Country superstar Randy Travis is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his award-studded career with a stellar cast of collaborators.
Joining him on his Anniversary Celebration CD are such members of the Country Music Hall of Fame as Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, George Jones and Ray Price. Current Nashville hit makers Zac Brown Band, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Josh Turner and Brad Paisley are also singing with him on the collection. Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame member Don Henley is on board, as are such up-and-comers as country’s James Otto and Jamey Johnson, pop’s Kristin Chenoweth and Irish tenor Eamonn McCrystal.
Randy’s fellow country superstar Alan Jackson has written several songs with him, so his presence is a natural. Revered vocal stylists such as Shelby Lynne, John Anderson, Gene Watson and Joe Stampley participate, as do Randy’s fellow Grand Ole Opry cast members Lorrie Morgan and Connie Smith.
The event that inspired this gathering of greats is singular and significant. The 1986 release of the Randy Travis LP Storms of Life was a watershed moment in American music history. The album, which has sold nearly four million copies, was a cornerstone of the “new traditionalist” movement in Nashville. Jackson, Paisley, Chesney, McGraw, Turner and Underwood were all inspired by it.
“It doesn’t seem possible that it has been 25 years,” Randy comments wistfully. “Time flies.