I still remember when I first heard Randy's rendition of "Baptism" which was
released some years back on his Gospel CD and was playing on the Gospel
radio stations AND country stations. The way Randy does a song makes you
Hello, friends and fellow Randy Travis fans. I am Jeff Napier, a former UPS delivery driver from London, KY. I hired in at UPS in '86, worked like a pack mule part time for over 9 yrs. Then, I got a bid to go into driving full time & did that for over 12 yrs. The job was very time consuming as most are. My dream, however, was, is, and always will be to write and record Gospel music. On Fri. Nov. 30th 2007, after a long time of aggravation being hassled with impossible demands, my boss and I had one too many run ins, and I walked.
The media of television, radio, and digital music are such powerful tools in our world today. These tools just go on and on performing continually. You know, I tell folks, when a person's work for God carries on even when they are asleep, away or departed from this life, that is a very blessed individual. It's like the late Reverend Charles Sivley who on a word from God almost single handedly built a Gospel radio station back in the late 70s. He has recently passed away, but his wonderful work still carries on today.
Hello, friends and fellow Travis fans out there. I wrote a blog around a month & a half ago talking about going to the Laurel Co. Detention CNTR and singing songs like "Three Wooden Crosses", "When Mama Prayed", "Baptism" etc. Up until yesterday, I had only been to the men inmates' church service at the jail, except for attending just the last 45 min. of a women's jail service recently. Well, my lovely wife, Tracy, said she just felt led to go to the women's service at the jail for her 1st time. I told her that I would take her, so I went with.
When I was 14 years old, I gave my heart to Jesus Christ and after a few years of learning about the Lord, I began to see the importance of screening what you see and hear because your eyes and ears are the gateway to the soul. I began to really lay aside a lot of the music I had listened to because the message wasn't a good one. Throughout the last few years, however, I have been very influenced by the music that Randy has recorded, particularly the messages about the Lord and about right living.
Hey friends. Can you imagine a world without music in it. It is so vast, the influence that music has on the world. And there are so many types of music in the world and each has its own message, its own meaning. Music influences the way we think, the way we perceive, the way we act. Many people are what they listen to. Whether its Rock, Country, Hip Hop, Gospel, Jazz...music is very much a part of all our lives. I think the world has been greatly blessed because of the music that Randy has brought to it.
You know, lots of people aren't into country artists crossing over into the Gospel genre to do a project. I've heard some say, "oh its just them trying to make money in other genres of music by pandering to folks who are religious." But personally, I don't buy into that stereo-typing. Lots of gospel songs have made it over into the country genre and really done well. I believe that God uses His message in other genres as well. For instance, "Three Wooden Crosses" did very well in the country genre. It still touches people's lives. Well, that's a Gospel song.
I love to write Gospel songs. I've written other styles of songs before, everything from rock and roll to comedy. However, I came to a point in my life that I knew I had an eternal destiny, and I was the one to determine that eternal destiny. I gave my heart to Jesus. Never been the same since. Now I've got purpose. So...I started writing Gospel songs...like country songs. You know, that tell the story in the country way of writing. I must say, I've been heavily influenced by Randy in my writing.
Hey Wendy. Thank you for the comment. myspace.com/jeffnapierheartwritten
Hey fellow Randy Travis fans & friends out there. Just thought I would get on here and blog a little. You know, I'm not one who likes to brag too much on people, I guess they tend to start believing it too much. But I like Randy because he's not one to get noisy & draw a lot of attention to himself. In fact, in his humble, almost backward way, he just sings his songs with an honesty that I believe is a gift from God. And you know, most of us are that way; just good ol' down to earth people who aint into the "fake" persona.