Randy Travis Inducted Into Country Music Hall Of Fame Three Years After Massive Stroke


On March 29, Randy Travis was recognized with country music’s most esteemed honor: a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. During the induction, his wife, Mary Davis-Travis, revealed some startling news. According to Mary, her country superstar husband suffered a massive stroke in July, 2013, which nearly took his life.

Us Weekly Magazine reports Travis, who was 54 at the time, was admitted to a Texas hospital with chest pains. He was eventually diagnosed with congestive heart failure, a condition that later caused a massive stroke and left him in critical condition fighting for his life.

As the stroke left Travis with a marked speech impediment, the 56-year-old country music superstar asked his wife to take the stand and make a speech on his behalf.

During her acceptance speech, Davis-Travis broke down while relating the story of how the “Always and Forever” singer nearly died.

“They really said there was no hope, go ahead and pull the plug. I went to his bedside and said, baby, you’ve got to give me some more fight. And I knew that he had a little talk with Jesus, because he squeezed my hand, and a little tear fell down. And I knew that he wasn’t through yet. He’s a wonderful man, he’s a wonderful husband. I am blessed beyond measure to get to walk beside him.”

Randy Travis and Mary Davis-Travis were married in 2015 during a private ceremony, two years after he suffered the stroke. The famous couple were already engaged before Travis was hospitalized in July, 2013.

Travis was previously married to Lib Hatcher. However, the couple divorced in 2010 after almost 20 years of marriage.

Randy’s current wife credits him with taking baby steps towards recovery, saying he was always fired up to do an extra lap or add a new word to his vocabulary. She said he even sang “Amazing Grace” at a friend’s funeral recently. According to Mary, he was not entirely ready to sing, but it was great to see him striving to move forward in his recovery.

“It’s those things that mean so much. It’s certainly put life in perspective as far as what we need to focus on… goal is to get back on the stage and sing again. There’s no quit in this man. He wakes up with a smile on his face; he goes to bed with a smile on his face. He inspires me daily.”

Travis, famous music industry executive Fred Foster, and songwriter and singer Charlie Daniels, were the new entries into the Country Music Hall of Fame for 2016. The trio will officially be inducted later this year at the Medallion Ceremony at CMA Theater hall.

The winners were announced by Brenda Lee, a former Country Music Hall of Fame inductee. All three men hail from North Carolina, and will become the 128th, 129th, and 130th members of the revered organization, which was created to ensure the genre’s most accomplished performers are honored and remembered. The association was formed in 1961.

As reported by Biography, Randy Travis is known for sparking a return back to the traditional sound of country music. He opened the doors to a new generation of artists, winning Grammy Awards with the albums Storms of Life, Always and Forever, and being named the Country Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year. His subsequent albums: Old 8 x 10(1988), No Holdin’ Back (1989) and Heroes and Friends (1990), have sold millions of copies and continue to be evergreen favorites with the country music crowd.

[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]

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