Posted on 01/28/2019 3:53:05 AM PST by cowpoke
Saying Randy has had a “roller coaster” life is an understatement. He had so many appearances in juvenile court that a judge warned him, “next time, bring a toothbrush, because you won’t be going home.” Got a job washing dishes in a country music club where the manager (Lib Hatcher) discovered he could sing and took him to Nashville. She became his first wife and helped guide him to the early, ground-breaking success Travis had in the mid-80s.
If you were listening to country music back then, you can remember what a rut the genre was in; “Storms of Life” was a game changer that put country music back in touch with its roots, and set it on a new trajectory, opening the doors for many of the neo-traditionalist acts that followed.
Randy managed to keep the demons at bay for a long time. After moving to Hawaii, he began having an affair with the wife of his dentist. He divorced Lib (and paid her a huge settlement) then resettled in Texas with Wife #2 after she divorced her husband. Reportedly, she didn’t see anything wrong with Randy having a drink, so he began boozing heavily and was arrested a couple of times, once for driving around naked in his truck.
Then came the heart attack and stroke that largely robbed him of his voice and left him impaired. I’ve heard that much of his fortune is gone, and he did the book because he needs the money. He still has income from sales/downloads of his past hits, but earns very little in songwriting royalties, because he wrote very few of his own hits.
A sad story for one of the seminal country stars of his generation. Something right out of country song.
Paul Overstreet did,
Paul Overstreet also wrote one of my other favorites, ‘I’m Seeing My Father In Me’. That song reminds me of my dad, while technically my step-dad.
Met him at MSG NYC in 88. Friend got us back stage. Got chitfaced on Jack and don’t remember the show:-)
We rented one of his houses in Hawaii several years back. Only for a week. Very nice. They had a huge bouquet of fruit and candies awaiting us as a “thank you” gift. House had a bunch of his record awards all over the walls.
That might’ve been the show I was invited to. It was sometime before I was married. My friend was excited to go and had an extra ticket. At the time, I figured he’d be wasting the ticket on me, not thinking, it would still be a nice night out for two friends.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.