Randy Travis

Randy Travis is as durable and dependable as the photograph on the cover of his 1988 album Old 8X10. First appearing on the country-music radar with 1985's "1982," Travis has racked up a catalog of hits that's — to borrow one of their titles — deeper than the holler. The North Carolina native's Piedmont twang was manna from heaven for post-Urban Cowboy Nashville, and songs like "On the Other Hand," "Forever and Ever, Amen," "Diggin' Up Bones" and "Is It Still Over?" helped pave the way for the "New Traditionalist" likes of Clint Black and Alan Jackson a few years later. Travis's influence isn't lost on the current generation either, as Carrie Underwood's cover of 1988's "I Told You So" hit No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs earlier this year. Travis also has had quite a bit of gospel success in more recent years through albums like 2003's Worship & Faith and 2005's Glory Train — although he's back on the secular side of the fence with last year's Around the Bend, Friday evening promises to be full of songs that should help anyone weather those storms of life.