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Whitley is my all time favorite country performer, hands down. Keith Whitley's legacy loomed large
over the country music landscape of the '90s. A talented new country singer and songwriter, Whitley was just beginning to
emerge as a superstar at the time of his death in 1989. Throughout the next decade, his reputation as both a performer and
writer continued to grow, as other artists had hits with his songs and posthumous recordings climbed into the Top Ten. Whitley
formed his first band at the age of 13, playing nothing but straight bluegrass. A few years later, he formed the Lonesome
Mountain Boys with his high school friend, Ricky Skaggs. The Lonesome Mountain Boys primarily played Stanley Brothers songs
and soon became a popular attraction. Whitley bounced from band to band for several years, singing solo on occassion in a
few honkey tonks. Whitley finally was found and signed with RCA Records, he released his debut album, "Hard Act to Follow",
in 1984. A record of pure honky tonk, it didn't attract much of an audience. The following year, he released "L.A. to Miami",
a more commercial affair which spawned the number 14 single "Miami, My Amy." After that single peaked early in 1986, he had
three back-to-back Top Ten hits: "Ten Feet Away," "Homecoming '63," and "Hard Livin'." Late in 1986, he married Lorrie Morgan.
In 1987, he recorded a follow-up to the record that sounded exactly the same as its predecessor. Unsatisfied with the musical
direction of his new effort, Whitley convinced RCA to shelve the completed album and have him work on another record with
a new producer, Garth Fundis. Don't Close Your Eyes was the result. Released in the spring of 1988, the album solidified Whitley's
commercial standing. The first three singles from Don't Close Your Eyes -- "Don't Close Your Eyes," "When You Say Nothing
at All," and "I'm No Stranger to the Rain" -- were all number one hits. Things may have been going smoothly on the surface
for Keith Whitley, but behind the scenes he was being torn apart by alcoholism. On May 9, 1989, he suffered from a fatal case
of alcohol poisoning; he was 34 at the time of his demise. Just before his death, he completed his fourth album, I Wonder
Do You Think of Me. The record was released shortly after his death and its first single, which was the title track, reached
number one, as did its follow-up, "It Ain't Nothin"; another single from the album, "I'm Over You," reached number three in
1990. During the '90s, RCA repackaged and re-released many of Whitley's recordings -- including several unreleased songs --
in various compilations. Lorrie Morgan recorded an electronic duet, "'Til a Tear Becomes a Rose," with her late husband in
1990; it peaked at number 13. In 1994, a tribute album to Whitley was released. Anytime i hear "Tell Lori I Love Her" I tear
up. Whitley does not have a signature song he has signature songs. All of them are his signature. The song "When You Say Nothing
at all" is most definately the most special song ever for me. Whitley is surely missed, I just think of "what ifs" when I
hear his music. But then I just think, with talent that can move emotion like that, perhaps God needed a lil piece of heaven
from earth himself.
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