Music community honors Randy Travis in song


              Country singer Randy Travis, center, walks into a hearing room with his wife, Mary, before a meeting of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Randy Travis, who suffered a stroke in 2013, attended the hearing for Stroke Awareness Day at the legislature. Dozens of country stars, from Garth Brooks to Kenny Rogers, are scheduled to perform at a tribute show Wednesday night in Nashville to honor Travis. At left is Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Country singer Randy Travis, center, walks into a hearing room with his wife, Mary, before a meeting of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Randy Travis, who suffered a stroke in 2013, attended the hearing for Stroke Awareness Day at the legislature. Dozens of country stars, from Garth Brooks to Kenny Rogers, are scheduled to perform at a tribute show Wednesday night in Nashville to honor Travis. At left is Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A near fatal stroke couldn't take away the signature baritone of country star Randy Travis, and dozens of his friends, from Garth Brooks to Kenny Rogers, used their voices and his songs to honor the legend.

Travis watched from the side of the stage Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee, as country stars from multiple eras sang his classics, from "Forever and Ever, Amen" to "Three Wooden Crosses."

By the end, he had joined in the celebration by singing "Amazing Grace" and leading others in singing "May the Circle Be Unbroken."

Travis, whose multiplatinum debut album "Storms of Life" in 1986 made him a star, suffered a stroke in 2013 that initially took away his ability to speak or read, but he's been steadily recovering his voice.

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