Keith Whitley's early bluegrass voice?

Wayne Carver · Post by **Wayne Carver** » 13 Mar 2010 7:37 pm

I was listening to his bluegrass album with Ricky Scaggs called "Second Generation" and read that Keith was singing lead on most of the songs. I didn't realize this until reading about it on Amazon. People were saying they bought the cd to hear Keith Whitley but all they heard was Ricky Scaggs. Did Keith sing with an Eastern Kentucky accent/voice in the early days that he abandoned to sound more like Lefty when he switched to mainstream country? The album has some of the best harmonizing in the "high lonesome vein" that i've ever heard.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 13 Mar 2010 8:27 pm

They both sing in the Stanley Brothers high harmony style, that's both of them singing parts.. he was one, super young with a highter tenor, and two.. singing bluegrass.
Part of their early fame was how close they could do the old-school Stanley harmonies.

A lot of latter period fans just don't get that he was coming from somewhere else, understandable, but it's not just Skaggs.

J.

Jeff Evans · Post by **Jeff Evans** » 14 Mar 2010 8:55 am

You might recognize him on "I'll Be Your Stepping Stone," hurtin' honky-tonk in a "bluegrass" (J.D. Crowe) context with an able assist from Doug Jernigan.

Higher fidelity here on lala.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 14 Mar 2010 1:11 pm

Kieth started out singing like Carter Stanley, and kept that sound till the day he died. I've always heard more Carter in his voice than Lefty.

John Steele (deceased) · Post by **John Steele (deceased)** » 14 Mar 2010 7:19 pm

I agree with the Carter and Lefty thing, but I'd add that at times I've heard him sound a great deal like Lester Flatt. In fact someone recently played me a very old bootleg of a bluegrass band and asked me to name the singer... Lester was the only voice that came to mind. It was Keith.
So, you guys can help me with this: I heard a wonderful cut of "My Window Faces South" yesterday on a radio station which didn't announce who it was.
It was definitely Keith Whitley, but it wasn't the version from the J.D. Crowe album "My Home Ain't In The Hall Of Fame" to which Jeff referred in his post.
There was a rippin' steel solo, and it had to be Buddy Emmons.
Where is that from ?
- John

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 14 Mar 2010 7:58 pm

Certainly, Keith was heavily influenced by Carter Stanley. Take one listen to Ralph Stanley's 1971 album "Something Old - Something New & Some of Katy's Mountain Dew", on which both he and Ricky Skaggs played. There are places where, if I didn't know better, I'd just think it was Carter reincarnated.

I think Keith was just a flat-out great country singer that could do just about anything. The stuff he did with J.D. Crowe was revolutionary in bluegrass, and then he came in and turned the mainstream country singing world on its head. To my tastes, and with full respect to lots of other great ones, I still think Keith was my generation's finest country singer, bar none.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 14 Mar 2010 8:45 pm

Dave Mudgett wrote:Certainly, Keith was heavily influenced by Carter Stanley. Take one listen to Ralph Stanley's 1971 album "Something Old - Something New & Some of Katy's Mountain Dew", on which both he and Ricky Skaggs played. There are places where, if I didn't know better, I'd just think it was Carter reincarnated.

I think Keith was just a flat-out great country singer that could do just about anything. The stuff he did with J.D. Crowe was revolutionary in bluegrass, and then he came in and turned the mainstream country singing world on its head. To my tastes, and with full respect to lots of other great ones, I still think Keith was my generation's finest country singer, bar none.

I completely agree.