Keith will always be #1 for me when it comes down to voices!! Another song on that album, Its All Coming Back to Me Now was in the same class as far stunning vocals. Its good to see that the comments here have been predominantly respectful and fair. When it comes to when Lorrie opened the card, the recollection she gave in the interview I cited was weeks removed from when it happened, while her biography was many years after. From the moment Keith Whitley embarked on a music career, success followed closely behind. Keith loved his life, his music, and his family. He admitted his problem in an interview, wherein he said, "It was a matter of life and death. May 8, 2019 @ Maybe Tony Arata says could of instead of could have. Whatever. May 2, 2021 @ Blessed be, Convict charlie At the Whitley tribute Thursday night, Garth stated it was time to right a wrong and get Keith in the HOF, also stating his belief that Keith was the second greatest voice in country music only to Jones. The police found 23 cans of empty Budweiser, an empty bottle of Scope, and four half consumed bottles of hair spray in the bedroom that Keith passed away. henry thomas annalee thomas. He released his debut album 'A Hard Act to Follow' in 1984 & married country . May you rise each day with sunlight in your heart, success in your path, answers to your prayers, and that smile that I always love to see in your eyes. I love Jamey and respect how he carries on great traditional music. I think Justin Timberlake or Hugh Jackman would be great to play him. I think that Whiskey Lullabye is a quintessential haunting country song, performed perfectly by Paisley and Krauss. Crowe and the New South, and carried his love for drink, and his close calls with self-destruction with him. His contributions are many, and lets keep in mind that he had a son, who carried on his legacy, although a legend in his own right. They would have to be deaf and blind not to see his contribution to both these genres of music and his influence on so many Country singers, musicians and songwriters. There isnt always a number, stat, or data point to reference ones accomplishments or contribution to the music. Keith is the best vocalist period in all genres of Music combined at any point and time. Thanks for taking the time to reply. About 30-45 minutes from Ashland. I am now fully suspicious of all celebrity deaths and how spins are arranged in someones mind that they are protecting the hero when in thruth they are trying to protect themselves. Hopefully we will all see him elected to the HOF very soon. I agree on each one of them. Thanks for your part in creating great live music venues. While I havent read all of Forever Yours Faithfully, the fact that Keith couldnt be resuscitated because he had passed out on a waterbed that I presume was in Lorrie and his master bedroom doesnt surprise me. Thanks again for such a well written and detailed article!! Lane was not there in the AM. The medical examiner said in his findings that Whitley died as a result of "drinking too much ethyl alcohol in too short a period of time." Its still happening today. May 8, 2019 @ Induct him already. 19/02/2023 . TilBillyHill IMHO opinion he was the most gifted vocalist country music every produced. Respectfully, Jim, Keith Whitley fans, please consider signing this petition for him to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame: Obviously Keiths addiction and death cut his career short. This is episode #5, not #4. I dont think you have to speculate about his careerstarting in Blue Grass as a young person and being very successful and high profile and then his Country career should speak for itself. But then a criteria point would need to be added to future considerations, for those that may not have had a long career but were felt to have had a major influence. Its the equivalent of 20 1-ounce shots of 100-proof whiskey. Dont get me wrong, Paisley and Krauss did a great job, but for me Jons version drips with pure authenticity. I am not an after-the-fact fan but was one when he was living as I am sure you were too. Still have her Something in Red CD, along with a few of Keiths. May 8, 2019 @ Lorrie Morgan jumped right out! reasons ; . Each song could have been a single & could have reached the top of the charts, there were no throwaways. That woman worshipped the ground he walked on and did everything she could to save him. According to his birth certificate and other documents, Keith Whitley was actually born on July 1st, 1954, making him 34-years-old at the time.Another wrinkle to the story of Keith Whitleys death were the