Nearly 15 years after his rise to country music superstardom, RANDY TRAVIS remains at the top of his game with his new DreamWorks Records Nashville album, A Man Ain’t Made of Stone. Travis’ commitment to country music has remained unwavering since the release of Randy’s 1986 quadruple-platinum debut album Storms of Life, which launched a string of 10 consecutive multi-platinum albums. “Out of My Bones,” the first single from Travis’ DreamWorks debut You and You Alone, was released in 1998, delivering the label its first Number One country hit while re-establishing Travis as an artist prepared to bring country music into the next millennium.

Despite the illusion that Randy came out of nowhere in 1986 with Storms of Life, he had already spent five years playing at a Charlotte, North Carolina, nightclub. That was even before his 1981 move to Nashville which opened the next chapter in his life’s story, a prime example of an artist paying his dues. With Randy’s manager Elizabeth Hatcher taking on a job at the Nashville Palace, a nightclub and restaurant near Opryland, he worked as a dishwasher and short-order cook, occasionally moving from the kitchen to the bandstand to sing a few songs.

Storms of Life arrived at the end of the “Urban Cowboy” craze, a time when many country artists were hard at work to chase pop crossover success. With the singles “On the Other Hand” and “1982,” Randy was at the forefront of a group of artists turning the tide back to the basics. Travis balances a full-time music career with a full-time acting career. In addition to guest appearances on TV’s Matlock, Touched By an Angel, and Texas; his film credits include The Rainmaker (starring Jon Voight, Matt Damon and Danny DeVito), Frankie & Jessie (Bill Paxton, Rob Lowe), Black Dog (Patrick Swayze), and Fire Down Below (Steven Seagal). He’s also featured with Antonio Banderas, Ellen Barkin, Lily Tomlin, and Bob Hoskins in the upcoming White River Kid. Travis recently completed filming a starring role in the upcoming Miramax/Dimension film Texas Rangers with James Van Der Beek, Dylan McDermott, and Usher. He also finished work on Major Remo, an independent film documentary featuring legendary film actor Charlton Heston. Travis’ future film work includes the independent film, John-John in the Sky.

In the future, Randy plans to concentrate more on his songwriting, an endeavor which has served him well with “Heroes & Friends,” (written with Don Schlitz) and his CMA-nominated Song of the Year, “I Told You So.” His songwriting collaborations with longtime friend Alan Jackson have been particularly fruitful, resulting in Jackson’s hit “She’s Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)” and Travis’ smash, “A Better Class of Losers.”