Music community honors Randy Travis in song

(AP) — A near fatal stroke couldn't take away the signature baritone of country star Randy Travis, and dozens of his friends, from Garth Brooks to Kenny Rogers, used their voices and his songs to honor the legend.

Travis watched from the side of the stage Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee, as country stars from multiple eras sang his classics, from "Forever and Ever, Amen" to "Three Wooden Crosses."

Travis, whose multiplatinum debut album "Storms of Life" in 1986 made him a star, suffered a stroke in 2013 that initially took away his ability to speak or read.

Many artists talked about how Travis opened the door for a neo-traditionalist wave in country music in the late '80s with his unmistakable voice.

At the end of a rousing version of "Forever and Ever, Amen," Brooks ran over to Travis to hold the microphone so Travis could sing a soft, but still deep "Amen."