- 2 days ago
Randy Travis and his wife Mary join Katie Neal inside our Nashville studios to talk new music and more.
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00:01Randy Travis and his wonderful wife Mary are here to see us today.
00:04You got a brand new album out today, Same Old Way.
00:08This is your first full-length album of original music and over 18 years.
00:1312 new songs on here.
00:16Talk about where you found these songs, how you picked these songs,
00:20and just kind of the story of how this album came to be.
00:23Well, Randy, of course, over his career, he had recorded a lot of songs
00:27that didn't make albums just because the albums were so full of great songs already.
00:34I mean, his albums were busting at the seams with great songs.
00:38Not an album that you bought because there was one good song
00:42and the rest were just kind of filler.
00:44His were all great.
00:45So these were some great songs, too.
00:48Kyle Lenning went through the vault, and if you will, digging up bones,
00:53and found a lot of these songs that were his favorite,
00:57and so after he pulled together several of them,
01:02then between Chris Lacey and Zach Farnham and Tony Conway and Randy and myself,
01:08we kind of narrowed it down to these 12.
01:11And I like the combination of them because there's some of everything
01:16that we know Randy's music for, the gospel, the country, the humorous.
01:22There's some blues in there.
01:25There's one that's got a little Zydeco in it.
01:27There's fishing songs.
01:29So it really is a broad brushstroke of the music that Randy delivered to us
01:33and so many other albums.
01:35I bet that it was such a fun trip down memory lane,
01:38getting to hear some of these songs,
01:39probably for the first time since you maybe recorded them
01:42and then decided not to put them on an album, right?
01:45Yeah, right?
01:46I mean, there were some of them that he had forgotten that they had recorded,
01:49but then he's like, oh, yeah.
01:52And I think it's important to remember that these were recorded
01:55from the time he was in his late 20s until his early 50s,
01:59before the stroke.
02:00So it covered a whole big career.
02:03It wasn't just a space and time in an artist's career,
02:07but it was a good 30 years.
02:10Yeah.
02:11I can't imagine how you had to have a heck of a time
02:14narrowing it down to these 12 songs, which is amazing.
02:18Is there a song on the album that you're most excited for people to hear?
02:23Ann.
02:23Ann.
02:24You asked Randy if he has a favorite song.
02:27He will never pick a favorite song.
02:29No.
02:29He and Kyle Lenning at the beginning of his career said,
02:32if we don't love it, we won't record it.
02:34And he was always very particular about choosing the song
02:38because he said, I had some great writers,
02:40and I would never pick one writer over the other.
02:43So there are some really neat songs.
02:45There's a lot of them on here that he wrote, co-wrote,
02:48with some very dear people, including Kyle Lenning, his producer,
02:53and Ron Avis, his bus driver.
02:55And so there's some really fun stories behind these songs.
02:59I'm sure.
03:00What do you hope people take away from the album?
03:03Well, there's Randy Travis, The Same Old Way.
03:06Yeah.
03:07You know, that's as many with his health and setback.
03:15You know, Randy's always been kind of the one that, well,
03:18every setback is really a setup if you look at it the right way.
03:22And that's the way he came out of this stroke
03:26and the viral cardiomyopathy is it's a different road,
03:29but what direction do we go?
03:31And he was so positive about it, still has that great smile.
03:36So, you know, I think he just wants people to know
03:39that Randy Travis is still Randy Travis.
03:43Yes, he is.
03:44You mentioned some great stories from songs on this album.
03:46Is there one that stands out that you think people will really enjoy hearing
03:50after all these years?
03:51Gosh.
03:53You know, there's one that we have been playing on tour
03:57that has already released.
03:59And that one, I don't know that there's a standout.
04:04You know, there's one of my favorites is they call it a church.
04:08And it just reminds me of, and him too, growing up in Carolina in the country,
04:15and I grew up in Texas in the country,
04:17and we went to little country churches that you worked on after service,
04:22and you had the, you know, you had the picnic on the grounds,
04:26and, you know, then you picked up a paintbrush or mowed the lawn,
04:31and you did the manual labor, but you enjoyed that,
04:34and all the families got together and did that.
04:36And that was kind of the church he grew up in, and so did I.
04:39So there is one called, they call it a church,
04:42and it certainly reminds me of my childhood in church and him too.
04:47So it's very special.
04:48You mentioned tour a little bit.
04:50You guys just wrapped the More Life tour.
