Even if you’re not into country, you can’t help but bathe in the baritone that is Randy Travis. His voice goes down like whisky – always has, ever since his first album, “Storms of Life,” in 1986. “I thought if we sold 40,000 copies they might let us make a second record.” said producer Kyle Lehning.
They ended up selling four million . “So, I’m a genius!” Lehning laughed.
Randy Travis and that voice helped build Warner Music Nashville into what it is today. “How do you describe the thing that just hits you in the center of your chest and unconsciously makes you feel full, and familiar, and known?” said Cris Lacy, the label’s co-chair and co-president. “How do you describe something like that?”
His was a God-given talent … and then, fate took it all away.
In 2013 Travis suffered a massive stroke . He was given just a 2% chance of survival. “I thought we were going to lose him,” said Lehning.
Lacy said, “It felt like it could be the end of an era.”