Grand Ole Opry event celebrates legacy of Keith Whitley's timeless voice, songs

Saturday night's Grand Ole Opry celebration honoring the late Country Music Hall of Famer Keith Whitley felt like a timeless celebration.

At the event, Garth Brooks presented Opry member Lorrie Morgan -- Whitley's spouse at the time of his 1989 passing -- with a replica of a plaque similar to those that recognize official Opry members in the Opry House Member Gallery, bearing Whitley's name. Moreover, Morgan was presented recent (as of Sept. 13, 2023) platinum-selling certification plaques for two Whitley singles: 1988's "Don't Close Your Eyes" and "When You Say Nothing At All."

Whitley died on May 9, 1989, three weeks before he was scheduled to be invited to be a Grand Ole Opry.

The Opry noted that Morgan was being presented the plaque "[because though his] life may have ended before his dream of Opry membership, his incredible influence endures on the Opry and country music."

Opry Executive Director Dan Rogers correctly notes that the "Kentucky Bluebird" has remained a key influence on modern country music.

The past two years has seen the revival of Whitley's legacy. The singer died when he was only 34.

Whitley, at age 34 in 1989, influenced artists including Brooks, Terri Clark, bluegrass act The Grascals, Ashley McBryde, his son Jesse Keith Whitley and Mark Wills, all of whom performed on Saturday night at 2804 Opryland Drive.

It's a full, powerful circle.

Roughly a dozen Whitley songs were performed on Saturday night. Brooks sang "Ten Feet Away," McBryde, "I'm Over You," Clark, "I'm No Stranger to The Rain" and Morgan, "When You Say Nothing at All" and "That's Where I Want To Take Our Love," among many.

But hearing Whitley's son, Jesse Keith -- who was only a year old at the time of his father's passing -- sing the 1990-released "Tell Lorrie I Love Her" was the heart-string tugger of the night.

“Keith was a magical, monumental artist,” stated Morgan in a May 2022 Tennessean feature.

“He changed people's thoughts about country music because he was so cool and [brought a] whole new sound."

"...I feel everything he sang..."

Moreso than anything, a night of vocal performances put the onus of the weight on Whitley's voice, which has rang truest forever.

Whitley's longtime producer, Garth Fundis, was also present Saturday night at the Opry. Fundis came to Whitley in 1988 after working with jazzy progressive bluegrass act Bluegrass Revival and Don Williams, a vocalist whose work yielded not just 17 No. 1 hits through the 1970s but also amassed global appeal.

In a 1991 Chicago Tribune story, Fundis noted, "[All you had to do was] give him the right song and stand out of the way. You hear some of these guys do hard-country music these days and roll your eyes, thinking, 'This is kind of a gimmick.' But Keith was the real McCoy and made great records. With him, it was no gimmick."

1980s-era RCA Records chief and another Country Music Hall of Famer, Joe Galante, was also present for Whitley's performance.

Famously, he's often recalled the moment at a 1982 music industry conference in New York City that he knew he made the right decision by signing Whitley.

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons approached Galante and noted the following:

"I don’t know s**t about country music. But [Keith Whitley], he’s great because I feel everything he sang."

Whitley's modern-era legacy

Dig as deep as turning on the car radio and there's Morgan Wallen, music's overall No. 1 star, who, on his latest mega-selling album "One Day At A Time," has a track entitled "Keith Whitley." Also, Country Music Association award-winner Jordan Davis' current radio single, "Tuscon Too Late," could be a doppelganger for Whitley's 1986 breakout hit "Miami, My Amy."

Davis, also 34, cited Whitley as an "honest, authentic influence" on his work in a February 2023 Tennessean feature.

"[Keith] pushed boundaries as a composer, performer and songwriter. Meeting the expectation of the same career moments as the artists I grew up idolizing is important. [Accepting] that I could [fairly attempt] to be that level of [creator] and occupy that headspace was cool."

Present both at the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Opry was Brooks, who said in Oct. 2022 that Whitley had a voice that was "better than 99% of singers," the "greatest, most unbelievable voice ever to grace country music," and could sing songs that could make people "get lower than a well digger's shoes."

Morgan first heard Whitley while driving in her car and listening to "Miami, My Amy" on a radio countdown show. Stunned by Whitley's voice, she pulled her car over on Briley Parkway until the song ended.

Morgan provided the most potent quote about Whitley's voice in a May 2022 Tennesean feature.

“I fell in love with the voice before I fell in love with the man. No music has ever touched me and moved my heart as Keith’s did."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Grand Ole Opry event celebrates legacy of Keith Whitley's timeless voice, songs