On This Day in 1986, Randy Travis Was in the Middle of an Eight-Week Run at No. 1 With an Album That Lit a Fire Under Country Music

On this day (September 3) in 1986, Randy Travis was at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with his debut album, Storms of Life. The album spent eight non-consecutive weeks in the top spot. It also produced a pair of No. 1 singles and cemented his place in the country music pantheon.

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After years of trying to break into the country music scene in Nashville, releasing a pair of unsuccessful singles in the late 1970s, Travis finally got his break in 1985. He inked a deal with Warner Bros. Records and began working on his debut album. The next year, he released Storms of Life.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1985, Randy Travis Released a Single That Flopped Before Becoming a Major Hit a Year Later]

Randy Traywick released “On the Other Hand,” his debut single as Randy Travis, in July 1985. At the time, it didn’t do well. It peaked at No. 67 on the Hot Country Songs chart. In December, he released “1982,” which peaked at No. 6, giving Travis his first hit. Then, in April, the label re-released “On the Other Hand,” and it became his first No. 1.

Not counting a handful of Christmas songs, which rarely chart well, Travis released nothing but hit singles for the rest of the decade. He scored a total of 10 No. 1 singles before the end of 1989. He had even more success on the country albums chart, notching four consecutive No. 1 albums. In short, Travis was on fire, and that fire was starting to spread.

Randy Travis Leads Country Music to New Heights

Randy Travis worked toward the dream of being a country singer nearly his entire life. He grew up playing music with his brother in North Carolina before moving to Nashville in 1981. The next four years saw him trying and failing to find a record deal. Even a second-place showing on the singing competition show You Can Be a Star and several appearances on Nashville Now, the show hosted by Ralph Emery, he couldn’t catch a break. Finally, while working as a cook and singing at the Nashville Palace nightclub, he got his big break.

Likely, Travis never dreamed he would help spearhead a movement that would change country music. He probably had no idea he’d set sales records with his debut album. However, he did both of those things.

According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Travis was the first country artist to go Platinum with their debut album. When Storms of Life went 2x Platinum, he was the first country artist with a multi-Platinum debut. These sales figures and chart placements weren’t just good for him, though. They were good for the genre as a whole.

Travis helped bring country music to a new level of commercial success. At the same time, he wasn’t chasing the pop-infused trends of the time. Instead, he was singing traditional-sounding country songs with a baritone voice like butter. This signaled to major labels that this throwback sound was a hot commodity.

In the coming decade, artists like Randy Travis, George Strait, Clint Black, and Alan Jackson carried the banner of traditional country to the charts and airwaves. Their success helped shape the now-iconic 1990s country sound.

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