Randy Travis stages stunning comeback with help from AI after devastating stroke
Randy Travis is leaning into artificial intelligence (AI) to continue to produce new music, over a decade after his near-fatal stroke.
In 2013, Travis' stroke left him with aphasia – which is the loss of ability to understand or express speech.
With the help of AI and country musician James Dupré, Travis was able to produce two new songs since his stroke, "Where That Came From" in 2024 and now his latest single, "Horses in Heaven." He has been on his "More Life Tour" since last spring and recently extended dates through fall 2025.
Randy's wife, Mary Travis, joined him for an interview with Garden & Gun to explain how her husband used AI for new music.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
"People think you just plug it in a computer and it spits out a song and there’s no creativity. That could not be farther from the truth. It took eleven months. In the time most people make an album, we did one song," she told the outlet.
WATCH: Randy Travis and his wife Mary call AI ‘magical’ for giving him back his voice
"Kyle Lehning, Randy’s longtime producer, sent the raw vocals of about 45 of Randy’s songs to London, where they were put into the model using a vocal line provided by country music singer James Dupré. They were able to pick the voice stems of Randy’s songs and lay them over the vocal line.
"When it came back from London, Kyle and Randy worked their magic in the studio to perfect the song, tweaking it to make sure that his tone, his inflections, everything was like what Randy would sing. When we finally heard the result, we knew it was worth it," Mary said.
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She added, "Hopefully it will set a precedent for what AI is used for."
Thanks to AI, Travis was able to go back on tour. Dupré has been on tour with him, assisting as a special guest vocalist on the music legend's "More Life Tour," which kicked off last spring.
When Garden & Gun asked Randy how excited he was about extending his tour, he smiled and said, "Just a lot. Yeah."
Mary added, "He loves being with his fans. He loves the energy of the stage. 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."
Mary told the outlet that AI has been "wonderful" for her husband.
"In 2013, that was not anything we could have perceived on the horizon. AI has come up so fast and furiously. When we were approached by Cris Lacy at Warner about it, it was exciting. I wanted to hear that voice more than anything — I have for 12 years now.
"Randy’s always been very much a pioneer in music. When you think about the Toby Keith song, ‘Don’t Let the Old Man In,’ that’s Randy Travis. He’s not letting the old man in. He’s gonna keep thinking of what we can do to make a difference," she told the outlet.
In 2023, Randy and Mary spoke with Fox News Digital about his condition ahead of a tribute concert, which also raised money for the Randy Travis Foundation. The foundation focuses on stroke and aphasia awareness and supporting music education in schools.
"We want people to understand strokes, stroke rehabilitation, that there is life after stroke," Mary said at the time. "We did find that all of the rehab that we went through, life is the best rehab. Just get out there. Go do what you used to do. You know, the world may wonder why you're out here, but just go out there and, you know, dance like nobody's watching and sing like nobody's listening and just have a good time. It truly is the best therapy."
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Mary also cited her and Randy’s faith for helping them work through recovery.
"He's very faithful," she said. "We, you know, we leaned hard on God. It's been 10 years now since the stroke, and that's hard to believe. … There's really no words for it, and there's not a day that goes by that I just don't thank God for his grace and his mercy."