Keith Whitley’s items to be shown at Ky. museum

By DAVE LAVENDER - The Herald Dispatch

The legacy of the late, country singer Keith Whitley can be seen on this poster for a Keith Whitley Tribute that was recorded after the Sandy Hook, Ky., native died in 1989. ASHLAND -- Ask and ye shall receive. Folks from The Highlands Museum and Discovery Center had written Rick Snowden about the private collector donating a few of the late Keith Whitley’s items to the museum’s 2,000-square-foot permanent exhibit, "Country Music Heritage."Snowden, a native of Hornell, N.Y., has responded with a blizzard of generosity. He is donating 45 pieces that range from pictures, clothing, papers and memorabilia of the Sandy Hook native country music singer who died in 1989. Nancy Smith, executive director of the Museum and Discovery Center, said the collection will be unveiled at an April 26 opening.” We had asked him if we could have some pieces, and he called in November and said that he would like to donate the entire collection to us," Smith said.Snowden, who had a private collection in his Las Vegas home, had set up a foundation with Keith Whitley’s family and assisted in getting a statue of Whitley put up in Sandy Hook.Whitley, who won his first talent contest at age 4, cut his teeth with Ricky Skaggs in Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys while both were in their teens. Whitley honed his lead vocals with the Lexington, Ky.-based bluegrass and country unit J.D. Crowe and New South before launching his solo career in 1982. Moving to Nashville in 1986, Whitley hit the charts with "Miami (My Amy)" the same year he married singer Lorrie Morgan.Whitley, who died of alcohol overdose in 1989, has cast a long shadow, his rich voice and phrasing influencing a new generation of country singers. His first No. 1 hits, "When You Say Nothing At All" and "No Stranger to the Rain," came from two final CDs released after his death."I hope that my donation will be enjoyed by the thousands of people who visit the museum annually, and that the Keith Whitley Collection will fill a void in the museum’s acquisitions," Snowden said in a written statement Housed in the former Parsons Department Store building since 1993, the Museum and Discovery Center opened the first part of the Country Music Heritage exhibit in November 1996 with Naomi Judd and family members present for the dedication.

KEITH WHITLEY MEMORIAL RIDE
HISTORY OF THE RIDE
The Keith Whitley Memorial Ride was organized in 1990 by David Brickey of Sandy Hook, KY and sponsored by the Kentucky Motorcycle Association. The ride was established to honor the memory of country music singer Keith Whitley and his brother Randy. Keith Whitley put Sandy Hook, Kentucky on the map. Keith was proud of his hometown and talked about it at every opportunity. Keith Whitley was also the first country singer to have
included his Harley Davidson in a music video. The video was "When you Say Nothing At All."
Keith's brother Randy was as well known in Sandy Hook as Keith, but it was for his enthusiasm for Harley Davidson motorcycles and riding in the wind instead of music. Randy lost his life on October 1983 in a motorcycle accident. David Brickey stated in the first year's introduction speech, "What better way to remember two brothers than to join together in their honor and do what they loved to do best."
The ride is not a memorial of loss, but a celebration of life. Keith and Randy Whitley loved life. Even though each lived to be only 34 years old, they lived their days fully and completely. As the years have passed, the ride has become not only a celebration for Keith and Randy Whitley, but
for all those who have left us too soon to ride through the heaven's skyways.
There are a lot of reasons that people participate. Maybe you knew and loved Keith or Randy . Maybe you were a fan. Maybe you are thinking of your own loved one. Maybe you love motorcycles or then maybe you just come because we have such a good time. For whatever reason, I hope that YOU join us and help in making memories to carry with us a lifetime.
-Kim Whitley Evans

KEITH
Keith Whitley
Born: July 1, 1955
Birthplace: Sandy Hook, Kentucky
Died: May 9, 1989
When Keith Whitley died suddenly and tragically in 1989, at age 33, it was the abrupt and somewhat sordid collapse of a musical promise left largely unfulfilled.
Though frequently overshadowed during his lifetime by more commercially successful peers like
Randy Travis and George Strait, Whitley had, by the end of his life, matured into a hard country
vocal stylist second to none and an accomplished and moving songwriter. The pity is he took his
own life just at a point where the rest of the world was starting to recognize
this.