revelations Lorrie Morgan made in her book, Forever Yours, Faithfully, published in 1997. The two drank coffee together, and were planning to play a round of golf and have lunch that day. May 8, 2019 @ Was he married before he married Lorrie Morgan? A little jealous of those who went to ETSU for having Carter Fold and Down Home nearby. This is the best overall article I have ever seen on Keith! Lorrie Morgan also called into question some of the specifics of how Keith Whitley was discovered on the day he died. Do you have a direct link? 2:28 pm, Check your first sentence. It was a living hell. Morgans close affiliation with the Opry is how she became a member before she became a proper recording artist. As far as posthumously given anything based on what might have been, Im sure is not the way these awards are set up to be giving. After Lorrie Morgan received news of Keith Whitleys death in May of 1989, and prepared to return to Nashville from her Alaskan promotional trip, she remembered the card Keith had given her at the airport the last time the two saw each other. Also, Garths recommendation means nothing. Gone to soon!! Douglas Murphy The legacy of Keith Whitley has received a resurgence of interest lately leading up to the 30th anniversary of his untimely passing. The 49-year-old entrepreneur from Pulaski, Tenn., was arrested for first-degree murder in 2001, in connection with the death of his cousin, Stevie Hobbs. I cant imagine any more disrespectful or shameful a response to Keith Whitleys death these many years later than to be bringing up what Lorrie Morgan did or didnt do. If you watch the video Nashville Babylon-Keith Whitley Strange Death you can watch it first being announced. Charles Harlan, Garth Brooks, George Strait, JD Crowe, Keith Whitley, Lorrie Morgan, Ralph Stanley, Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs, THe New South, Vince Gill. Kevin Smith May 10, 2019 @ I think its great hes being honored. May 9, 2019 @ Whitley moved to Nashville in 1983 and soon signed a record deal with RCA. What Im wondering is. I would of busted door or something. He had the best voice and used It would be one of many close calls for Whitley, including driving his own car off a 120-foot cliff and into a frozen river, walking away that time with a broken collar bone. I recall the shock when I heard the news of his death. Joan Shedeck May 10, 2019 @ But with Lorrie Morgan out of town that first weekend of May, 1989, there was nobody there to tend to Whitley, or his raging alcoholism. Whether truth or innuendo, its not fair to put that on Lorrie. In 2005, the State of Tennessee found Charles Harlan guilty of 20 counts of misconduct and permanently revoked his medical license.Then in 2010, the accusations against Charles Harlan became even more severe, with the doctor being blamed for numerous botched autopsies resulting in false murder convictions, including a man convicted for stabbing and murdering his cousin, when the deceased died after having a seizure and falling on a glass table. 25 Feb/23. I certainly didnt know the coroner was discredited. It isnt based on what might have been for Keith. Maybe the most soulful of all country music`s young neo-traditionalists, Keith Whitley-who died Tuesday of alcohol poisoning-was the product of both a region and a musical mindset in which the. Incredible in the year 2021 were still finding ways to blame the women in the lives of afflicted men for their tragic deaths. Assuming he means it, and it sounds from those comments that he does, thats impressive. The question I have is What if through one way or another had Lane managed to resuscitate Keith to a point where he be transported by an ambulance to the hospital?, Ronald Stoner History Normally I dont get involved anymore and just let the egos have there way, but just felt the record should be set straight from a historical perspective and plus it looks like some of these fans would enjoy it. In a couple of weeks, Keith Whitley was scheduled to be asked to join the Grand Ole Opry himself, and was riding high off of his 3rd consecutive #1 single, Im No Stranger To The Rain, which had topped the Billboard country charts three weeks prior. However, it was the alcohol consumption that caused his demise. In detail he almost died 9x of the same thing previously before the final time. Trigger, that was a very well written take on Whitley. Nowhat might have been thats the reason people found such a gaping hole in their heart from his death. But, I get that this literally is not something to make into a federal case. Whitleys voice was stunning in several of his songs. On the morning of Tuesday, May 9th, 1989, Keith Whitley spoke to his mother briefly on the phone, and then was visited by his brother-in-law Lane Palmer at his home in Goodletsville, Tennessee, near Nashville. Keith Whitley absolutely should be in the HOF; this was the perfect year to do it, but it should be done post haste. She was mostly a live performer early on, appearing on the Opry, and performing on tour opening for the likes of The Chieftones and Jack Greene, and singing backup for George Jones. Good for him. en an anatomic basis shoved a body hanging froza a tree. As a journalist, trying to balance recollections of past events can be very difficult. 