| Travis Meadows | |
| Years Active: | 2007–present |
Travis Meadows (born 1965) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released four albums and written a number of songs for other country artists.
Meadows was born in 1965 in Mississippi, growing up in Jackson.[1] He began using drugs at an early age,[1] and at 14 was diagnosed with bone cancer, which led to the loss of most of his right leg.[1]
At the age of 16, he began playing in local bands, starting his musical career as a drummer before beginning to play the harmonica and guitar by the time he was 21. During his early 20s, he performed with blues musicians such as Sam Myers, and moved to Gatlinburg, where he began writing songs. In his mid-20s, Meadows became a Christian missionary and later a preacher, traveling around the United States and overseas, as well as writing and performing Christian music. By his late 30s, however, he had become disenchanted with the church, and moved to Nashville to pursue a songwriting career. He signed a contract with Universal Music Publishing, releasing his debut album My life 101 I'm 2007, but at the same time his life-long drinking and drug habits led to a multi-year descent into alcoholism and abuse.[1] After four trips to rehab, he succeeded in regaining sobriety in 2010.[1]
In 2011, Meadows released a studio album, titled Killin' Uncle Buzzy, written in 2010 while he was recovering from his alcohol addiction during his fourth period in rehab.[1] According to Meadows, a counselor had suggested keeping a journal, which led to him writing songs instead.[1] In 2013, after his songwriting contract with Universal expired, he began writing independently before signing with independent record label Kobalt Music and releasing a third album, Old Ghosts & Unfinished Business.[2]
In 2016, Meadows was featured in an episode of the television show American Elements.[3]
In 2017, Meadows released his fourth album, First Cigarette. The album was produced by Jeremy Spillman and assisted by Jay Joyce, and is the first album by Meadows to receive label support.[4] It is also his first album to appear on Billboard charts, reaching No. 21 on Heatseekers Albums and No. 48 on Independent Albums. It sold 1,100 copies in its debut week,[5] reaching No. 17 on Americana/Folk Album Sales and No. 34 on Country Album Sales.[6]
In April 2021, Earache Records reissued Killin' Uncle Buzzy for the record's 10th Anniversary, including a limited edition clear vinyl. This was the first time the album had been available on vinyl and released by a label.[7] [8]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Heat [9] | US Indie | ||||||||
| My Life 101[10] |
| — | — | ||||||
| Killing Uncle Buzzy[11] |
| — | — | ||||||
| Old Ghosts & Unfinished Business (EP)[12] |
| — | — | ||||||
| First Cigarette |
| 21 | 48 |
| |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
In addition to his solo work, Meadows has written songs for other country musicians.
| Artist | Song | Album | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRZY | Dallas Smith | 2023 | ||
| Human | 2021 | |||
| Better Boat | Songs for the Saints | 2018 | ||
| Medicate My Mind | Find A Light | 2018 | ||
| Blackberry Smoke | Seems So Far | Find A Light | 2018 | |
| While You Still Can | Port Saint Joe | 2018 | ||
| Worth the Wait | The Project | 2017 | ||
| Hot Beer and Cold Women | Fired Up | 2016 | ||
| Things That I Lean On | Wynonna Judd & The Big Noise* | 2016 | ||
| God And Guns | It's About Time | 2016 | ||
| Knives Of New Orleans | Mr. Misunderstood | 2015 | ||
| My Crazy Head | My Crazy Head | 2015 | ||
| Riser | 2014 | |||
| Levi Lowrey | Long Way Home | Levi Lowrey | 2014 | |
| Don't You Wanna Fail | Sunshine & Whiskey | 2014 | ||
| Dark Side | The Outsiders | 2014 | ||
| Days Of Gold | 2013 | |||
| Robby Armstrong | Better Me | Robby Armstrong | 2013 | |
| Chasing Shadows | Feels Like Freedom | 2012 | ||
| Trying To Believe | Love Is a Long Road | 2012 | ||
| Blackberry Smoke | Pretty Little Lie | The Whippoorwill* | 2012 | |
| It's Gonna Be OK | It's Gonna Be OK* | 2010 | ||
| Friend Of Sinners | Redemption | 2010 | ||
| Jake Owen | Cherry On Top | Easy Does It | 2009 | |
| Gods & Guns | Gods & Guns | 2009 | ||
| Mary Gauthier | I Ain't Leaving | Between Daylight & Dark | 2007 |