04:52What were some of the highlights from that?
04:54Wow, just, you know what, I think my greatest, I guess my favorite part of it is after the concerts,
05:05the meet and greets, and to hear the people tell their stories about what his music has meant to them
05:13and how it changed their lives.
05:17And, I mean, I get a little emotional because there was one lady this trip,
05:22and she said, you know, if it weren't for Randy Travis, I wouldn't be alive today.
05:28And she said he got me through the hardest time of my life, and she started breaking it.
05:33So I, you know, I just get so emotional about as much heart as he put into his music
05:40and how people feel that and how it gets them through, whether they're going through cancer treatments
05:48or if they've lost a loved one, just a lot of the stroke patients will come and say,
05:56he was my inspiration to keep on going because I was ready to give up.
06:00I was depressed.
06:01I was this.
06:02I was that.
06:02But, you know, I'd listen to Randy Travis, and I knew I could get better every day
06:08because if he can, I can.
06:11That's my favorite part of the concert series is getting to hear the stories.
06:18Is there any song that James Dupree does of Randy's that you've found he does such a special thing with
06:25or has a way with, or when you watch him, you're even more proud?
06:30There are some songs that Randy had that were real deep.
06:34You know, the voice is so cute because James, during the concert, when he sings those songs,
06:41he gravitates over to the side of the stage where Randy and I are sitting.
06:46And it just tickles me because he nails it, and the crowd realizes what he was doing.
06:52And he'll always say, well, I had to get over there closer to Randy for that because, you know,
06:56he's center stage and he's not over by us all.
06:59But he always gravitates over by Randy, and he'll say, I get over there by Randy because it helps me.
07:06He needs some of that good energy coming from Randy to hit those notes.
07:10Oh, I love that.
07:11James does such a beautiful job with all of the songs, and Randy is so pleased with it.
07:17And after every concert, you know, backstage, he'll say, good, real good, right?
07:23Yeah.
07:24No.
07:25Yeah.
07:25Yeah, James, he's a dear soul.
07:28We love him.
07:28Oh, it's so special.
07:30And, you know, it's so crazy.
07:31I can't believe it.
07:32We're here.
07:32CMA Awards are next week.
07:33The holidays are upon us.
07:34What are you guys looking forward to about the holidays this year?
07:37Wow.
07:37I think being home for any period of time.
07:41Yeah.
07:42We'll be back and forth to Nashville a few times before Christmas, and looking forward to that, too.
07:48But, you know, the holiday seasons, Christmas, Thanksgiving, it seems like they're forever away, you know, in January, February, and
07:58then summertime.
07:59But then they're right here upon us, and then they fly by, and you just wish they could last longer.
08:06I know, Juan, I'm sure with you guys being on tour, like getting home from tour, and then it's like,
08:10oh, the holidays are here all of a sudden, I'm sure.
08:13Yeah, I'm not sure a Christmas tree will get put up this year, but I'm going to try.
08:16You know what?
08:17I put mine up yesterday, Mary, because I was like, if I don't put it up today, I will not
08:20get it up, because there's no time left before the end.
08:23But, like, we're so busy, and I was like, oh, it's November 8th, all right, here we go.
08:28Here we go.
08:29Yeah, I think we're getting the Christmas lights on the house while we're gone.
08:34I think he said he could get that done, so that may be Christmas there.
08:39No, we'll get it up.
08:40We always do.
08:41We think we don't, but we do.
08:44And I have a question for you.
08:45It's actually not Christmassy, but more thinking about next summer.
08:48So, Bill Lee declared June 2nd Randy Travis Day on the 40-year anniversary of Storms of Life.
08:55And I want to know, what would you say is the best way to celebrate Randy Travis Day?
09:00Listen to a little bit of Randy Travis music.
09:03You know, people, I think people identify his music with just, you know, the old jukeboxes and the pickup drives
09:13with Grandpa and just getting out.
09:17And I always tell people, I say, just turn off the TV, put down the phone, take a drive, go
09:23sit by the lake, and, you know, thank God for great music and more life.
09:27So, I think just listening to a little bit of Randy Travis on that day and, you know, being reminded
09:33of the differences music made.
09:35Absolutely.
09:36Well, listen, thank you so much for coming to see us.
09:38I really enjoy getting to hear this album, and I'm so excited for it to be out.
09:42Thank you, Randy.
09:44And thank you, Mary.
09:46That was so lovely.