Despite his success, the Nashville music industry
was hesitant to embrace Travis Tritt. His music and stage show
owed too much to rock & roll, and his image didn't conform with
the behatted legions of new male singers. Nevertheless, Travis had a
breakthrough success with his second album, 1991's "It's
All About To Change." Prior to its release, he had hired
manager Ken Kragen, who also worked with
Lionel Richie,
Trisha
Yearwood, Kenny Rogers, and
"We Are the World." Kragen helped market Travis Tritt
in a way that appealed to both country fans and a mass audience,
sending "It's
All About To Change" into multi-platinum territory.
"T-R-O-U-B-L-E,"
Tritt's third album, was released in 1992. Although it didn't match
the success of "It's
All About To Change," it had the number one single "Can
I Trust You With My Heart" and went Gold. Travis bounced back to
form in 1994 with "Ten
Feet Tall & Bulletproof," which went Platinum, spawned
the number one single "Foolish Pride" and marked his highest
position, number 20, on the pop charts. His 1995 compilation "Greatest
Hits – From the Beginning" went platinum within six months
of its November release.
A part in the 1993 made-for-TV movie "Rio
Diablo" led to feature film work in "The
Cowboy Way" and "Sgt.
Bilko." Travis Tritt also had a role in HBO's
"Tales From The Crypt," performed in the Atlanta area for a
Disney concert special titled "Coming Home," and provided
half-time entertainment for a half-billion people at 1993's Super
Bowl. The "Rhythm,
Country & Blues" album, produced by Don Was, found Tritt
singing with Patti LaBelle and he
reunited The Eagles on the video shoot for "Take It Easy"
from the "Common
Thread: The Songs Of The Eagles" album. Tritt released a
holiday album in 1992, "A
Travis Tritt Christmas: Loving Time Of The Year." His
autobiography, "Ten Feet Tall And Bulletproof," was released
in conjunction with the album of the same name in 1994.
On his next album, "The
Restless Kind," Travis Tritt decided not to use
long-time producer Gregg Brown. Instead, he shared production duties
himself with master producer Don Was and the two opted to go for a
more traditional country sound, getting back to Tritt's musical roots.
The result was a record that captures an artist at the peak of his
creative powers, while keeping a personal and friendly feel. Among the
many memorable performances were "More Than You'll Ever
Know" and "Where Corn Don't Grow."
Tritt wrote or co-wrote five songs for "No
More Looking Over My Shoulder," his next release (with
Stewart Harris, Bruce Ray Brown and fellow Grammy-winners Gary Baker
and Frank J. Myers as his collaborators). Rising country star
Michael
Peterson, co-writing with Craig Wiseman, contributed the album's title
cut. Bowing to his rock 'n' roll impulses, Travis Tritt covered
two songs written by
Bruce Springsteen
and Jude Cole. The remaining all-star writers on the album are J. P.
Pennington and Les Taylor (of Exile fame), Larry Cordle (who wrote the
Ricky
Skaggs' hit, "Highway 40 Blues") and Leslie Satcher
(composer of Pam Tillis' "I Said A Prayer").
The plaintive and heartfelt ballad, "If I Lost
You," was the first single from the new package. It also served
as the soundtrack for the final music video in the trilogy that
features Travis Tritt as wounded war veteran Mac Singleton.
"The first video, 'Anymore,' dealt with the friendship of two
injured Vietnam vets, Mac and Al," Travis says. "The second,
'Tell Me I Was Dreaming,' concentrated on Mac and his pregnant wife,
Annie, who is accidentally killed. But the baby, Annie, is saved. The
third follows the story of Mac and Annie."
Most songs are written first and the concept for the
video follows. "This was just the opposite," Travis says.
"The other videos were so poignant and had such a strong message
that I started thinking about what would Mac be doing right now? What
kind of life would he have? I kept getting this picture of him
watching Annie, now 5. I saw him thinking, 'I've lost the use of my
legs. I've lost my wife. I've lost belief in myself. I've lost so many
things in my life and I've learned to come to grips with all that. But
I've built everything around you, Annie. There's no way in the world I
could live if I lost you.'
Two more singles, "No More Looking Over My
Shoulder" and "Start The Car," followed. In the summer
of 1999, after 10 years with the label, Travis Tritt asked to
be released from Warner Bros. records citing the need for a change.
The parting was amicable and Travis has since been pursuing several of
his many interests besides music (participating in an unbelievably
successful series of Radiothons with other country stars to benefit
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, as well as acting in
a couple of TV shows: "Touched By An Angel" on CBS and
"Arli$$" for HBO).
Travis signed a new record deal with SONY Nashville,
allowing him to continue putting out the kind of music that has made
him one of the most loved and respected musicians in the music
business. When that happens, the road can't be far away and, once
again, thousands of crazed fans will congregate in venues across
America and the world to scream....
"TRAVIS...TRAVIS...TRAVIS"