Backstage Country

LISTEN LIVE

Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and More to Honor Keith Whitley

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are headlining a tribute concert for late country singer Keith Whitley. Whitley is known for such hits as “When You Say Nothing at All,” “Don’t…

Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and More to Honor Keith Whitley

LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 08: Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks perform onstage during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Dolly Parton at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 8, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are headlining a tribute concert for late country singer Keith Whitley.

Whitley is known for such hits as "When You Say Nothing at All," "Don't Close Your Eyes" and "I'm No Stranger to the Rain," and made a big impression on country music with his string of chart-topping hits in the 1980s.

Garth and Trisha will join Tracy Lawrence, Mark Wills, Darryl Worley, Mark Chesnutt, Joe Diffie and others at the Country Music Hall of Fame to honor Whitley on May 9, the 30th anniversary of his death. The singer died at age 33 in 1989 from alcohol poisoning.

"Despite the brevity of his career, Whitley's music has exerted tremendous influence on subsequent generations of country singers," the CMHOF stated in a press release.

The Keith Whitley tribute will be hosted by his wife Lorrie Morgan and their son, Jesse Keith Whitley, at the CMA Theater inside the Country Music Hall of Fame.

-Nancy Brooks

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.