Even if you’re not into country, you can’t help but hear Randy Travis’ baritone tone. His voice is as deep as whiskey. It’s been that way ever since his first album, Storms of Life, in 1986. “We thought if we sold 40,000 copies, maybe they’d let us make a second record,” producer Kyle Lehning said.
they ended up selling 4 million. “That’s why I’m a genius!” Lening laughed.
Randy Travis and his voice helped build Warner Music Nashville into what it is today. “How do you explain something that hits you right in the middle of your chest and subconsciously makes you feel full, familiar, and known?” says Chris, co-chairman and co-president of the label.・Lacey said. “how explain something like that? “
He was a God-given talent…and fate took it all away.
In 2013, Travis suffered a severe stroke.. His chance of survival was only 2%. “I thought he was going to lose him,” Lehning said.
“I felt like it might be the end of an era,” Lacey said.
In addition to the paralysis, the area of his brain that controls speech and language was the hardest hit. “Music is what he is made of. Music is his heart and soul,” said Randy’s wife, Mary.
Mary does most of the talking these days. She said she knew what Randy was trying to say, but it wasn’t coming out very well.
When asked if they were able to reconcile, Randy said, “Yeah, yeah.”
Three years after his stroke, Travis was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame with Mary by his side. Giving new meaning to “Amazing Grace”. There was not a dry eye in the house.
However, in his absence, he has been hearing many AI-generated fakes of his own voice. A quick Google search will bring up sites that claim to transform someone’s vocals into something that sounds exactly like Randy and Travis. “It’s not authentic because it doesn’t sound good and it’s not authentic,” Lacey said.
And that gave his record label an idea. “We started with the concept of what AI can help with,” Lacey said. good Are you like us? And the first thing that came to mind was to give Randy Travis his voice back. ”
There were many skeptics – including Kyle Lehning. “It was like a parlor trick or something,” he said.
However, Lehning (with Randy’s blessing) decided to give it a try. He and Warner His Music began by pulling his 42 songs from Randy’s archives, as well as his original recording of his hit song “1982.” Then they removed the music and left only the vocals.
That’s only half of the recipe. The other half had to be provided by donated or “proxy” voices. In this case, that voice comes from country music singer James Dupre.
The AI program – the “secret sauce” – takes Travis’ voice and overlays it over Dupre’s singing. It’s not an exact science. “It’s not what it sounds like that matters, it’s how it sounds feel”Lerning said.
And that’s not something computers can understand. “Not yet!” Lening laughed.
He knows Travis’ voice better than Randy. They have worked together for 40 years. But this time the challenge was to take a computer-generated voice and give it Randy’s country heart. “Having him here and him being able to play a key role in the decision-making process makes a big difference to me,” Lehning said.
Ultimately, they arrived at what they felt was the right voice for a voice that could only be imitated by those who knew him best.
According to Lacey, “It’s Randy Travis. It’s Randy on the other side of the mic. It’s still his vocals. If he still wants to make music, there’s no reason he can’t make music and there’s no reason to take that away. “No,” that’s unconscionable to me. ”
Two months ago, Warner Music gathered a small group of musician friends into a recording studio. Randy sat there with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face, and they pressed “play.”
Listen to “Where That Came From” by Randy Travis.
The reaction to his first new song in over 10 years was a mixture of joy and surprise.
Tears for my wife. There was confusion for Randy’s country friends, like Grammy-winning superstar Carrie Underwood. (“How? How? how? ! ?For Cole Swindell, who just won three ACM Awards, it reminded him why he became a country singer in the first place. To hear your song! ) and veteran country star Clay Walker was just overjoyed.
Even Randy’s own family didn’t know about it until two weeks ago.
It was perfect…with a caveat. “I don’t know exactly how I’m going to get back here again,” Chris Lacey said.
The second song they’re working on proves to be an even more difficult problem. There is still work to be done and many questions to be answered about what this means going forward.
But have fun with this. After a 10-year hiatus, Randy Travis is back on radio. His post-stroke debut song “Where That Came From” was released last week.
For Randy, it’s more than just a single, it’s a victory. And as Mary says, “It’s the inspiration for life: speak kindly, love fully, live fully, and leave the rest to God.”
I feel like there’s a song in there somewhere. We can only hope.
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Story produced by Reid Olvedahl. Editor: Lauren Burnero.