Jackie Keith Whitley (b. July 1, 1954 in Sandy Hook, Kentucky d. May 9, 1989) was an American country music singer.

Musical career

Whitley, along with Ricky Skaggs, was discovered by Ralph Stanley when the two teenagers sang Stanley Brothers songs as an opening act for the Clinch Mountain Boys. The two soon joined Ralph's band. Whitley also played with JD Crowe and the New South in the mid-seventies. During this period, he established himself as one of the most versatile and talented lead singers in bluegrass. His singing was heavily influenced by Carter Stanley and Lefty Frizzell.Whitley's first solo album, A Hard Act to Follow, was released in 1984, and featured a more mainstream country style. While Whitley was working hard to achieve his own style, the songs he produced were inconsistent. Critics regarded the album as too erratic. Whitley honed his sound within the next few years for his next album, L.A. to Miami.

L.A. to Miami, released in 1986 would give him his first Top 20 country hit single, "Miami, My Amy." The song was followed by three more hit songs: "Ten Feet Away," "Homecoming '63," and "Hard Livin." The album also included "On The Other Hand" and "Nobody In His Right Mind Would've Left Her." "On The Other Hand" was pitched to Keith before Randy Travis released the song as a single and when Keith's version wasnt released as a single, Randy released his in 1986, as did George Strait with "Nobody In His Right Mind Wouldve Left Her"

During his tour to promote L.A. to Miami, he met and started a romantic relationship with Lorrie Morgan, a fellow country singer. The pair were married in November, 1986, and they had their only child, a son, Jesse Keith Whitley, in 1987. Keith also adopted Lorrie's daughter, Morgan, from her first marriage.

During the new recording sessions in 1987, Whitley started feeling that the songs he was doing were not up to his standards, so Whitley approached RCA and asked if the project of fifteen songs could be shelved. He asked if he could have more of a say in the songs and production. The new album, titled Don't Close Your Eyes, was released in 1988, and the album did extremely well. The album contained one of the many songs that Whitley had a hand in writing in his years at Tree Publishing, "It's All Coming Back To Me Now." Also on the album was a remake of Lefty Frizzell's classic song, "I Never Go Around Mirrors," and the song became a huge hit at Whitley's concerts. The first three singles off of the album -- "When You Say Nothing at All," "I'm No Stranger to the Rain," and the title cut -- all reached number 1 on Billboard Magazine's country charts during the fall of 1988 and the winter of 1989. "I'm No Stranger To The Rain" also earned Whitley his first and only Country Music Association award.

Keith's career was finally starting to take shape for him, and the new record "I Wonder Do You Think Of Me" was made as a follow up to "Don't Close Your Eyes". The record was just finishing completion in May 1989, when the unthinkable happened.

Alcoholism and death

Keith Whitley was a longtime alcoholic, who had begun drinking early in his career at Bluegrass concerts -- long before he was legally allowed to drink alcohol. Many times he had tried to overcome his alcoholism, but these methods had failed. Whitley preferred to drink alone, making it tough for anyone to detect that he had a drinking problem.

On the morning of May 9, 1989, after a weekend of drinking and partying with friends, Whitley woke up and spoke with his mother briefly on the phone and was visited by his brother-in-law, and the two of them had planned a full day over a cup of coffee. The day would be with golf, a good lunch, and also that evening Keith had planned to start penning more records for him and Lorrie to possibly record when she came home from her tour. His brother-in-law had to leave for a bit and told Keith to be ready within an hour. Upon returning Whitley was found face down on his bed. He was pronounced dead at 11:16 a.m. He was 34.

The cause of death was alcohol poisoning, and the coroner report stated his blood alcohol level was .477 (five times over the legal limit to drive.)

The day after his death, Music Row was lined with black ribbons in memory of Keith.

"Mirrors: The Keith Whitley Story", and Other Film Projects

In Early 2005, songwriter Jeff Swope announced, with permission of the surviving Whitley family of Sandy Hook, KY, that he would be writing, directing, and producing an independent motion picture depicting the highlights of Keith Whitley's life. Originally titled "Mirrors: The Keith Whitley Story", the script focused on Keith's personal battle with alcohol, with a pronounced emphasis on the amazing person Keith was while sober. Production was well under way when personal issues with the writer, and conflicting interests with Keith's management and namesake halted it in late 2006.

