Curious about Travis’ story and his current condition? Here’s what he’s been up to for the past few years.

Randy Travis is making new music with AI

According to his long-time producer Kyle Lehning, per AP, the team created two AI models for the project – one featuring 12 vocal stems and the other comprising 42 stems gathered throughout Travis’s career.

He had a stroke in 2013

In 2011, Travis recorded a special acoustic concert to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of his hit 1986 album Storms of Life, which sold over 3 million copies, per the singer’s website. What no one knew at the time was that this live recording would become one of his last.

Two years later, while the concert footage was being prepared for release, Travis was hospitalised near Dallas with severe viral cardiomyopathy, leading to a massive stroke that required brain surgery, according to Today.

While Today reports that doctors gave the singer less than a 1 per cent chance of survival, he recovered. However, the stroke severely affected his ability to play guitar and sing.

After his stroke, Travis was moved to a physiotherapy facility to start his recovery. According to Heart.org, he developed aphasia from his health ordeal, which impairs communication. Even now, Travis struggles with speech and depends on his wife to help him communicate during interviews.

He was added to The Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016

Despite his difficulty with speech, in a memorable moment in 2016, he delighted fans by singing “Amazing Grace” at his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, per People. His wife, Mary Travis, joined him on stage. “Today is the greatest day of Randy’s celebrated music career. Randy wants to thank you for listening and loving him,” she said.

He released a new version of his old demo

In 2020, Travis released a track he initially recorded as a demo in 1984, “Fool’s Love Affair”. His wife explained the release in a Today interview, saying the song “needed to be heard” after sitting on the shelf for decades.

There’s a documentary about his life

In 2020, a documentary celebrating the singer’s life titled Randy Travis: More Life, was released. It meshes footage from that final concert with an exploration of his challenging health journey, including multiple critical emergencies and his extensive rehabilitation, per AARP. Travis also goes on “tour” with James Dupré, who substitutes for his vocal performances in the More Life Tour in 2024.