A native of Kernersville, N.C., Mary Elizabeth Robinson met Randy Traywick in 1977 when the 17-year-old came into her Charlotte, N.C., nightclub called Country City USA to audition for the weekly talent competition. Libby as she is mostly known was actually married to one Frank Hatcher; with whom he owned the nightclub, he had been her husband for 10 years. They were married from 1970 and divorced in 1980.
She knew a young and talented Travis was in trouble with the law so she brought him to live with her and her husband at the time. Travis sang and washed dishes at the club to earn his keep. But when Frank told Lib to choose between their marriage and Randy, Hatcher and Travis moved out. She recalls:
“I never spoke to the man again,” “Randy might have given me the courage to leave a bad situation, but Randy did not break up the marriage.”
Hatcher and Travis were into more than just business; in 1982 they moved to Nashville; and their love for music, being around each other and working together made their relationship blossom. After Travis released his first album, Storms of Life, in 1986 and garnered five No. 1 singles, the ninth-grade dropout was on his way with Hatcher guiding his career at every step. She used to manage 52 employees who handle everything from bookings to T-shirts. She financed Randy Travis’s first recordings as-Randy Traywick, made on the Paula label.
She became not only his lover, but also his support, his right hand, his everything to build up his career; she used to pick his clothes, cooked his meals and even canned her own vegetables to accommodate his allergies to meat and daily products. She was a little bit of a nurturing mother as well. They were 16-years apart and although that used to make the singer uncomfortable somehow they made it work.
Outgoing and energetic, witty, intelligent and very kindhearted that was what Libby meant to the legendary singer. They tied the knot during a private ceremony on May 31, 1991 when she was 48 years old and he was 32. The wedding took place in the courtyard in front of a waterfall, to what Lib happily said:
“No one attended but two strangers. The preacher brought them.”
As her manager she did not want to make a big deal out of it since she wanted to keep him available for his audience. When they were together Hatcher and Travis spent most of their private time outside Nashville, where they had a two-story log farmhouse on 100 acres crossed by paths marked Libby Lane and Travis Trails; she used to play housewife and he would go out to ride his horses and shooting his guns.
In 2010 after 30 years of being his manager and long time partner, Travis cheated on Libby with a married woman named Mary Beougher aka Mary Davis. After Libby caught the singer red handed by placing a hidden camera on his tour bus everything came crashing down; some might say even his career.
Travis divorced Elizabeth “Lib” Hatcher, his wife of 19 years and the woman who helped launch his career. Their connection is key namely because Hatcher has long been credited as rescuing Travis from a life that was spiraling out of control. The couple never had any children.
Now Travis’s life seems to be in grave danger after he was surgically intervened due to heart complications this past Monday; according to his twitter he was admitted to Texas hospital. Do you think 70-year-old Libby would care??
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