Josh Turner might have never become a country singer, or moved to Nashville, without Randy Travis. It was Randy whose music Josh fell in love with when he started dreaming of a career in country music, and also Randy who became a personal role model for him as well.
“Randy is really the reason that I moved to Nashville to begin with,” Josh shared on Country Faith Radio with Chrissy Metz on Apple Music Country. “He’s the one that inspired me to move from South Carolina to Nashville, and chase this dream of mind. A lot of years ago, he went from being not only just a hero of mine, but a friend of mind. Randy and I have known each other for a long time. We’ve done a lot of things together. We’ve been there for each other through thick and thin.”
When Josh recorded Country State of Mind, which was his way of paying tribute to his musical heroes, he knew he wanted to include Randy on the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s classic hit, “Forever and Ever, Amen.”
“Ever since the stroke back in 2013 that he had, I’ve seen all these events, here in Nashville, of where an artist or a writer would come out here and sing ‘Forever and Ever Amen,’ and he would come out and sing the last word. And it would just slay the crowd. I could see how the fans were responding to it. I’m like, ‘Man you know it’d be so cool to get a recorded version of that.’ That’s really the motivation behind it. Once he got into the studio and started doing some vocal passes, I’m standing there beside his wife, Mary, and I see tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I put my arm around her and I said, ‘Is this the first time he’s been in the studio since the stroke?’ And she nodded her head, yes. So I gave her this big hug, and that was when I realized how big of a moment it was. It was historical, it was emotional, it was bittersweet.”
Josh also recounted the moment he realized how special Randy was, even when he thought no one else was watching.
“The first time I ever got to meet him actually was out in Las Vegas. We were doing the ACM Awards out there,’ Josh remembered. “I was sitting a few rows back from him and I can’t even tell you how excited and scared I was, because I’m thinking, here’s the guy that inspired me to move to Nashville, to chase this record deal. I got the record deal, here I am, sitting at the ACM Awards and he’s right up there. I’m freaking out. Because I’m like, I don’t want the first time to be a letdown.”
While Josh was in the audience, he saw Randy take time to chat with an elderly woman who was working as an usher, even as Randy’s people were trying to get him to head backstage.
“He stood there and he talked to this little old lady like she was the Queen of England,” Josh said. “It was crazy. So from that moment on, it made me realize that I had chosen a good hero to look up to, because he treated that woman like he wanted to be treated. That really meant a lot to me, and that spoke volumes to me. I always felt like I was that way growing up in South Carolina, but seeing somebody of that stature carry himself in that manner, it made me realize how important and how big of an influence you can have on somebody, too.”
Purchase Country State of Mind at JoshTurner.com.