3:04 pm, Hello Trigger. Friends and I saw Lorrie Morgan in concert when she and Merle Haggard opened for Clint Black. She loved that man w all her heart and soul and nothing couldve saved Kieth, but Keith. 8:14 am. He was an amazing singer who could touch your soul with his lyrics, I wish it had been a different outcome because he was on his way to becoming a country ledgend and in some aspects in my mind he is. I thought everybody had to drink to be in this business. May they only make you that much stronger, and able, and wise. Whitley was a longtime alcoholic, who started drinking early in his career at bluegrass gigs, long before he was legally allowed to drink alcohol. Photo by Associated Press Spokane, Washington Est . But anyway thanks for the audio entertainment all the guns up. It wasnt just what Whitley accomplished before he passed away that left such a gaping hole in the heart of country music, its what many expected him to accomplish in the coming years. review of the history and 'a-utpsy of the body of Mt. 11:43 am. It was a tragedy what a voice! Also, to potentially sacrifice yet ANOTHER lifelorries, to fight a fight that, lets face it, youre doomed to lose, is pretty stupid. December 18, 2019 @ As for Whitleys age at the time of death, I have also seen people insist he was 34, but I have not been able to find any information to refute the common knowledge that he was 33. May 8, 2019 @ It felt like a piece of that era was missing without Whitley around to participate. He had the gene, and his substance of choice just happened to be alcohol. It wasnt until signing with RCA Records in 1988 that Lorries recording career would commence in earnest, and right about the time she would be asked to endure arguably the greatest trial of her life. I was 15 when he died and I still listen to him and love his music. Luckyoldsun History Sturgill_Jennings77 She really caught hell for a while no matter what she dideven recording the song Autumns Not That Cold drew ire as if she was making a statement about losing Keith. May 10, 2019 @ Tragic. New Ashley McBryde Song Light On In The Kitchen, Mo Pitney Tributes JD Crowe with Old Home Place, New Adam Hood Song You Love Me Like That, Channing Wilson Crazy Over You (Official Performance Video), Larry Sparks, Mamas Apron Strings (Video), Bella White Break My Heart (Official Video), Johnn Cash Ragged Old Flag Feature from Super Bowl, New Shefton Kash Song Forevers Not As Long As It Used To Be, Kaitlin Butts What Else Can She Do (Official Music Video), New Andrew Scott Willis Song Never Dont, Lainey Wilson Covers Rolling Stones You Cant Always Get What You Want, The Death of Keith Whitley, 30 Years Later, https://www.reverbnation.com/mattengelsmusic/song/16287569-mr-whitley, Country Rapper Katie Noel Goes Viral with Southern (A Rant), CONFIRMED: Cocaine Bear at KY for KY & Origin Story Fictionalized. Keith was from Sandy Hook, KY. Its there that the statue of him resides. Thanks to you for the site and to the community who read and respond. Have to credit Pandora for introducing me to Darrell Scotts recording, which led to learning he was the songwriter. It should impact Keiths either. I did so many crazy things while drinking, unquote. Crowe. If I hadnt stopped drinking, I dont think Id be alive today. If I could have any wish I wanted, this is my wish: That in your life which is so precious to me, may worries, troubles and problems never linger. May 8, 2019 @ Keith Whitley was a solid sounding voice and hit #1s on the charts with songs people could relate to. On his gravestone are two quotes, Forever yours faithfully and His being was my reason. They make reference to Lorrie Morgan, whose burial plot and headstone sit adjacent to Keith Whitleys. TXMUSICJIM Additionally, Keith Whitley's death didn't just shake his friends and family. Exactly my thoughts. Editors notes: Country History X primarily lives here on Saving Country Music, on