Basic Facts:
Full name: Jackie Keith Whitley
Birthday: July 1, 1955
Birthplace: Sandy Hook, Kentucky
Date of death: May 9, 1989
Location of death: Nashville, Tennessee
Overview:
Keith Whitley's deep baritone voice struck a chord with listeners in the 1980s. But, after a lifetime of problems with drinking, Whitley died at the age of 33 from alcohol poisoning.
Country Style: New Traditionalist, Progressive Bluegrass
Comparisons:
Keith Whitley did both soft ballads and harder-edged honky-tonk numbers, putting him in good company with other '80s country singers such as George Strait, Ricky Van Shelton, and especially Randy Travis.
Influences:
Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, George Jones, Stanley Brothers
Best Keith Whitley Songs:
- "Don't Close Your Eyes"
- "When You Say Nothing at All
- "I'm No Stranger to the Rain
- "I'm Over You"
- "Til a Tear Becomes a Rose"
- "Brother Jukebox"
Recommended Keith Whitley Albums:
- Don't Close Your Eyes (1988)
- I Wonder Do You Think of Me (1989)
- Sad Songs And Waltzes (2000, compilation)
- 16 Biggest Hits (2006, compilation)
Biography of Keith Whitley:
Keith Whitley was a bluegrass prodigy, who got his start playing in imitation of the Stanley Brothers. Then, with childhood friend Ricky Skaggs, Whitley got the opportunity to play with the man himself -- Ralph Stanley. Whitley played with the bluegrass legend's Clinch Mountain Boys until 1972.
Whitley, who would later rejoin the group in '74, began moving into new musical directions with the progressive bluegrass acts Country Store and J.D. Crowe & The New South.
Whitley released his solo country music debut with Hard Act to Follow in 1984.
After breaking into the charts with the tongue-twisting ballad "Miami, My Amy," Whitley found the most success of his career with producer Garth Fundis -- notably with their collaboration "Don't Close Your Eyes."
At the peak of his stardom, Whitley died in 1989 from an alcohol overdose. His last album, I Wonder Do You Think of Me, was released several months after the singer's death.
