His First Song After His Tragic Stroke
In 2019, Randy Travis dropped the classically themed “One In a Row” six years after his tragic health issues took his Hall of Fame voice from us.
Travis recorded the heartbreaking ballad before his devastating stroke in 2013, but it was never widely released. So it was certainly new to fans who’ve heard it for the first time. The song showcased Travis’ deep, velvety smooth, signature voice with the traditional country sound that has been the foundation of his career since 1986.
Following the song’s release, Travis also released his book, Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith, and Braving the Storms of Life. It chronicles Travis’ working-class childhood, troubled youth full of drinking and stealing cars, country music career, medical problems, a broken marriage, and so much more. This is with the help of New York Times Best-Selling Author, Ken Abraham, and Travis’ wife, Mary Davis.
“Traditional country music was all I wanted to do — it’s all I knew how to do,” Randy Travis wrote his memoir.
Randy Travis’ Classic Warm Baritone That We All Miss
Written by Buddy Jewell and Thom McHugh, “One In a Row” is a classic country heartbreak song about trying to get over a lost love.
“My heart’s still beating, even though it’s broken right in two. So the odds are even. There’s still some hope that I’ll get over you. Will I make it through the day? Girl, it’s hard to say. I just don’t know. But I made it through the night, and that’s one in a row,” the song goes.
Throughout Travis’ career, he has recorded eighteen No. 1 hits and sold more than 25 million albums. After suffering a near-fatal stroke in 2013, he has now made improvements in his speaking, walking, and singing, thanks to the help of his wife Mary and physical therapy.
In 2016, Travis was among the three new inductees selected to enter the Country Music Hall of Fame after leading a neo-traditional renaissance following his commercial breakthrough in the ’80s. During his portion of the event, the country star did something entirely unexpected. He surprised fans when he performed a verse of “Amazing Grace.”
Today, Travis and his wife are weathering the pandemic at their Texas home as he takes everything one day at a time.
“Music is still huge. If you want to see somebody come to life, watch somebody come in here with a guitar and start playing music,” Mary Davis recently told Rolling Stone how much music is a daily part of their lives.
“When we turn on the music, Randy just starts wiggling all over. It’s so deep-rooted in the fiber of his soul. When we first got out of the hospital, he didn’t want to listen to music. I think that was part of the adjustment of the reality. He could listen to other people’s music before he could listen to his own. But now we can listen to all of it.”
Listen to “One In a Row” in the video below as it re-introduces us to Randy Travis’ classic warm baritone that we all miss.
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