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Keith Whitley
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<p>Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American <a href="/facts/Country_music/UJM3Un98">country music</a> and <a href="/facts/Bluegrass_music/LxSySe6o">bluegrass</a> singer and songwriter. During his career, he released only two albums, but charted 12 singles on the <i><a href="/facts/Billboard_(magazine)/CVruQGq5">Billboard</a></i> country charts, and seven more after his death. </p><p>Born in <a href="/facts/Ashland%2c_Kentucky/FbnyWo4x">Ashland, Kentucky</a>, Whitley grew up in nearby <a href="/facts/Sandy_Hook%2c_Kentucky/YdkCTAcn">Sandy Hook</a>. He began his career there in 1970, performing in <a href="/facts/Ralph_Stanley/X2blbYhJ">Ralph Stanley</a>'s band. Establishing himself as a lead singer in bluegrass music, Whitley moved to <a href="/facts/Nashville%2c_Tennessee/KvWAcNtd">Nashville</a> in 1983 and began his recording career there. His first top-20 country hit single, "<a href="/facts/Miami%2c_My_Amy/wdw8KApl">Miami, My Amy</a>", was released in 1986. In 1988, his first three singles from his studio album <i><a href="/facts/Don%2527t_Close_Your_Eyes_(album)/c1YLWY2V">Don't Close Your Eyes</a></i>, the <a href="/facts/Don%2527t_Close_Your_Eyes_(Keith_Whitley_song)/8woRIyF0">title song</a>, "<a href="/facts/When_You_Say_Nothing_at_All/1P59zU95">When You Say Nothing at All</a>", and "<a href="/facts/I%2527m_No_Stranger_to_the_Rain/mlHvn2II">I'm No Stranger to the Rain</a>" were number-one hits. Years of alcoholism severely compromised his health, and he died of alcohol intoxication in 1989 at his Goodlettsville home at the age of 34. His later singles, "<a href="/facts/I_Wonder_Do_You_Think_of_Me_(song)/XMdwlIAL">I Wonder Do You Think of Me</a>", "<a href="/facts/It_Ain%2527t_Nothin%2527/evcEy4n3">It Ain't Nothin'</a>", and "<a href="/facts/I%2527m_Over_You_(Keith_Whitley_song)/Joby7aUM">I'm Over You</a>", were released after his death. </p><p>In 2022, Whitley was inducted into the <a href="/facts/Country_Music_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum/jwWTa9pF">Country Music Hall of Fame</a>. </p>