Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen” will always have a special place in every country music fans’ heart. Well, there’s no doubt to that as it’s almost impossible not to fall in love with its sweet melody and romantic lyrics.
Written by Nashville award-winning songwriters Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, the love song was released in 1987 as the lead single off Travis’ second studio album, Always & Forever. It was then heavily lauded in the country community, quickly climbing atop Billboard’s Hot Country Singles charts. Not only that, but it also took home a Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Song and earned the title of Song of the Year on both the ACM and CMA Awards.
Well, we got Schlitz’s son to thank for! Schlitz revealed that every time the young boy prays at night, he would often finish it up by telling his mother, “Mommy, I love you forever and ever, amen.” Schlitz told Overstreet the loving message, and the two talented songwriters sat out on Overstreet’s front porch one early evening and started writing the song. Thinking that it was going to be a smash hit was enough to keep them motivated.
And in a couple of hours, “Forever and Ever, Amen” was already completed. They recorded a scanty demo the next day, with just voice and guitar, yet Randy Travis fell in love with it the first time he heard it. He chose it to be the lead-off single for his latest album at that time. Within two months after its release, it had gone platinum with more than a million units sold.
Clearly, this romantic ballad is one of the most timeless among Randy Travis’ songs. In 2020, country star Josh Turner brought the song back to mainstream with his cover version – featuring Randy Travis – for his album Country State of Mind. Ronan Keating and Shania Twain have also recently released a version for Keating’s studio album, Twenty Twenty.
Listen to Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen” in the video below.
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