Summary
Storms of Life is the debut studio album by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released on June 2, 1986 by Warner Records. Certified 3× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA for American shipments of three million copies.[2] it features the singles "On the Other Hand" (previously recorded by Keith Whitley on his 1985 album L.A. to Miami), "1982", "Diggin' up Bones" and "No Place Like Home". Although "On the Other Hand" charted at number 67 on the Hot Country Songs chart upon its initial release, the song reached number one on the same chart once it was re-released, following "1982" which peaked at number six. "Diggin' up Bones" also reached number one, while "No Place Like Home" peaked at number two.
| Storms of Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 2, 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Studio | Emerald Sound Studio, GroundStar Lab, Morning Star Studio, Sound Stage Studio, Nashville, TN | |||
| Genre | Neotraditional country[1] | |||
| Length | 31:45 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. Nashville | |||
| Producer | Kyle Lehning Keith Stegall | |||
| Randy Travis chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Storms of Life | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  link |
| Chicago Tribune | favorable link |
| Robert Christgau | link |
| Rolling Stone | favorable link |
"There'll Always Be a Honky Tonk Somewhere" was later recorded by Daron Norwood for his second album Ready, Willing and Able.
The 35th anniversary edition of the album was released on 24 September 2021. The anniversary edition includes remastered versions of the original ten tracks, as well as three previously unreleased songs ("Ain't No Use", "The Wall" and "Carryin' Fire"), labelled "From the Vault".
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "On the Other Hand" | Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz | 3:06 |
| 2. | "The Storms of Life" | Max D. Barnes, Troy Seals | 2:45 |
| 3. | "My Heart Cracked (But It Did Not Break)" | Ronny Scaife, Don Singleton, Phil Thomas | 2:20 |
| 4. | "Diggin' Up Bones" | Al Gore, Overstreet, Nat Stuckey | 3:01 |
| 5. | "No Place Like Home" | Overstreet | 4:08 |
| 6. | "1982" | Buddy Blackmon, Vip Vipperman | 2:59 |
| 7. | "Send My Body" | Randy Travis | 3:02 |
| 8. | "Messin' with My Mind" | Joe Allen, Charlie Williams | 3:07 |
| 9. | "Reasons I Cheat" | Travis | 4:23 |
| 10. | "There'll Always Be a Honky Tonk Somewhere" | Steve Clark, Johnny MacRae | 3:13 |
Production edit
All tracks produced by Kyle Lehning, except "On the Other Hand" and "Reasons I Cheat", produced by Lehning and Keith Stegall.
The store used for the Storms of Life album cover was located at 36.3266554,-85.7135729, in Jackson County, Tennessee. The local general store in the community of Flynn's Lick had been closed for many years before being decorated for the photo shoot. The physical location is TN Highway 53 at the corner of Fort Blount Ferry Road. Today, only the concrete pad remains, however the previous standing structure is clearly recognizable on Google Maps.
Personnel edit
- Baillie & the Boys – background vocals
- Eddie Bayers – drums
- Kenny Bell – acoustic guitar
- Thomas Brannon – background vocals
- Dennis Burnside – keyboards
- Larry Byrom – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Mark Casstevens – acoustic guitar
- Paul Davis – background vocals
- Jerry Douglas – dobro
- Phil Forrest – background vocals
- Steve Gibson – electric guitar
- Doyle Grisham – steel guitar
- Mark Hembree – acoustic bass
- Hoot Hester – fiddle
- David Hungate – bass guitar
- Don Jackson – clarinet
- Greg Jennings – electric guitar
- Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica, percussion
- Shane Keister – keyboards
- Kyle Lehning – keyboards, background vocals
- Larrie Londin – drums
- Terry McMillan – harmonica, percussion
- Fred Newell – electric guitar
- Mark O'Connor – fiddle, mandolin
- Paul Overstreet – background vocals
- Michael Rhodes – bass guitar
- Lisa Silver – background vocals
- Blaine Sprouse – fiddle
- Diane Stegall – background vocals
- Keith Stegall – electric guitar
- James Stroud – drums
- Bobby Thompson – acoustic guitar
- Randy Travis – lead vocals
- Jack Williams – bass guitar
- Bobby Wood – keyboards
Charts edit
Weekly charts edit
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Year-end charts edit
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Certifications edit
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[10] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[11] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References edit
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Randy Travis". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
- ^ David Malitz (July 11, 2013). "Randy Travis: 'Storms of Life' launched the career of one of country's biggest stars". Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
- ^ "Randy Travis Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Randy Travis Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1987". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "American album certifications – Randy Travis – Storms of Life". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 29, 2020.