In a couple of weeks, Keith Whitley was scheduled to be asked to join the Grand Ole Opry himself, and was riding high off of his 3rd consecutive #1 single, Im No Stranger To The Rain, which had topped the Billboard country charts three weeks prior. In detail he almost died 9x of the same thing previously before the final time. But when Palmer returned at about 11:30 a.m., he found Whitley fully clothed on his bed, unconscious and unresponsive. All I know is we lost a damn fine voice. Each song could have been a single & could have reached the top of the charts, there were no throwaways. I VOTE to accept him into the CMHF. 0 Deborah Sturch It didnt take a stretch of the imagination to believe a country music singer had drank himself to death, especially Keith Whitley. Ralph Stanley had a rule that he wouldnt drink with any of the other members of the band, but he would drink with Keith Whitley. After Lorrie Morgan received news of Keith Whitleys death in May of 1989, and prepared to return to Nashville from her Alaskan promotional trip, she finally opened the card Keith had given her at the airport the last time the two saw each other. Just before he died, Jackie Keith Whitley had recorded his fourth solo album titled "I Wonder Do You Think of Me." I also like to think Keiths talents alone could have extended the neotraditional movement into and beyond the late 90s. As the Chicago Tribune reported at the time, When his death was first discovered, there was a widespread rumor that it was a suicide. A .47 alcohol level seemed exceptionally high, even for Keith Whitley. TilBillyHill Lane Palmer left Whitleys Goodletsville residence at approximately 8:30 a.m., planning to return an hour later for the golf excursion. Wow. Have to credit Pandora for introducing me to Darrell Scotts recording, which led to learning he was the songwriter. I myself like the traditional songs, sound. The whole family had a reckless streak. His body of work and the fact that it caused the resurgence in the popularity of country music 4 the 90s is why hes why hes being inducted to the Hall of Fame, BRYAN DENNIS Several comments mentioned his I Never Go Around Mirrors performanceto me it was legendary. Wish they had made the movie of his life that was talked about at one point. His brother in law Lane was an extremely shady character imo. He had the gene, and his substance of choice just happened to be alcohol. His death came as a shock to the music world, especially when his cause of death was finally revealed to the public. May 3, 2021 @ Convict charlie KWs consideration should be based upon him solely and not any relative factors such as others who have not made it in. Heard about it from high school friends who had less strict parents, then we all moved away for college. If I have gone to someone s house and knowing that this person already has had drinking prob. Whitleys voice was stunning in several of his songs. There will never be another voice like that. Charles Harlan had also been giving false testimony in trials for many years. Lefty drank, Hank drank, George Jones was still drinking, and I had to. The medical examiner who wrote and performed the autopsy, Charles Harlan, would soon become widely discredited, and blamed for numerous false reports and other unethical practices. Keep in mind cocaine was quite taboo back then. I have seen the birth certificate and passport that shows he was born in 1954. His wife, fellow country singer Lorrie Morgan, had recently left for a show in Alaska. You are so fortunate to have seen Keith live. keith whitley autopsy report 19 3407 . Ardith Kessler Even then, we would have to figure out why there is a discrepancy in between the two dates. Two children Charles Harlan had determined had died of SIDS were later discovered to have been murdered by their parents. The urine screen was positive for Cocaine and Cocaine metabolites. Welcome to Autopsyfiles.org - Home Page - Autopsy Reports of . throughout the next decade? Whether truth or innuendo, its not fair to put that on Lorrie. He tried to turn down his Hall of Fame induction until Whitley was in: https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/garth-brooks-tried-to-turn-down-hall-of-fame-induction/. I opened a show for Kieth in Fort Worth Tx. May 10, 2019 @ Jones died at 81 and was still an A-list act, putting out albums that received media attention and made the chart well into his 70sbasically until the end. Gay, West Virginia, and happened to walk into the club where they were playing. It was himself that Keith Whitley would regularly put in harms way.Lorrie Morgan recalls, quote, It was like a ticking timebomb. On that day, he was scheduled to play golf with his brother-in-law, Lane Palmer, and it was he who found Whitley dead on his bed. Tragic. jimincincy But bottom line, he was an addict. The autopsy findings. Healthline states that having an alcohol concentration of 0.40 or higher may cause coma or death. At just 34 years old, Whitely succumbed to his alcohol abuse, dying in his bed of alcohol poisoning, with a blood alcohol level of .47. In 2005, the State of Tennessee found Charles Harlan guilty of 20 counts of misconduct and permanently revoked his medical license. The hope was finding success would finally help to settle Keith Whitley down, at least to some extent, as would hopefully his marriage to Lorrie Morgan in 1986. Charles Harlan, Garth Brooks, George Strait, JD Crowe, Keith Whitley, Lorrie Morgan, Ralph Stanley, Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs, THe