When I was in college, my friend Aimee and I saw Randy Travis perform at the Starlight Bowl in San Diego. Aimee is the person who first introduced me to country music and I’m forever grateful to her for imparting that gift onto me. She was a big Randy fan and I can still hear her voice in my head singing “Digging Up Bones.”
The Starlight Bowl is an amphitheater located in Balboa Park and sits directly under the landing path for the San Diego International Airport. During musical performances and plays, the conductor had a set of lights that indicated the noise level from passing planes. When the noise reached a certain level, the conductor signaled everyone to pause, and the musicians and performers froze in place until the plane passed. You would think this would get old and annoying, but it was like watching time stop. …
Actors that performed regularly at the Starlight Bowl knew this tradition, but not traveling country singers like Randy Travis. If I recall correctly, he was a bit mystified when he was signaled to pause for an overhead airplane and had a good laugh at the quirky tradition. But he was a good sport and kept on a singing.
Post note: The album was distributed by BMG in Indianapolis, Indiana ✨