In July 2013, Randy Travis was on life support with a 1 to 2 percent chance of survival. Doctors told his wife, Mary, to pull the plug. But as she said, “the 1 to 2 percent chance is 100 percent chance over zero.” Twelve years later, the “Forever and Ever, Amen” crooner, 66, walked onstage with Mary at his side to accept the Milestone Award at the 18th ACM Honors on Wednesday (Aug. 20.) But first, Randy Travis watched from the audience as Jamey Johnson honored him with a haunting performance of his most recent No. 1 single.
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Jamey Johnson Puts Spin on Randy Travis Classic
Taking the stage at the Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee, Jamey Johnson delivered a tender rendition of Randy Travis’ 2002 hit “Three Wooden Crosses.” The CMA Award-winning artist, 50, kept it simple as he strummed his guitar and sang, There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway / Why there’s not four of them, Heaven only knows / I guess it’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you / It’s what you leave behind you when you go.
@jamey_johnson is here to honor Nashville and country music icon, @randytravis, as this years’ recipient of the ACM Milstone Award! 👏 🏆 And can we just say, what a moment! pic.twitter.com/R8qXubNVH0
— Nashville Tennessee (@visitmusiccity) August 21, 2025
It truly sounded like Johnson was singing directly to Travis, and fans everywhere expressed how much the performance moved them. “Dude can sing anything,” remarked one TikTok user.
Added another, “Jamey you sound like WILLIE NELSON.”
Randy Travis May Have More AI Hits in the Pipeline
After Jamey Johnson’s performance, Randy Travis received the ACM Milestone Award. With this honor, the Academy of Country Music recognizes artists and industry leaders for a “specific, unprecedented or outstanding achievement in the field of country music.”
Travis developed aphasia, which hindered his communication abilities, after suffering a stroke due to complications of congestive heart failure. The health setback could have completely derailed his career. Instead, the 11-time ACM Award winner worked with longtime producer Kyle Lehning to record a brand-new song, “Where That Came From,” with the help of artificial intelligence-assisted vocals. He has since released a second, “Horses in Heaven” — and his wife says there’s another song :in the can.”
“AI’s something that… you fear the unknown, you’re not sure what to think of it,” Mary Travis told Billboard on the ACM Honors red carpet. “Randy was always on the forefront of ideas in country music… AI was just another one of those things.”
Featured image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for ACM
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