For a time at the end of the ’80s, Randy Travis ruled the Top Country Albums chart. Between his second and third albums, he spent more than 50 weeks at No. 1. On this day in 1987, the North Carolina-born artist was back on top again with Always & Forever, his seminal sophomore effort.
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This Randy Travis Album Spawned Four No. 1 Hits
Randy Travis roared onto the country music scene with his 1986 debut, Storms of Life. Certified platinum three times over, the record yielded the No. 1 single “On the Other Hand” and “Diggin’ Up Bones.”
Storms of Life foreshadowed Travis’ impact as one of the premium neotraditional country artists of the ’90s. But the 11-time ACM Award winner didn’t spend much time basking in his newfound success. Just 14 months later, he released the follow-up, Always & Forever. Far from the dreaded sophomore slump, all four of the album’s singles skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart: “Too Gone Too Long”, “I Won’t Need You Anymore (Always and Forever)”, “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “I Told You So.”
The latter single would be covered by Carrie Underwood in 2007 for her album Carnival Ride. Two years later, the track was re-recorded as a duet with Travis. The song would go on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA.
You’ll likely instantly recognize “Forever and Ever, Amen” regardless of your level of country music literacy. Its message is simple: our narrator will love his partner “as long as old men sit and talk about the weather / as long as old women sit and talk about old men.” The song spent three weeks atop Billboard’s country charts, making it the first to do so since Johnny Lee’s 1980 smash hit “Lookin’ for Love.”
“Forever and Ever, Amen” cleaned up at the awards show, taking home the Grammy for Best Country & Western Song, along with Song of the Year trophies from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
Back On Tour
In July 2013, Randy Travis faced 1 percent odds of survival after suffering both a stroke and congestive heart failure. But his wife, Mary, refused to pull the plug. And twelve years later, the “Three Wooden Crosses” crooner, 66, is back onstage for his More Life Tour, which wraps Nov. 22 in Orono, Maine.
While Travis isn’t singing himself, guest vocalist James Dupree has taken over, backed by the star’s original band.
“He loves being with his fans. He loves the energy of the stage,” Mary Travis said in a May 2025 interview with Garden & Gun magazine. “People always ask if it’s hard for him to hear his music played by somebody else. I think for some people it would be, but for Randy, he’s like, No, I’m good with that. Music belongs to all of us.”
Featured image by David Redfern/Redferns
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