Early life
Whitley learned to play a guitar at a very young age, and became involved with a regional television show when he was eight years old. He and his friend, Ricky Skaggs, formed a bluegrass band, which landed both of them their first break in 1970, when they joined Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys. Whitley was singing lead for the band by 1974 at the age of 20.
In 1978, he joined J. D. Crowe and the New South as lead vocalist and guitarist. Critics were by then praising his vocals, and these reviews eventually caught the attention of RCA Records, who would sign him to a contract in 1984.
Solo years
Whitley's first solo album, ''A Hard Act to Follow,'' was released in 1984. However, the songs off of the album didn't get much airplay. Critics regarded the album as too erratic; while Whitley was working hard to achieve his own style, the songs he produced were inconsistent, and because of this, the follow up album would be more with pop sounds and a new producer as well who had been in the music buisness for sometime and had several hit records under his belt with other artists Blake Mevis.
L.A. to Miami, released in 1986. This album would give him his first Top 20 country hit single, "Miami, My Amy." The song was followed by three more hit songs, "Ten Feet Away," "Homecoming '63," and "Hard Livin." The album also had included "On The Other Hand" and "Nobody In His Right Mind Would've Left Her." Both George Strait and Randy Travis waited to see if Whitley would release these two songs as singles; when he didn't, Strait grabbed "Nobody in his Right Mind Would've Left Her", and Travis did the same with "On the Other Hand." Both Strait and Travis scored big on both songs, landing both at number one on the country charts.
During his tour to promote ''L.A. to Miami'', he met and started dating Lorrie Morgan, a fellow country singer. The pair were married in November, 1986, and they had their only son, Jesse Keith Whitley, in 1987. Keith also adopted Lorrie's daughter Morgan from her first marriage.
During the new recording sessions in 1987, Whitley started feeling that the songs he was doing were not up to the way he wanted them,nal studio album, ''I Wonder Do You Think of Me''. The album was released three months after his death, on August 1, 1989. The album produced two more #1 hits, with the title track and "It Ain't Nothin'." "I'm Over You" also saw the top ten in the spring of 1990, reaching No. 3.
In 1990, a collection of Keith's greatest hits was released. It has gone on to sell more than three million copies over the years for RCA.
On the greatest hits collection was a demo record that Whitley made in 1987, called "Tell Lorrie I Love Her," and also a new song to which Lorrie Morgan added her vocals to and created a duet called "Til A Tear Becomes A Rose". The song rose to No. 13 and won them 1991's CMA award for Best Vocal Collaboration.
RCA also released a compilation of old performance clips (from his days in the Clinch Mountain Boys and the New South), interviews, and some previously unreleased material under the title "Kentucky Bluebird", a moniker that became Whitley's nickname. The CD has become a huge collector's item among fans over the years due to it being out of print.and is currently in production.
Almost twenty years after Keith's passing fans and fellow singers still wonder what would have happened if Keith had lived, some say Garth Brooks would have taken a back seat to Keith in the 1990's , Tim McGraw and many singers today still are influenced by the man who just wanted to be remembered.
In 2007, long time fan Kindall Wann will be launching an all Keith Whitley radio station on the internet site Live365.com, the station will contain every known public release of Keith's and also the live concerts, demos, and more that fans have has among them for years.
In the summer of 2007, Austin City Limits will be releasing like in past years, several DVDs of their concerts over the years, and Keith's "FULL" concert is one that will be released. The concert filmed is an hour long, but the television version is only 30 minutes long.
Keith's music video's and many rare performances have recently been showing up on the website YouTube.com, one of the performances is from Hee Haw in 1985, Keith singing "Miami, My Amy".
Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
Keith Whitley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now you're putting on the style
And you've never once looked back
At your home across the tracks
You're the gossip of the town
But my heart can still be found
Where you tossed it on the ground
Pick me up on your way down
When you're blue and all alone
When the glamor starts to bore you
Come on back where you belong
You may be their pride and joy
But they'll find another toy
Then they'll take away your crown
Pick me up on your way down
They have changed your attitude
Made you haughty and so rude
Your new friends can take the blame
Underneath, you're still the same
When you learn these things are true
I'll be waiting here for you
As you tumble to the ground
Pick me up on your way down
Pick me up on your way down
When you're blue and all alone
When the glamor starts to bore you
Come on back where you belong
You may be their pride and joy
But they'll find another toy
Then they'll take away your crown
Pick me up on your way down
In Keith Whitley's classic country song "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down," the singer reflects on a lost love who has moved up in the world and left him behind. The song details how the singer's former flame has left their humble beginnings and become more sophisticated, causing a stir in town. Despite this, the singer is still in love with the person and is willing to be their refuge when they inevitably come crashing back down to earth. He knows that the life they have chosen won't truly satisfy them and believes that he is the one they will turn to when it all falls apart.
The lyrics express a sense of longing and sadness over lost love, but also a small flicker of hope. The use of the phrase "pick me up on your way down" conveys this idea that while the singer may seem to have moved beyond the singer's station in life, there will come a time when they need him again. It's a sad, resigned kind of waiting for someone who may never return, but it's also tinged with the hope that their relationship may be rekindled in the future.
Overall, "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" is a classic country ballad that touches on themes of lost love, pride, and the idea that the high life is not always what it seems. It's a song that continues to resonate with country fans today and is a testament to Whitley's talent as a songwriter.
Line by Line Meaning
You were mine for just a while
We had a short but meaningful relationship
Now you're putting on the style
You have changed your behavior to impress others
And you've never once looked back
You don't care about your past or where you came from
At your home across the tracks
Your upbringing was different from mine
You're the gossip of the town
People are talking about you because of your new behavior
But my heart can still be found
My feelings for you haven't changed
Where you tossed it on the ground
You broke my heart and left me feeling hurt
Pick me up on your way down
When your new life isn't what you thought it was, I'll still be here for you
When you're blue and all alone
When you're feeling sad and have no one else to turn to
When the glamor starts to bore you
When you realize the glitz and glamor is shallow and unfulfilling
Come on back where you belong
Return to where you were once happy and content
You may be their pride and joy
You may be popular and well-liked by others
But they'll find another toy
They will eventually move on to someone else
Then they'll take away your crown
Once you no longer serve their purpose, they will discard you
They have changed your attitude
Your behavior has been influenced by your new friends
Made you haughty and so rude
You have become arrogant and disrespectful
Your new friends can take the blame
Your actions are a result of the people you surround yourself with
Underneath, you're still the same
Despite your new persona, you're still the person I fell in love with
When you learn these things are true
When you realize that your new life isn't as great as it seems
I'll be waiting here for you
I will be here for you, no matter what
As you tumble to the ground
When you fall from your new pedestal
Contributed by Adam S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.