Keith Whitley

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风格: #前卫蓝草　#当代乡村　#前卫乡村　#蓝草
地区: United States of America 美国

艺人介绍

Keith Whitley的传奇是二十世纪九十年代乡村乐坛一道重要的风景。作为一位有才华的乡村歌手及作者，Whitley在他1989年死去时才刚刚成为巨星。在他死后的十年里，他作为艺人和歌曲作者的声望继续上升，因为很多艺人靠他的歌曲和一些在他死后发行的录音获得乡村排行前十名。

Whitley出生并生长于肯塔基州。当他还是个孩子的时候，他就开始唱歌了，并在四岁时赢过一次才艺比赛。八岁的时候，他学会弹吉他，仅仅一年之后，他就在查尔斯顿的电台演出了。十三岁时，他组织了自己的第一个乐队，专门演奏兰草音乐。几年以后，他和他的高中朋友Ricky Skaggs组建了Lonesome Mountain Boys(寂寞山区男孩)。开始，他们演奏Stanley Brother的歌曲，随后引起了人们的注意。

在六十年代末期，Ralph Stanley在他的兄弟和合作人Carter死后重组乐队，他对Whitley和Skaggs的印象如此深刻，因此邀请他们参加他的Clinch Mountain Boys Group(克林奇山区男孩组合)。后两人立刻接受了邀请，从1970年开始同乐队一起演出。Whitley和乐队一起呆了两年，共同录制了七张专辑，其中包括1971年的Crying From the Cross（十字架的哭泣），这张专辑被提名为当年的最佳兰草专辑。

1973年，Whitley离开了乐队。有两年的时间里，他在不同的乐队中演出，也演出了一些乡村音乐而不都是兰草。1975年，他回到克林奇山区男孩组合，并在乐队又呆了两年。在这段时间里，他作为歌手在乐队中演出。他录制了五张专辑。1978年，Keith加入了J.D.Crowe的the New South（新南方）乐队。在1978到1982年间，他和新南方共录制了三张专辑，风格趋于兰草和乡村之间（这段时间的辉煌可以在2000年重新发行的Sad Songs & Waltzs忧伤的歌和华尔兹中重新发现）。

1982年，当Whitley离开新南方乐队的时候，作为一个独唱歌手的他已经羽翼丰满。他和RCA签约，并在1984年发行了首张专辑Hard Act to Follow（难以追随）。这是一张纯乡村酒吧音乐，并未引起多少重视。第二年，他发行了L.A. to Miami（洛山矶到迈阿密）。这张专辑更加商业化，并出了一首第十四名歌曲&Miami, My Amy&（迈阿密，我的艾米）。这首单曲在1986年早期上榜，随后紧接着他又有三首歌曲进了前十：&Ten Feet Away&（十尺以外）、&Homecoming '63&（回家63）、&Hard Livin'&（艰难生活）。1986年晚期，他娶了Lorrie Morgan。

尽管“从洛山矶到迈阿密”获得商业上的成功，然而Whitley本人对于这种顺畅的制作方式并不满意。1987年，他录制了一张同前一张风格类似的专辑。由于对他的新专辑的音乐风格不满意，他说服RCA搁置了这张专辑并同一位新的制作人Garth Fundis一起着手录制新的作品。这就是专辑&Don't Close Your Eyes&(不要闭上眼睛)。这张专辑在1988年春发行，确立了Whitley在商业上的成功。这张专辑中的前三首歌曲&Don't Close Your Eyes&,&When You Say Nothing At All&和&I'm No Stranger To the Rain&均成为第一名歌曲。

