Lorrie Morgan and Jesse Keith Whitley, her son, were proud to open the exhibit dedicated to the late Keith Whitley at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville on Tuesday night, the 30th of April.
Whitley’s widow and fellow country artist Morgan took the podium to address the crowd of journalists and other Music City insiders at the rotunda in the Hall of Fame at the preview of the upcoming exhibit entitled: Still Rings True: The Enduring Voice of Keith Whitley.
The speech was an emotional one, with the singer commenting that her late husband was someone who:
“made an impact on everybody that he ever came into contact with. I’ve never heard anybody say, ‘Well, I didn’t really like him that much.’ Keith was just so lovable, and it’s so sad when you have to say goodbye to someone so lovable. But he left this wonderful music.”
The exhibit opened on the 3rd of May, and it will run through the 5th of April, 2020. It showcases several rare pieces of history that not only highlight Whitley’s musical talents, but also his unmistakable fashion sense.
Keith Whitley’s Legacy
Whitley died on the 9th of May, 1989 due to alcohol poisoning. He was 34 years old. The Kentucky native’s career was at its peak during that time. He had released three albums and scored a number of top 40 hits.
Before his death, Whitley married fellow country star Morgan in 1986. And in 1989, she gave an interview explaining how she was in constant worry about his drinking, yet they still had a strong marriage together.
“We had six great months of nothing but pure ecstasy. It was a heavenly marriage and home. We were together 24 hours a day. Then all of a sudden there was somebody there at the house I didn’t know,” she says. “I am thankful for those three years, as hard as the bad times were. In those three years I’ve never in my life known love like Keith Whitley showed me. A lot of people never experience that. That was a lifetime feeling.”