New South, Vince Gill. Lorrie Morgan also called into question some of the specifics of how Keith Whitley was discovered on the day he died. Tank. I loved how you not only touched on Whitleys musical career but also the controversy surrounding his death. Every time the phone would ring it was in the back of my mind that there was somebody calling to tell me hes been in a wreck or died of alcohol. But Morgan's . The only person responsible for an addict is an addict. Whitley and Morgan clearly loved each other but couldnt avoid the inevitable. Keith Whitley, who battled a drinking problem while becoming one of the brightest young stars in country music, was found dead at his home here Tuesday of accidental acute alcohol poisoning,. Hank IIIs Crazed Country Rebel slipped into the mix probably a nod to the original site). The death of Keith Whitley seemed like an open and shut case. %%EOF I like to think Keith would have been the leading force for traditional country music into the mid to late 90s with Strait, Jackson, and Travis. We take the literal meaning and we recall the video, and Garths comments on what the song means to him, and the footage of people like Keith Whitely, Lane Frost, President Kennedy, and the Challenger astronauts). Whitley was considered country musics next superstar. Another song on that album, Its All Coming Back to Me Now was in the same class as far stunning vocals. But in the aftermath of Keith Whitleys death, rumors swirled about the circumstances, some of which have continued to linger in popular lore to this day. 7:57 am. This speaks to the depths of Keith Whitleys addiction. You did an excellent and thorough job. However, I do not think as some do that a Hall of Fame induction is warranted at this point. May 8, 2019 @ Randy Travis and Keith opened the doors for all the acts of the 90s with there style and straightforward approach to real country music. With the way Whitley was influenced by Carter Stanley in his singing style, it really helped to sell the two young scrappy musicians as the real deal. alcoholism is just that, the alcohol takes over and the person isnt able to control the impulsive behavior. I guess I overstated that, but he did have a ride with drugs and alcohol that was almost his demise. They had partied hard together the entire weekend and he swallowed a small baggie of cocaine he found at Keiths house before he called 911. Disturbing Details Found In Jackie Keith Whitley's Autopsy Report. From the moment Keith Whitley embarked on a music career, success followed closely behind. I do not believe the conspiracy theories that exist or that any foul play was involved. She then heads off to Alaska of all places and he died shortly after. Although not a fan of Garth, I disagree with you in that his recommendations and influence means nothing for Keiths HOF case. He left the medical examiners post in 1994 after three separate women accused him of sexual harassment. I am such a huge fan of his music. King Honky Of Crackershire The UPI article quotes her as referring to when she read the note on the return flight. TilBillyHill Thanks go to you and to others discussing a remembering a talented artist who, despite the struggles that took his life (or maybe because of them), left us with great music. During his teenage years, Whitley and his friends would sip on bottles of bootleg bourbon, and drive down the windy mountain roads of Kentucky at unsafe speeds. Her father was Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry member George Morgan, one of country musics classic crooners similar in style to Eddy Arnold and Jim Reeves. May 2, 2021 @ Still have her Something in Red CD, along with a few of Keiths. Keith Whitley absolutely should be in the HOF; this was the perfect year to do it, but it should be done post haste. Keiths brother Randy died in a motorcycle accident in 1983. EXCEPT I would put Waylon Jennings instead of Jamey Johnson. Lorrie Morgan also alluded to shadowy characters in Keith Whitleys life, possibly drug dealers, and others that may have wanted to do Keith Whitley harm for one reason or another. She also kept his memory alive by releasing music that Whitley was able to record before his death. His final studio album, I Wonder Do You Think of Me was to me a masterpiece. Disturbing Details Found In Jackie Keith Whitley's Autopsy Grunge 2.14M subscribers Subscribe 1.7K 131K views 1 year ago #CountryMusic #Musician Jackie Keith Whitley was well on his way. I was on pins and needles when he was on the road. unquote.Lorrie Morgan was very much a daughter of country music, who would end up blossoming into a wife and a mother of the genre as well. While I havent read all of Forever Yours Faithfully, the fact that Keith couldnt be resuscitated because he had passed out on a waterbed that I presume was in Lorrie and his master bedroom doesnt surprise me. If I could have any wish I wanted, this is my wish: That in your life which is so precious to me, may worries, troubles and problems never linger. 7:59 am. The medical examiner said in his findings that Whitley died as a result of "drinking too much ethyl alcohol in too short a period of time." Before Lorrie Morgan left on her flight, Keith Whitley gave her a greeting card with a note in it, but Lorrie would not open it at the time. Your email address will not be published. or would he have been right up there with the class of 89 and other neo-traditionalists (Tracy Lawrence, Mark Chesnutt, etc.)