Randy Travis' New Song

One of the top added songs this past week comes from Traditional Country music hero Randy Travis. A feat, he and everyone thought would never happen, but thanks to artificial intelligence, we have been blessed once again with Randy’s signature voice. The way it was done is groundbreaking as Randy’s recorded voice spanning four decades was used and processed using artificial intelligence.

We’ve come a long way, baby.. Back in 2021, I wrote an article on the future of country music and artificial intelligence’s potential role. The results of AI generated country music back then were disastrous. This time around, we have a song written by Scotty Emerick and John Scott Sherrill. Both songwriters are humans, I think lol.. And a touch of Artificial Intelligence to bring Randy’s vocals into the fold.

Additionally, Randy had the fortune of working with his longtime producer Kyle Lehning on the production of the recording. The vocals were smoothed out, and tweaked until the undeniable soulful baritone sound was achieved.. When Randy first heard his AI voice, his eyes welled up and his head dropped to his lap. 

Randy was overwhelmed by gratitude and hopefulness. In this capacity, the technology is bringing joy to fans around the world that have missed one of the most soulful voices in country music.

Randy Travis was one of a fresh crop of 80’s neo-traditionalists that brought country music back to its golden era 1950’s honky tonk sound. In that genre-defying group were Dwight Yoakam, Ricky Van Shelton, George Strait, and Alan Jackson among others.

For his efforts, Randy was bestowed with seven Grammys, and an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Additionally, throughout his career, Randy has earned multiple platinum sellers, and topped Billboard's Hot Country Song chart sixteen times.

The reason why Randy Travis' new song Where That Came From is so miraculous is because Randy suffered a stroke in 2013. The stroke affected the part of the brain that controls speech. Randy lost his voice and was given a 2% chance of recovery. Here we are, 11 years later enjoying a new song from Randy thanks to technology, wow..

Artificial intelligence is not something that can be dismissed as evil or the death of humanity as we know it.. Quite the opposite as it has many effective uses such as medical diagnosis, automation of tasks, and online help via chat or digital assistants just to name a few. It is true that some jobs will eventually be carried out by AI, but it can also assist in upskilling and retraining in new skills for a better job.

New technology is almost always greeted with a healthy dose of skepticism. When the automobile was introduced in the 1800’s it was seen as a “city folk” thing and a visible status of wealth. The airplane was also met with marginal support and nationally lambasted. A 1909 excerpt from The Engineering Magazine really encapsulates the sentiment at the time..

“We do not believe it will ever be a commercial vehicle at all. We do not believe it will find any very large place in the world of sport.”

Boy, some things just don’t age well, do they.. Nothing is to be feared, only understood. Right now, AI is an emerging technology, and we are in the wild wild west of it. The government is just starting to acknowledge AI’s detrimental and positive possibilities. 

The great state of Tennessee made history when it became the first to pass legislation that prohibits AI generated vocals in the likeness of an artist. Other states will follow as AI definitely needs legal guardrails to ensure fairness as we move forward as a society.

I’m sure we’ll see and hear many more uses of this technology in music as well. Some will be great, others will be horrible. For now, we’re basking in the afterglow of Randy’s unprecedented return. Like the warmth of the sun on our skin after a long day at the beach. It's a moment to pause and reflect on how far we’ve come. 

Let’s appreciate the beauty of life and embrace technology as we savor the memories that bring us happiness like listening to a new song from one of our favorite artists after 11 years.. It's a reminder to slow down, take a deep breath, and soak in all the good things..

This is one of the good things..

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