表面看来，Whitley的一切都进行良好，然而，在光环背后，Whitley却被酒精所害，尽管也是由于酒精的作用，他的嗓音更具酒吧音乐风韵。1989年5月9日，他死于酒精中毒，时年34岁。在他死前，他刚刚录制完成专辑&I Wonder Do You Think Of Me&(想知道你是否会想起我)。这张专辑在他死后很快就发行了，其中首个歌曲，也是专辑同名歌曲，获得了第一名。随后，专辑中的另一首歌曲&It Ain't Nothing&(一无所有)也成为冠军歌曲。1990年，专辑中的&I'm Over You&（你我已经结束）成为第三名。在九十年代，RCA打包并重新发行了Whitley的一系列唱片，也包括一些未发表的作品。1990年，Lorrie Morgan录制了一首电子合成的歌曲——同她去世的丈夫一同演唱&Til a Tear Becomes a Rose&,这首歌得到第十三名。1991年，和Earl Thomas Conley合作的&Brotherly Love&(兄弟之爱)在1991年得了第二。1994年，Morgan召集发行了一张向Whitley致敬的专辑。Alison Krauss & Union Station发行了一首不被看好的歌曲&When You Say Nothing At All&,令人惊异地获得了排行第三，也同时向那些九十年代初的乡村歌迷们介绍了Krauss，当然还有Whitley.这首歌现在已经成为婚礼经典曲目。

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Keith Whitleys legacy loomed large over the country music landscape of the 90s. A talented new country singer and songwriter, Whitley was just beginning to emerge as a superstar at the time of his death in 1989. Throughout the next decade, his reputation as both a performer and writer continued to grow, as other artists had hits with his songs and posthumous recordings climbed into the Top Ten.

Born and raised in Kentucky, Whitley began singing as a child, winning a talent contest at the age of four. When he was eight years old, he learned how to play guitar and within a year he was singing on a Charleston, WV-based radio station. Whitley formed his first band at the age of 13, playing nothing but straight bluegrass. A few years later, he formed the Lonesome Mountain Boys with his high school friend, Ricky Skaggs. The Lonesome Mountain Boys primarily played Stanley Brothers songs and soon became a popular attraction.

In the late 60s, Ralph Stanley was looking to re-form his band after the death of his brother and partner, Carter. He was so impressed with Whitley and Skaggs, he asked them to join his Clinch Mountain Boys group. The duo accepted the offer immediately and began appearing with the band in 1970. Whitley stayed with the Clinch Mountain Boys for two years, recording a total of seven albums, including 1971s Crying From the Cross, which was named the Bluegrass Album of the Year.

In 1973, Whitley left the group. For two years, he drifted through various other bands, including acts that played country, not bluegrass. He returned to the Clinch Mountain Boys in 1975 and stayed with them for another two years. During his second tenure with the band, he made five albums. In 1978, Keith joined J.D. Crowes band the New South. Whitley recorded three albums with the New South between 1978 and 1982, which vacillated between bluegrass and straight country (the highlights of this era were re-released on CD as Sad Songs & Waltzes in 2000).

Whitley began a full-fledged solo career after leaving the New South in 1982. Signing with RCA Records, he released his debut album, Hard Act to Follow, in 1984. A record of pure honky tonk, it didnt attract much of an audience. The following year, he released L.A. to Miami, a more commercial affair which spawned the number 14 single Miami, My Amy. After that single peaked early in 1986, he had three back-to-back Top Ten hits: Ten Feet Away, Homecoming 63, and Hard Livin. Late in 1986, he married Lorrie Morgan.

Although L.A. to Miami was a success, its slick production didnt please Whitley. In 1987, he recorded a follow-up to the record that sounded exactly the same as its predecessor. Unsatisfied with the musical direction of his new effort, Whitley convinced RCA to shelve the completed album and have him work on another record with a new producer, Garth Fundis. Dont Close Your Eyes was the result. Released in the spring of 1988, the album solidified Whitleys commercial standing. The first three singles from Dont Close Your Eyes — Dont Close Your Eyes, When You Say Nothing at All, and Im No Stranger to the Rain — were all number one hits.

Things may have been going smoothly on the surface for Keith Whitley, but behind the scenes he was being torn apart by alcoholism. On May 9, 1989, he suffered from a fatal case of alcohol poisoning; he was 34 at the time of his demise. Just before his death, he completed his fourth album, I Wonder Do You Think of Me. The record was released shortly after his death and its first single, which was the title track, reached number one, as did its follow-up, It Aint Nothin; another single from the album, Im Over You, reached number three in 1990. During the 90s, RCA repackaged and re-released many of Whitleys recordings — including several unreleased songs — in various compilations. Lorrie Morgan recorded an electronic duet, Til a Tear Becomes a Rose, with her late husband in 1990; it peaked at number 13. In 1994, a tribute album to Whitley was released.

Keith Whitley

艺人介绍

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