musical focus to gospel music. Although the career shift produced only one more number-one country hit “Three Wooden Crosses”, Travis went on to earn several Dove Awards, including Country Album of the Year five times. In addition to his singing career, he pursued an acting career, appearing in numerous films and television series, including The Rainmaker (1997) with Matt Damon, Black Dog (1998) with Patrick Swayze, Texas Rangers (2001) with James Van Der Beek, and seven episodes of the Touched by an Angel television series.

Travis has sold over 25 million records, and has earned 22 number-one hits, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards, six CMA Awards, nine ACM Awards, 10 AMA Awards, eight Dove Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life

Randy Bruce Traywick was born on May 4, 1959 in Marshville, North Carolina, the second of six children of Bobbie (née Tucker), a textile factory worker, and Harold Traywick, a horse breeder, turkey farmer, substitute school teacher, and construction business owner. He is a descendant of Cornish immigrant Robarde Traweek, whose son Robert was born in 1700 in Stafford County, Virginia and died in 1788 in Onslow County, North Carolina, establishing the North Carolinian roots of the Traywick family.

Randy and his brother Ricky were encouraged to pursue their musical talents by their father, who was a fan of Hank Williams, George Jones, and Lefty Frizzell. In 1967, at the age of eight, Randy began playing guitar and sang in church as a boy. Two years later, he and his brother began performing at local clubs and talent contests, calling themselves the Traywick Brothers. Randy often fought with his father and soon dropped out of high school. He became a juvenile delinquent and was arrested for various offenses, including auto theft and burglary. Travis has since voiced regret for his past misdeeds.

In 1975, while his brother was serving time in jail for a high-speed car chase, Randy won a talent contest at a nightclub, Country City USA, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club’s owner, Elizabeth “Lib” Hatcher, took an interest in the young singer, hired him as a cook, and gave him regular singing jobs at the club. During the late 1970s, Randy worked and sang at Country City USA. Still in his late teens, Travis had one more encounter with the law. At his hearing, the judge told Travis that if he ever saw the singer back in his court, he should be prepared to go to jail for a long time. Travis was released into the guardianship of Hatcher, who also became his manager. The two began to focus on his career full-time.

In 1978, he recorded a self-titled album, Randy Traywick, for Paula Records. The following year, he released two unsuccessful singles, “She’s My Woman” and “Dreamin'”. Travis moved in with Hatcher, which put further strain on her already fragile marriage. She eventually left her husband and, in 1982, she and Travis moved to Nashville, Tennessee. It was during this time that an unlikely romance began to form between the two. Travis would later comment, “I think we discovered how much we needed each other.” He and Hatcher eventually came forward with their relationship and were married in a private ceremony in 1991.

Music career

During the early 1980s, Travis was rejected by every major record label in Nashville. His early demo tapes were criticized by record executives as being “too country.” To support them, Hatcher took a job as manager of a nightclub, The Nashville Palace, and hired Travis as a cook and singer. In 1982, Travis recorded an independent album Live at the Nashville Palace, and Hatcher used the album to secure a deal with Warner Bros. Records. As part of the contract, label executives insisted they keep their romance a secret, and changed his stage name from Randy Ray to Randy Travis. In 1985, Warner Bros. Records released the single “On the Other Hand” which peaked at No. 67 on the country charts. His next single, “1982”, became a Top 10 hit single. In 1986, Warner Bros. re-released “On the Other Hand”, which became Travis’ first number-one hit. He also covered some songs, e.g. of Randy Travis.

His debut album, Storms of Life, went on to sell more than four million copies. In the late 1980s he had a string of hits, including “No Place Like Home” and “Diggin’ Up Bones”. A song from his second Warner Brothers album Always and Forever titled “Forever and Ever, Amen” arguably launched the neo-traditionalist country era. For two years in a row, Travis won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, for the albums Always & Forever in 1988, and for Old 8×10 in 1989. He also won the ACM award for Best Country Newcomer in 1986. Off the success of his first two albums, Old 8×10 was certified platinum, and Always and Forever was number-one for 43 weeks.

In 1991 Travis took part in Voices That Care, a multi-artist project that featured other top names in music for a one-off single to raise money for the allied troops in the Gulf War. The project included fellow singers Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and Kathy Mattea. In addition, Travis recorded the patriotic song “Point of Light” in response to the Thousand points of light program initiated by President George H. W. Bush. Its release prompted New York freelance writer Lina Accurso to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission charging that the single qualified as political advertising since Bush media consultant Roger Ailes produced the song’s video and White House publicist Sig Rogich was credited as a co-writer. The FEC rejected the complaint, ruling that the song and video “neither expressly advocate the election of, nor solicit contributions on behalf of, Mr. Bush.”

