Luke Combs & Garth Brooks Discuss How Randy Travis “Brought Traditional Country Radio Back”
on Jul 31, 2024
During a recent appearance on Garth Brooks’ radio station, the BIG 615, Luke Combs joined Garth for an in-depth conversation, covering a variety of topics.
In a clip from the interview shared on social media, Garth asks Luke about his favorite country artists growing up. As he lists the artists who inspired him, the pair couldn’t help but give credit where credit is due when Luke mentions an artist who significantly changed the country music game.
“When I was riding around in the car, my guys were Vince [Gill], you, Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt,” Luke said. “The first thing I can remember singing was Vince,” he added.
Of course, all the singers Luke named are legends in their own right, but Garth pointed out that he mentioned one name that stood out from the rest.
“The list you named… there’s one guy that’s ahead of all of them in age and it’s Randy Travis. And I’ll tell you this, being one of those guys on that list, being one of those guys in that era… if it wasn’t for Randy Travis, I don’t think any of us would have been on the radio. Because he brought traditional country radio back.”
View this post on Instagram
Much of the success of modern country music can be traced back to Randy Travis. His arrival in the mid-1980s introduced a “new country” sound that reshaped the genre, paving the way for other artists to explore and expand country music. Throughout his successful career, Randy Travis has won seven Grammy Awards, achieved 52 charted singles, and secured 23 No. 1 hits.
Unfortunately, Travis’s career was halted when he suffered a massive stroke in 2013, which significantly impacted his speaking and singing abilities.
As Garth and Luke continued their conversation, Garth raised an intriguing question to Luke, asking if he believes the country genre is on the verge of experiencing another “Randy Travis moment,” or if the genre even needs a genre-bending shift like that right now.
“I think it’s almost at this kind of fork in the road where it’s soared in popularity,” Luke said regarding country music. “Almost unlike anything – we’re talking you and Shania times – it feels like it’s that big. You got the Beyonce thing, you got Post Malone dipping his toes in and everybody else has got a country side project. It’s the hot ticket item right now.”
“And I think we’re in that space right now where it’s like… you can have the trap beat and the acoustic songwriter Zach Bryan thing and they’re both doing stadium shows. And there’s enough room in there for everybody to do it.”
You can listen to the discussion between Garth Brooks and Luke Combs in the video below.
