We all know that Randy Travis is a country music icon. His deep baritone voice has grabbed the ears of millions of listeners over the years. Additionally, his passion for real traditional country music helped to change the face of the genre in the eighties. Today, Travis’ catalog is almost as deep as his voice and it’s full of solid country gold. However, his life is a bit of a mystery to many fans.
Well, that’s all going to change before too long. A new documentary titled More Life is coming and it can’t get here soon enough. It will dive deep into the life, career, struggles, and perseverance of Randy Travis. Earlier this month, the Country Music Hall of Fame hosted a small screening of the film, according to CMT.
More Life Didn’t Start as a Randy Travis Documentary
More Life producer Shaun Silva started working on the project almost a decade ago. Silva was shooting footage of Randy Travis for a TV special in late 2012. However, in 2013 Travis experienced a stroke that halted his career. At the same time, it halted the production of the special. Before that, Silva captured some of the crooner’s final performances. The TV special fell by the wayside, but over time it became something else entirely.
Shaun Silva stuck with Randy Travis, chronicling his fight back to health after the stroke. About the film, Silva said, “It went from a TV music special to a documentary about the toughest man I’ve ever met in my life. That’s the story.”
What to Expect from More Life
CMT shared a few details from More Life. For instance, audiences will meet Kyle Lehning, Randy Travis’ longtime producer. He shares a few stories about the country music icon in the film.
Lehning recalled the time that one of Travis’ songs became an all-genre hit. The country crooner was mortified and immediately wanted his song pulled from the chart. At the time, he thought the chart was specifically for pop songs.
“Randy Travis would have rather been a traditional country failure than he would have been a success in any other kind of music,” Lehning said, summing up Travis’ passion for the genre.
More Life will also dive deep into Randy Travis’ personal struggles. At one point, Mary Travis talks about the day Randy’s doctors came to her and advised her to disconnect life support. She asked her husband about it and he squeezed her hand. At that moment, she knew that Randy wanted to keep fighting to stay alive. “He’s stubborn. I don’t know if you know that about him,” she said.
We don’t have a release date for More Life yet, but distribution details should be revealed in the coming months.
