Randy Travis Gets Saved

Randy Travis Gets Saved

by Benjy Eisen

“I think country music is so easily relatable to so many people because it is about what we all live through in everyday life and that really doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you do for a living,” says Randy Travis, on a cell phone with MODE Weekly while en route from Albequerque, NM to his home in Santa Fe, “It touches on all those things — relationships with moms and dads and grandparents and kids and wife, girlfriend, husband, you know it just touches on your whole life. So that obviously makes it very relatable to a lot of people, a lot of places, a lot of age groups.”

If he sounds conscientious, that’s because he is. Well, these days anyway. Having spent his “childhood riding horses and shooting [guns]” Randy Travis was a fan of three things — country music, western movies and gun-slinging. In his adolescence and young adulthood, he had somewhat of an untamed wild streak that couldn’t be contained even after several scuffles with the law. After dropping out of school, and dropping his duties in the Traywick Brothers — the country duo he formed with his older brother — Travis eventually landed a regular gig at famed nightclub Country City USA and moved to Charlotte under the direction of Country City’s club owner, Lib Hatcher. Hatcher became his manager and the two moved to Nashville in 1981, where she took over management at The Nashville Palace. Travis also worked there — as a cook and dishwasher in addition to his stage time. Travis’ performances became increasingly popular over the next couple of years although when he shopped around his record, not one record company in Nashville would sign him.

“They said the music wasn’t bad but that this type of music doesn’t sell records,” Travis tells me in his long slow draw, which he inflects here with a tone of knowing irony, “When the first album came out, it sold five million copies.” After that, the record companies scrambled to sign everybody with a cowboy hat or a southern twang. The movement that resulted was called “new traditionalist” because of its faithfulness to country music tradition. The new traditionalists opened the doors for alternative country, crossover country, and the literally dozens of radio-oriented spin-offs that followed. But Randy Travis was the first to break. Is he responsible, then, for the modern resurgence and extreme popularity of country? “Well, I get credited with it, that’s for sure,” he laughs. But he doesn’t take that credit for himself — he’s quick to point out that all along he was in good company. “There were a lot of people playing traditional country music and I just happened to be one of them.”

A string of number one hits, platinum albums, and sold-out tours spelled out the rest of the ’80s for him, and he brought in the ’90s with other successes as well, including a full-time acting career, and all without taking a break from the music. And now, Travis adds a whole new dimension to it all — religion.

Is he a changed person?

“Well, I’m changing all the time,” he chuckles. And then gives a couple “as you get older” adages. “As you get older, you start to look for different things. I started reading the bible every night before I went to sleep.” Travis also started watching evangelists on television. But what had the most impact were the changes he saw in his wife. He watched and observed her as she started changing with age. Those changes had a profound effect on him “because I believe sometimes you learn not from hearing but from seeing.”

After well over a decade as one biggest names in the history of country music, Randy Travis — and his wife — got baptized.

Soon after, he started work on a gospel album, which was finally released last year. After the album’s release, a couple of gigs were set up in the church as a way of promoting the album. It just so happened that one of them was Pastor Hagee’s.

Travis had discovered Pastor Hagee on his own, earlier. “I was sitting at home one night, flipping through channels just looking for someone to listen to and Pastor Hagee was on one of them and I happened to catch him. He is a really powerful speaker. On the podium when he’s teaching, preaching, he is a powerful force, but in real life he is just one of the nicest people you could ever meet.” Eventually Travis and Hagee, and their families, became friends. After several successful play-and-preach combinations they decided to team up for several more.

Travis plays acoustic for these shows, with just a couple other members of his band joining him. “I feel like a real musician, in a way,” he laughs. “Because, you know, when I get up there on stage with eight other musicians, I can stop playing my guitar and nobody knows the difference.”

Pastor Hagee and Randy Travis will bring their song-and-sermon show to Hersheypark Arena on September 21. Tickets are $15. and may be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets, at the Hersheypark Box Office or by calling 534-3911.

“I’ve made most of my dreams come true, as far as what I wanted to do with this career, and you know it took me a long time,” reflects Travis. “And I’ve finally gotten around to start making some big changes in myself personally, in getting saved, getting baptized, and then getting this gospel album finished and doing what we’re doing. And playing the music and hearing that people are coming forward and wanting to join forces and be saved, my gosh!” He stops for a second, stumbles upon some words, and then adds in amazement, “Yeah, I’ve made most of the goals that I’ve shot for.”