In the last 10 years, several film projects depicting Keith's life were slated. One idea was a film version of the George Vescey-Lorrie Morgan penned "Forever Yours, Faithfully". This was not a considerable option for many of Whitley's closest fans, as many believe Morgan's feelings were biased, and Keith's battle with alcoholism was described superficially.

While Morgan's book was a benchmark in piecing together Whitley's final moments, perhaps the most research went into a project titled "Kentucky Bluebird", which was to star writer / actor / director David Keith. This project has been in development hell for several years, and was halted in late 2006 also, after difficulties with casting and funding.

Posthumous career

Although Whitley's voice was silenced, his influence on country music has persisted long after his death. At the time of his death, he had just finished making his fourth and final studio album, I Wonder Do You Think of Me. The album was released three months after his death, on August 1, 1989. The album produced two more #1 hits, with the title track and "It Ain't Nothin'." "I'm Over You" also saw the top ten in the spring of 1990, reaching No. 3.

In 1990, a collection of Keith's greatest hits was released. It has gone on to sell more than three million copies.

Two new songs were added to "Greatest Hits": The first, "Tell Lorrie I Love Her" was written and recorded at home by Keith for Lorrie, originally intended as a work tape for Keith's friend Curtis 'Mr. Harmony' Young to sing at Whitley's wedding. The second was "'Til A Tear Becomes A Rose", a 1987 demo taken from Tree that originally featured harmony vocals by childhood friend Ricky Skaggs. Lorrie Morgan, with creative control and license to Whitley's namesake, recorded her voice alongside Keith's, and released it as a single, which rose to No. 13 and won them 1991's CMA award for Best Vocal Collaboration.

RCA also released a compilation of performance clips (from his days in the Ralph Stanley-Fronted Clinch Mountain Boys), interviews, and some previously unreleased material under the title "Kentucky Bluebird". The CD produced hits for Keith as well, including a duet with Earl Thomas Conley which rose to number #2 in the fall of 1991. "Kentucky Bluebird" is currently out of print.

In 1994, Whitley's widow Lorrie Morgan organized several of Whitley's friends in bluegrass and some of the big names in country at the time to record a tribute album to Whitley. The album included covers of Whitley's songs from artists such as Alan Jackson, Diamond Rio, and Ricky Skaggs. The album also included several previously unreleased tracks recorded by Whitley in 1987. One of the songs was a duet that Lorrie and Keith did in the summer of 1987 called "I Just Want You". The tribute album credited Whitley with another award for reaching more than 500,000 copies.

However, the hit single to come from the tribute album was Alison Krauss & Union Station's rendition of "When You Say Nothing at All", which rose to #3 on the Billboard country charts.

In 1995, the CD "Wherever You Are Tonight" was released, produced by Lorrie Morgan, featuring cleaned-up demos of 1986-1988, with crisper 1990's recording techniques and a full orchestra. The CD and single of the same name both did very well on the Billboard and R&R charts and brought "Super Hits" and "The Essential Keith Whitley" in 1996. "The Essential" contained the remastered and long since unavailable LP and Whitley's debut, the 6-Track "A Hard Act to Follow", and a scrapped song from 1986's "LA to Miami", "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight".

Whitley's legacy continues to shine since his passing in 1989; every year there is a memorial motorcycle ride from Sandy Hook, Kentucky to his resting place in Nashville, TN where hundreds gather to pay their respects.

A great site to find many photos and information on Keith is: (Dora's Keith Whitley Photo Tribute) it can be found at the following url--

http://www.angelfire.com/music2/KeithWhitley99/KW1.html

There is also currently a new website in the works that will be fully dedicated to Keith. There hasn't been a full website since the former Keith Whitley Blvd ceased production in March 2006, except for Dora's current site.

2008 and 2009, are also to be full of possible releases of Keith's music, including a full remastered album of "Don't Close Your Eyes" for its twentith anniversary. As well a possible box set that fans have been waiting and hoping for since his passing that may include the unreleased songs still in RCA's vaults.

Discography

Albums

• 1984 A Hard Act To Follow
• 1986 LA To Miami
• 1988 Don't Close Your Eyes
• 1989 I Wonder Do You Think Of Me
• 1990 Greatest Hits
• 1991 Kentucky Bluebird
• 1993 The Very Best Of Keith Whitley
• 1994 A Tribute Album
• 1995 Wherever You Are Tonight
• 1995 Super Hits
• 1996 The Essential Keith Whitley
• 1998 Keith Whitley Remembered...The Encore Collection
• 1998 Lassoes & Spurs (Canada Only)
• 2000 Sad Songs And Waltzes (supplimented re-release of 'Somewhere Between'**)
• 2002 RCA Country Legends
• 2003 Platinum And Gold Collection
• 2006 16 Biggest Hits
• 2007 Keith Whitley: Collections

• The song "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" was originally a song on the B-side song of the 1984 single release "Turn Me To Love". It finally appeared on the 2002 release listed above "RCA Country Legends".

• "Somewhere Between" was originally the title of the 1982 LP Recording by the then Keith Whitley fronted J.D. Crowe & The New South. "Sad Songs & Waltzes" is this album, essentially remastered, with re-dubbed recordings, new harmonies, and a few new Whitley solo demos from around that time frame (to be able to call this a Whitley solo effort.) This is also credited as the album that attracted attention from RCA Records in early 1984.

Bootlegs & Demo Recordings

In 1984, Keith worked as a demo singer and songwriter for Sony / ATV (Then known as Tree) Publishing to make money pushing his performing career. It was there, through the help of brother producers Don and Ronnie Gant, Keith was introduced to his future wife Lorrie Morgan. Many of the songs Keith had written, and others he didn't, wound up in Sony's vault over time, and slowly found their way onto the internet through piracy, and by means of Nashville writers obtaining them from the company with permission. While it has been anticipated that Keith has recorded well over 80-100 demos in-studio (and many more live and on home-recordings), the rare material has been treasured by fans who have found it. Various songs include "I've Done Everything Hank Did But Die", an ironic and haunting tribute to Whitley's idol Hank Williams, Sr., "Chip Off The Old Farm", recorded from his home in 1987, "Til A Tear Becomes A Rose" (later a digital duet and charted hit, featuring new recordings by Morgan) and more. There also exist several recorded concerts, radio interviews, car ad-commercials and even an Exxon Gas Commercial--"Exxon: Turn The Key"; recorded in 1988.

A list has been compiled of the CD forms that have appeared on eBay and other websites containing this material, listed below:

• Demo Sessions Volume 1 and 2 and 3 (circa. 1986-1988; studio takes, alternates, and home recordings, forty seven songs in all)
• Live From Nashville, Tennessee (11-84)
• Live From New England, Ohio (8-23-86)
• Live From Pasadena, Texas (11-13-86)
• Live From Cincinnati, Ohio (7-14-88)
• Live From Burlington, North Carolina (9-25-88)
• Live From Austin City Limits (11-14-88)
• Live From London (Wembley Stadium 3-24-89)
• Live From Holland, England U.K. (3-25-89)
• A Tribute Album Radio Special
• The Keith Whitley Story (2-CD set) hosted by producer Garth Fundis
• No Stranger To The Rain / Remembering Keith Whitley (XM Satellite Radio Special May 2004)
• Commercials/Interviews/Tributes (Misc. Collection of Ads, etc.)

• Fans have also compiled "Road To Bethlehem", an un-official Christmas LP compiled of Demos and rare material related to Christmas:
• There's A New Kid In Town (Original)
• A Christmas Letter
• Joseph And Mary's Boy (Demo)
• Bethlehem Road (Demo)
• There's A New Kid In Town /w Alan Jackson
• A Christmas Letter (Live)

In an Whitley-related online Yahoo! chat that ran for years on Sunday nights, a fan played a 'jam session' from April 18, 1988; the session was told to be about 40 minutes long and one of the songs played was Hank Williams, Sr.'s "Your Cheatin Heart".

Singles

References

American country singers1955 births1989 deathsPeople from Kentucky

Keith Whitley

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