Randy Travis Announces First Album in 18 Years With Previously Unheard Recordings

Country music legend Randy Travis is opening the vault once again — and this time, fans are getting something many never thought they would hear: a brand-new album built from recordings made before his devastating 2013 stroke.

Travis has announced his first album in 18 years, featuring 12 original songs recorded between 1986 and 2013. The project takes a very different path from the AI-assisted music he released in recent years, bringing his unmistakable original voice back to the forefront.

The album was assembled after longtime producer Kyle Lehning discovered the recordings hidden away in the vault.

Kyle Lehning Found the Missing Pieces

According to Travis’ announcement on social media, Lehning spent years working with the previously stored material, assembling, remixing and remastering the tracks with Travis’ input.

The result is a collection of 12 original Randy Travis songs, giving longtime fans another opportunity to hear the voice that helped define modern country music.

The album’s title track, “Same Old Way,” which Travis co-wrote with Lehning, has already been released.

For fans who have followed Travis’ career, the project carries particular weight. His 2013 stroke severely affected his ability to sing, making the possibility of another traditional Randy Travis album seem almost unimaginable.

Now, those lost recordings have provided a way back.

Randy Travis Previously Turned to AI

Following his stroke, Travis found another way to continue making music.

In 2024, he released “Where That Came From,” his first new single created with the help of artificial intelligence to recreate his distinctive vocal sound. He followed it with “Horses In Heaven” in 2025.

The use of AI immediately sparked debate, but the project was presented as a way of giving Travis an opportunity to make music again despite the physical limitations caused by his stroke.

Cris Lacy, chair and president of Warner Records Nashville, previously explained the thinking behind the technology, saying the goal was to give Travis his voice back while allowing him to remain involved in the creative process.

That approach allowed Travis to return to recording in a way that would otherwise have been extremely difficult.

But This Album Tells a Different Story

“Same Old Way” and the upcoming album don’t rely on the same AI process as those recent singles.

Instead, the project draws from Travis’ actual recordings made decades ago, with Lehning bringing together material that had remained unheard or unfinished in the vault.

That makes the album especially meaningful for longtime fans. Rather than trying to recreate the past, the project allows listeners to hear Travis’ original voice as it was captured during his recording career.

And after 18 years without a traditional Randy Travis album, those recordings suddenly have a second life.

For a singer whose career was changed forever in 2013, the discovery of these songs feels like an unexpected musical time capsule — one that could give fans 12 more chances to hear an irreplaceable country voice doing what it always did best.