Randy Travis: Celebrating A Country Music Legend And His Impact On The Genre

Randy Travis is one of the most important country music artists of his generation, and we’re celebrating his life and career with this gallery featuring pictures of Randy Travis through the years. Born on May 4, 1959, the country icon played a pivotal role in restoring country music to its traditional roots in the mid-1980s. This was after several years of the Urban Cowboy craze and pop-country acts taking over the mainstream marketplace. Travis's landmark major-label debut album, Storms of Life, is a benchmark of the movement of new traditionalists who took the genre by storm in the latter part of the decade, featuring classics including "1982," "On the Other Hand," and "Diggin' Up Bones."

Travis has had an enviable run of solo hits that lasted off and on all the way through 2002, when he hit No. 1 again with "Three Wooden Crosses." He also scored a No. 2 hit with Carrie Underwood in 2009 with a duet of "I Told You So." He has taken creative side trips through gospel music, as well as acting in films and television. The CMA, ACM, Dove, and Grammy Award-winning singer remained active in touring and recording all the way up through 2013, when he suffered a devastating stroke that took his ability to speak and walk.

Since then, Travis has worked diligently on his recovery, and he shocked the music industry and fans alike at his 2016 induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame when he rose at the podium to sing "Amazing Grace." Travis has said he hopes to recover enough to resume his country music career. Take a look at Randy Travis's most important moments through the years in the pictures below.