In 1972, brothers Chris and Dennis Levering each separately began small sightseeing businesses in Nashville, TN that served hotels around the city. Within two years the brothers had merged their businesses, and their company, Country & Western Tours, had grown to a fleet of 24 Dodge vans.
In 1988, their largest competitor, Gray Line of Nashville, approached Dennis and Chris about buying their company, enabling the Levering brothers to enter the “big bus business.”
In 1997, Gray Line of Nashville was sold to Travelways, a national operator of motorcoach companies that operated the business through 2001. Following the events of September 2001, Travelways encountered financial difficulty and filed for bankruptcy. Fortunately the Levering family had remained in leadership roles within the company and was able to repurchase the business later that year.