NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Country singer Randy Travis found his distinctive voice three years after a life-threatening stroke and sang “Amazing Grace” during his induction Sunday into the Country Music Hall of Fame .
The Grammy-winning baritone singer battled back from the stroke in 2013 to sing again during the medallion ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee. He was inducted along with fiddler Charlie Daniels and record producer Fred Foster.
Fellow artists including Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Garth Brooks and more honored the three inductees with musical tributes.
But it was Travis’ singing that brought tears to the crowd and a standing ovation after years of rehabilitation and therapy to regain his voice. The singer, with assistance from his wife, Mary Davis-Travis, and friend Garth Brooks, led the audience in singing the hymn and the crowd stood in applause at the end as he smiled. Later Travis, Daniels and Foster returned to the stage with the rest of the performers to sing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” the traditional song that ends the ceremony.
His wife spoke about the numerous procedures and surgeries to save his life and a six-month stay in the hospital after a viral infection caused his stroke.