Country music's leather-clad, long-haired rebel is accustomed to having labels and classifications placed on his outlaw image. Many imaginary tags have been stuck to the proverbial lapels of his beaded and fringed jackets—Rocker. Republican. Rebel. But just one look at the year Travis Tritt has just had, and you'll agree that only one tagline fits: "The Comeback Kid."

Tritt turned up the heat in 2000 when he released Down the Road I Go. The first single, "Best of Intentions," became the fastest-climbing single of his career. The title cut proceeded directly to No. 1. The second single, "It's A Great Day to Be Alive," went to No. 2, and a third single, "Love of a Woman," is soaring.

From the beginning, Tritt was a Country star on the edge. First, he refused to look the part. He wouldn't cut his hair. He wouldn't wear a hat. And he dared to have opinions. When journalists or record company execs tried to tag him, he would immediately try to confound them. If they said he was rock, he'd play hard-core, George Jones-esque Country. If they said he was traditional Country, he'd summon his pop, rock, gospel, or R&B influences. He just couldn't help himself. Just plain ornery, apparently. Despite his contradictory marketing techniques, Tritt has become a legend in Nashville—a legend who has baffled most of the Nashville gurus who still remember how the music industry was hesitant to embrace him early on.

Not only did his music and stage show owe too much to rock and roll, but his image didn't conform to the behatted legions of new male singers. But in 1989, Warner Bros. took a big risk; its Nashville division signed Tritt. His debut album, Country Club, appeared in stores in the spring of 1990.

This gutsy investment paid big dividends. Tritt's first single, "Country Club,"—which still ranks among his top-selling singles—went Top Ten on the charts in 1989. Songs like "Put Some Drive In Your Country" earned Tritt a reputation as a Country singer with one foot in rock. Tritt had a breakthrough success with his second album, It's All About To Change. Prior to its release, he had hired manager Ken Kragen, who also worked with Lionel Richie, Trisha Yearwood, Kenny Rogers, and the We Are The World ensemble. Kragen helped market Tritt in a way that appealed to both Country fans and a mass audience, and It's All About To Change went multi-platinum.

But then in 1998, Tritt did what was unthinkable for a performer. He disappeared. First, he parted with Warner Bros., his longtime record company. "They lost interest in promoting me," he said. Then, he retreated to his Georgia hay farm to help his new wife, Theresa, raise their children, Tyler, now 3, and Tristan, now 2. Fans wondered, was that it from Travis Tritt? "I wasn't sure what would happen," Tritt says. "I thought, if worse comes to worse, I'll stay here, bale hay, and sell my songs on the Internet."

Then, a rested, domesticated, and more sophisticated Tritt made the rounds in Nashville and found a new record company—Columbia (Sony). He began recording again and enlisted help from a diverse group of musicians, from Elvis guitar great James Burton to fiddler extraordinaire Charlie Daniels. And in 2000, he made the album of his career, Down the Road I Go.

Tritt is still a passel of contradictions. But now he's a hell-bent-for-leather, Harley-riding guy who is also a devoted husband and cuddly father. He hunts, but he also keeps tame pet deer in his yard. He is a Lynyrd Skynyrd/Allman Brothers-style rocker who has been constantly hammered by the Nashville establishment. Nonetheless, the ultra-traditional Grand Ole Opry asked him to become a member in 1992. Who knew this guy could thwack a banjo? Tritt is a flamboyant performer, a member of the entertainment industry (aren't they all liberals?) who revealed years ago that he was a conservative. He campaigned for Republicans and played at the Presidential Inauguration earlier this year.

How does this rebel reconcile his two sides? "It's easy," he says. "You just do what you do." For instance, the night before the Inauguration, Tritt was set to perform for a group of senators. He had agonized about changing his set and considered toning it down for all of the suits who'd be attending. "It was an epiphany," Tritt says. "I thought, I don't want to do anything different from what I normally do. Because every time I've done that, it's a mess. In the old days I'd peek out through the curtains and see some elderly people out in the audience. I'd think, I better not sing any of the rockin' stuff. Later, a grandma would come up and say, Where was 'T-R-O-U-B-L-E'? So for the D.C. show, I thought, Well, if the dogs eat it, they eat it."

Besides being a walking contradiction, Tritt was also a rock star cliché. He partied hard and often, and succumbed to the temptations of drugs and groupies. Then, when his first No. 1 song charted (1990's "Help Me Hold On"), he gave up drugs but kept the groupies—until he met Theresa in 1995.

"I'd been married and divorced twice before," Tritt says. "I wasn't looking for marriage. I was a confirmed bachelor. I wrapped myself up in my career. I didn't realize there was something missing. When I met her, it was perfect. It worked. Then when we started talking about kids. There was no shock whatsoever. Your priorities change when you love somebody."

Even though Tritt bought his 3,200-square-foot ranch house in 1992, he didn't spend much time there until Theresa came along. He was a road warrior who spent more time on his bus than at home. "I bought my first bus in 1992 from Burt Reynolds," Tritt says. "He had the whole thing decorated in a Western motif with a Remington statue, The Comanche, in the back of the bus. Even when I sold that bus, I kept the statue and put it on my new one." He still has a bus furnished with Southwestern rugs and fabrics. But now, Tritt keeps his Remingtons (The Comanche inspired his collection), along with several paintings by Jack Terry, at home. "I love his stuff because it's so real," he says of Terry.

At this point in his life, home is where he loves to be. "I feel more relaxed at home than I do anyplace else on earth," he says, adding, "I love the land. The house was literally built in the middle of a lot of acreage. So no matter how much they build around me, I'll still feel like I'm in the country."

Most Country stars live in Nashville. Not Tritt. His talents have even landed him offers to relocate to Los Angeles. Over the course of his career he has made a name for himself as an actor, taking roles in several films such as The Cowboy Way, the Western Rio Diablo, and a starring role in Outlaw Justice, a made-for-television movie that also starred Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson. But Tritt's rebel streak was evident when he chose to settle down near his hometown of Marietta, Georgia. The home folks have even named a highway for him. "Nothing else has ever felt like home," he says.

Tritt's house, with its adjacent catfish pond and canopy of oaks, is a beautiful sight. His two horses represent a dream come true. "There's the whole mystique of the cowboy," he says. "Everybody wants to be one." But despite a few Country-star bonuses, such as his recording studio and the covered bridge that was notched to accommodate his tour bus, Tritt's home could not be called opulent.
Director Michael Merriman, who filmed the video for "Love of a Woman" at Tritt's home, agrees. "It's gorgeous," he says. "But it's a real home. It's very comfortable and livable. It's definitely his retreat. Right now, it's as if he's savoring what he is and what he's got."

What Tritt has again is a rollicking career. This time around, though, he is balancing it with his family life. "I love my family," he says. "I still love to rock as much as I ever did. I love to go out there, put on my leather britches, and run around like a madman on stage. The thing that changes is what you do before and after the show. Instead of looking for the party, you get back on the bus, take a shower, climb into bed with your wife, and watch a movie."

Spoken like a true outlaw. Waylon and Willie would be proud.

TRAVIS TRITT DISCOGRAPHY

Down the Road I Go (2000) No More Looking Over My Shoulder (1996) The Restless Kind (1995) Travis Tritt Greatest Hits (1994) Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof (1993) T-R-O-U-B-L-E (1991) A Travis Tritt Christmas (1990) It's All About to Change (1990) Country Club (1989) FYI: travis-tritt.com

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