YouTube (see below and subscribe), and is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and Anchor. Jones had his ups and downs over a long life, but was clearly a survivor He said at the time, quote, I was drinking and wondering what I was going to do. But just about the time everything would begin to unravel for Keith Whitley due to his drinking, he would hold it together just enough to pull through. The one thing I am sure of is that Lane Palmers version of how/who Keith was found with is a complete lie. After a years-long career in the bluegrass genre, Whitley moved the Nashville in 1983 to pursue a country music career. It was early May, 1989. Have heard Pattys version, too. Arent there other theories that Lori Morgan was responsible in some way ? Speaking to individuals about the legacy of Keith Whitley, from country music historians to superstars such as Garth Brooks, they believe there wouldnt have been the commercial resurgence in country music heading into the 90s like the genre experiencedalso known as the Class of 89 comprising Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, and Travis Trittif it wasnt for Keith Whitley. There is hope in a few acts but no doubt he set a high bar. 12:43 pm. These events have allowed the timeline of country music to unfold like a tragedy, and have made folk heroes of some of its greatest stars, including Keith Whitley. Furthermore, his continued posthumous influence is undeniable. Whitley's Solo Career . (As I wrote this, The Dance player in my mind, along with Im No Stranger to the Rain, Brotherly Love, I Wonder, Do You Think of Me, and some of Lorries songs. Because, booze or drugs, the substance is always going to call the shots. And u find the bedroom door locked .and even hear something. There have also been lingering questions about just how old Keith Whitley was when he passed. Keiths inner demons made it a leadpipe cinch that HE wouldnt be helping with that fight.unless it was to throw up his hands in defeat. My heart still goes out to his family. And Jesse is a hell of a guy. It appeared from his history that like Hank and George, nobody could stop his ultimate self destruction. Her father was Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry member George Morgan, one of country musics classic crooners similar in style to Eddy Arnold and Jim Reeves. Every time the phone would ring it was in the back of my mind that there was somebody calling to tell me hes been in a wreck or died of alcohol. Some fans of Keith Whitley and conspiracy theorists have used the discredited legacy of Charles Harlan to wonder just how accurate the autopsy of Keith Whitley was, and if another cause of death could be possible. Released right before the neotraditional movement that would sweep country music in earnest on the backs of guys like Randy Travis and George Strait, A Hard Act To Follow was deemed to be too country. I remember the day he passed,, So sad and young. Why would Keith Whitley drink himself to death when his career was just hitting its stride, and he had so much to live for? But that is not the criteria that should be considered KWs case. Little did Lorrie Morgan know how much the note would mean to her, and how poignant it would be when she opened it a week later. Sturgill_Jennings77 thanks for sharing that. This was on top of the alcohol Keith was believed to have consumed the evening before. All this talk about if only he hadnt been left alone, he needed a 24/7 watch, or if only someone had stopped him.. To me, hes in the argument for prototypical ideal country baritone. But what about the many that have been? I think a few minor mistakes were in either Lorries book and other previous articles. If anyone wants to see the actual Birth Certificate, look up the Rockology Memorabilia website. A great artist one cannot doubt. King Honky Of Crackershire Thanks again for writing this terrific article!!! His final studio album, I Wonder Do You Think of Me was to me a masterpiece. The singers blood alcohol level was reported to be .47, or almost five times the amount to be declared intoxicated in Tennessee. The guns up take on Whitley Morgan also called into question some the... All the guns up Timberlake or Hugh Jackman would be great to play a round of and! Times the amount to be in this business he admitted his problem in an interview, wherein he said ``! Find the bedroom door locked.and even hear something if anyone wants to see the actual Birth,. Very difficult number, stat, or almost five times the amount to be declared intoxicated in.! 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