Randy Travis has announced his first original body of work in 18 years, with the country legend treating fans to a preview of the forthcoming album to patients and families at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on Tuesday (July 7th).

The rollout will begin with ’Fish On’, the first song to be dusted off from the vault, on Friday (July 10th). Crucially, all these recordings feature Travis’ original vocals, with no AI involved in their creation, as they were recorded prior to his stroke in 2013.

Travis has released two AI-generated songs, ‘Where That Came From’ and ’Horses in Heaven’, in recent years, with the technology being used to create new vocals in Travis’ style.

Now, though, this project - which is yet to be given an official title or release date - will entirely consist of songs recorded by the ‘Three Wooden Crosses’ hitmaker himself.

Ahead of the announcement, Travis - with the help of his wife, Mary - underlined his excitement, “Sharing the love of music for decades with listeners of all ages has been an honor of mine. I feel extremely blessed. Earlier this week, as we announced my new album and played some of the songs for the children and families at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, I was reminded of my reason for doing it. Gratitude and appreciation welled up as emotions I didn’t expect when stories were shared about a particular song's impact on their lives. I hope these dusted-off songs from the vault touch folks the same old way”.

As part of the St. Jude event, up-and-coming artist Alexandra Kay performed an array of Travis’ biggest hits, including ‘Forever and Ever, Amen’, ‘I Told You So’ and ‘Deeper Than The Holler’, creating an unforgettable moment for many patients and families.