Garth Brooks took the honor of presenting Randy Travis with CMT’s 2021 Artist of a Lifetime award very seriously at the 2021 CMT Artists of the Year last week.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Randy Travis singlehandedly saved country music,” Brooks said on stage during his tribute to the country scene veteran. “Every artist in country music that takes the stage over the next 100 years should bow to this man and thank him for his contributions to country music.”
Travis, who debuted in 1986 with multi-platinum Storms of Life, suffered from a stroke in 2013, leaving the legendary singer unable to sing like he used to. His wife, Mary Travis, reassured country fans, saying that the stroke “may have taken the voice, but it didn’t take the man. And it didn’t take the heart.”
—
Photo credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com