Keith Whitley

Country singer-songwriter Keith Whitley spent several years backing bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley as part of The Clinch Mountain Boys. ∙ Launching a solo career following a move to Nashville, Whitley released his first single, “Turn Me to Love,” which featured backing vocals from Reba McEntire. ∙ The 1985 album L.A. to Miami, which spawned his first hit song, “Miami, My Amy,” gave Whitley his first real taste of success. ∙ The first three singles from his breakthrough 1987 collection, Don’t Close Your Eyes, all hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. ∙ I Wonder Do You Think of Me, released just a few months after Whitley’s untimely death in 1989, peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. ∙ In 1989 and 1990, he won two consecutive posthumous Country Music Association Awards, including one for “Til a Tear Becomes a Rose,” a duet with his wife, Lorrie Morgan. ∙ Released in 1994, A Tribute Album featured covers of his songs by Alan Jackson, Diamond Rio, Ricky Skaggs, and Tanya Tucker.