In 1992, Travis took a break from music to concentrate on acting and landed roles in several Western-genre films. He returned to recording with the 1994 album This Is Me and the hit single “Whisper My Name”. Three years later, Travis parted ways with Warner Brothers and signed with DreamWorks Nashville. He recorded You and You Alone, which produced the top 10 hits “Out of My Bones”, “The Hole” and “Spirit of a Boy, Wisdom of a Man”. After good friend George Jones died in April 2013 Travis recorded “Tonight I’m Playin’ Possum,” in Jones’ memory.

Gospel years

After the 1999 release of A Man Ain’t Made of Stone, Travis shifted away from mainstream country and focused on gospel. During this time, he recorded the albums Inspirational Journey (2000), Rise and Shine (2002), and Worship & Faith (2003). The single “Three Wooden Crosses” from the Rise and Shine album reached No. 1 and won the CMA song of the year in 2003. That same year, Travis ranked No. 13 on CMT’s 40 Greatest Men of Country Music. Additionally, he continued to act in film and television; he appeared in several episodes and in the series finale of Touched by an Angel. His album, Passing Through was released in November 2004 and included his song about mothers titled “Angels.” It combined the country music of his earlier years with the gospel influences from his latest albums. After the release of Glory Train: Songs of Faith, Worship, and Praise in 2005 and the Christmas album Songs of the Season in 2007, Travis released his brand new single “Faith in You” as a free download from his official website. It heralded the July 2008 release of his album, Around the Bend, his first collection of mainly secular recordings in nearly a decade.

In February 2009, Travis’ “I Told You So” was released as a single by Carrie Underwood, who had recorded the song for her 2007 album Carnival Ride. The next month, radio stations were sent a duet version of the song featuring Randy Travis on vocals. From that time on, he was credited with Underwood on the single, which peaked at No. 2 on the country charts and No. 9 on the U.S. Hot 100. That month, Travis released the two-disc greatest hits compilation I Told You So: The Ultimate Hits of Randy Travis. In June 2011, he unveiled his latest album, Anniversary Celebration. In September 2013, he released the album Influence Vol. 1: The Man I Am.

Personal life

On July 7, 2013, Travis was admitted to a Dallas area hospital for viral cardiomyopathy after a viral upper respiratory infection. His condition was classified as critical. Three days later, Travis suffered a massive stroke and had surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. On July 15, 2013, it was reported that Travis was awake and alert after undergoing brain surgery, that his heart was pumping without the assistance of machines, and that he was on the road to recovery. He was released from Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas on July 31, 2013, and entered a physical therapy facility. Following his stroke, and despite physical therapy, Travis has been unable to sing or speak and has difficulty walking, having to rely on a cane. As of November 2014, he is slowly recovering, and can walk short distances without assistance and is relearning how to write and play the guitar, according to his then-fiancée Mary Davis.

Discography

Honors and awards

Academy of Country Music Awards

• 1985: Top New Male Vocalist
• 1986: Album of the Year – Storms of Life
• 1986: Single of the Year – “On the Other Hand”
• 1986: Top Male Vocalist
• 1987: Single of the Year – “Forever and Ever, Amen”
• 1987: Song of the Year – “Forever and Ever, Amen”
• 2003: Song of the Year – “Three Wooden Crosses”
• 2009: Song of the Year – ” Nothin But A Good Time”

American Music Awards

• 1988: Favorite Country Album – Always & Forever
• 1988: Favorite Country Male Artist
• 1988: Favorite Country Single – “Forever and Ever, Amen”
• 1989: Favorite Country Album – Always & Forever
• 1989: Favorite Country Male Artist
• 1989: Favorite Country Single – “I Told You So”
• 1990: Favorite Country Album – Old 8×10
• 1990: Favorite Country Male Artist
• 1990: Favorite Country Single – “Deeper Than the Holler”

Country Music Association Awards

• 1986: Horizon Award
• 1987: Album of the Year – Always & Forever
• 1987: Male Vocalist of the Year
• 1987: Single of the Year – “Forever and Ever, Amen”
• 1988: Male Vocalist of the Year
• 2003: Song of the Year – “Three Wooden Crosses”

Grammy Awards

• 1988: Best Male Country Vocal Performance – “Always & Forever”
• 1989: Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance – “Old 8×10”
• 2004: Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album – Rise And Shine
• 2005: Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album – Worship & Faith
• 2007: Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album – Glory Train
• 2010: Best Country Collaboration with vocals – “I Told You So” by Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis

GMA Dove Awards

• 2001: Country Recorded Song of the Year – “Baptism”
• 2001: Bluegrass Album of the Year – Inspirational Journey
• 2003: Country Album of the Year – Rise And Shine
• 2004: Country Recorded Song of the Year – “Three Wooden Crosses”
• 2004: Country Album of the Year – Worship & Faith
• 2006: Country Album of the Year – Glory Train
• 2009: Country Album of the Year – Around the Bend

Filmography

Further reading

• Goldsmith, Thomas. (1998). “Randy Travis”. In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 544–5.

above: Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis perform “I Told You So” on American Idol in 2011. The song won a 2010 Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

for more information: randytravis.com

source: wikipedia.org