Randy Travis’ ‘Fool’s Love Affair’ Precedes Hitmaking Career [Listen]
Randy Travis' new song is actually one of his first. An unreleased demo called "Fool's Love Affair" can be heard on country radio stations across America starting Wednesday (July 29) in honor of the Country Music Hall of Famer's 35th anniversary in the music business.
On July 29, 1985, Travis released his first single "On the Other Hand" to begin a recording career that would include 16 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and 30 Top 10s. "Fool's Love Affair" was written and recorded before that, however. Per Billboard, the song was cut as a demo in 1983 or 1984 and never released. Longtime Travis producer Kyle Lehning agreed to isolate the vocals and build a new track to take the song to country radio.
Charlie Monk, Keith Stegall and Milton Brown wrote "Fool's Love Affair," and Billboard shares that Travis recalls the song from his past, but doesn't remember recording it. He hadn't even signed a record deal at the time, but his life would change with songs from the Storms of Life album.
During a 25-year recording career, Travis became known as the epitome of what country music should sound like. A stroke in 2013 silenced his singing voice, but the 61-year-old remains active in the music community, taking in concerts (when concerts were permitted) and greeting fans as he can. Travis was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
See Randy Travis Pictures, Through the Years:
As one would expect from a classic Randy Travis song, "Fool's Love Affair" is an undying country traditional that follows a man and a woman in a forbidden romance. The couple take up the same motel room weekly for their tryst.
"It's just pretending / But the guilt's always there / It's just a once a week / Fool's love affair," Travis sings.
A new lyric video adds modern imagery to this new song. Enjoy the song, then revisit some of the singer's best songs below.
See Randy Travis' 10 Best Songs: