Keith Whitley

Keith Whitley (b. July 1, 1955 in Sandy Hook, Kentucky - d. May 9, 1989 near Nashville, Tennessee) was an American country music singer.

Solo years

Whitley's first solo album, A Hard Act to Follow, was released in 1984. However, the songs off of the album didn't get much airplay. Critics regarded the album as too erratic; while Whitley was working hard to achieve his own style, the songs he produced were inconsistent.

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Whitley took this criticism as proof that he wasn't mainstream country, and produced a more "mainstream" album, L.A. to Miami, released in 1986. This album would give him his first Top 20 country hit form the single "Miami, My Amy." The album would produce two more Top 20 hits.

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During his tour to promote L.A. to Miami, he met and started dating Lorrie Morgan, a fellow country singer. The pair were married in November, 1986.

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Whitley scrapped an entire album's worth of songs when he wasn't satisfied with the album's style. RCA permitted him to record another album that he was more comfortable with; the resulting album, Don't Close Your Eyes, released in 1988, was the most memorable of the albums released during his life. The first three singles off of the album -- the title track, "When You Say Nothing at All," and "I'm No Stranger to the Rain" -- all reached number 1 on Billboard Magazine's country charts during the fall of 1988 and the winter of 1989.

Related Topics:
1988 - Billboard Magazine - 1989

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