In October, The Grand Ole Opry celebrated the late great Keith Whitley. Over the weekend, portions of the show aired on Circle Network and the Opry’s YouTube channel.
Videos by American Songwriter
I Wonder Do You Think of Me: The Opry Remembers Keith Whitley featured performances from some of country’s brightest stars. Garth Brooks, Ashley McBryde, Terri Clark, and others were there. Whitley’s widow, Lorrie Morgan also took the stage to pay tribute to her late husband. Watch her performance below.
Morgan and Whitley tied the knot in November of 1986. Less than three years later, Whitley passed away in May of 1989. At the time, he was weeks away from becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
[RELATED: Garth Brooks, Lorrie Morgan, and More to Celebrate Keith Whitley at the Opry]
“It was his dream to be in this Circle and to call this Circle his home,” Morgan said of Whitley. “Tonight, all these people who are honoring him—the staff that has put so much into this show, the different entertainers that have come out to show their support for support for Keith being part of the Opry family—we’re just so honored that you’re here tonight to honor Keith and his music.”
[RELATED: Meaning Behind the Song: “When You Say Nothing at All” by Keith Whitley]
Then, Morgan performed “When You Say Nothing at All” from Whitley’s second album Don’t Close Your Eyes. It was one of three of the Kentucky native’s singles to reach No. 1 before his passing.
After finishing her performance, Morgan welcomed her and Whitley’s son, Jesse Keith Whitley to the stage. “I’m not gonna make it all sappy,” Morgan said. “Even though I could very easily. I was born that way. My daughter’s that way, my son’s that way, we’ll cry at the drop of a hat. But, tonight I’m so proud because when I was married to Keith I had a wonderful son with Keith,” she added.
Addressing her son, Morgan said, “I’m awful proud that you’re standing in the Circle that your daddy wanted to be in many, many times.”
[RELATED: The Meaning Behind Keith Whitley’s No. 1 Hit “Don’t Close Your Eyes”]
“I was going down the black hole of the YouTube, as they say, the other night,” Whitley began. “I was watching a video of my dad standing here doing this song,” he added. Whitley recalled that the song debuted on the Opry a week before its release. Then, he played “Don’t Close Your Eyes.”
Photo by David A. Smith/Getty Images
