Don't Close Your Eyes (album)

Don't Close Your Eyes
Studio album by Keith Whitley
Released	May 31, 1988
Genre	Country
Length	39:31
Label	RCA
Producer	Garth Fundis Blake Mevis Keith Whitley
Keith Whitley chronology
L.A. to Miami (1986) Don't Close Your Eyes (1986) I Wonder Do You Think of Me (1989)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Don't Close Your Eyes is the third album album by country music artist Keith Whitley. It was released in 1988 by RCA Records. The album includes the singles "Would These Arms Be in Your Way" and "Some Old Side Road," followed by three straight Number One country hits in "Don't Close Your Eyes," "When You Say Nothing at All" and "I'm No Stranger to the Rain." Also included is a cover of Lefty Frizzell's 1973 single "I Never Go Around Mirrors."

It features the original recording of the song "Lucky Dog", which was later recorded, with a slightly longer arrangement, by singer-songwriter Mark Collie on his 1991 album Born and Raised in Black and White. Alison Krauss covered "When You Say Nothing at All" on a Keith Whitley tribute album in 1995, taking her version to #3 on the country charts. Irish singer Ronan Keating later had a #1 single in the United Kingdom and Ireland with a 1999 cover of the same song. Vern Gosdin and Emmylou Harris sing back-up on several tracks.

It peaked at #8 on the Top Country Albums chart, and was certified gold by the RIAA.

Track listing

1. "Flying Colors" (Kim Morrison, Gary Talley) - 3:35
2. "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (Don Cook, Curly Putman, Keith Whitley) - 2:45
3. "Lucky Dog" (Bill Caswell, Verlon Thompson) - 2:00
4. "Don't Close Your Eyes" (Bob McDill) - 4:09
5. "The Birmingham Turnaround" (Warren Robb, Sanger D. Shafer) - 2:49
6. "Some Old Side Road" (Roger Ferris) - 3:25
7. "Would These Arms Be in Your Way" (Hank Cochran, Vern Gosdin, Red Lane) - 3:10
8. "I'm No Stranger to the Rain" (Sonny Curtis, Ron Hellard) - 3:33
9. "I Never Go Around Mirrors (I've Got a Heartache to Hide)" (Lefty Frizzell, Shafer) - 4:24
10. "When You Say Nothing at All" (Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz) - 3:40
11. "Day in the Life of a Fool" (Mike Dekle, Byron Hill) - 3:37
12. "Honky Tonk Heart" (Johnny Neel, Lonnie Wilson) - 3:04

Chart performance

Album

Chart (1988)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	8
U.S. Billboard 200	121
Canadian RPM Country Albums	10

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions
		US Country	CAN Country
1987	"Would These Arms Be in Your Way"	36	—
	"Some Old Side Road"	16	32
1988	"Don't Close Your Eyes"	1	2
	"When You Say Nothing at All"	1	*
1989	"I'm No Stranger to the Rain"	1	1

Production

• Produced by Garth Fundis and Keith Whitley except for tracks 6 and 7, produced by Blake Mevis for Southwind Music, Inc.
• Engineered By Bill Harris, Gary Laney & Todd Sholar
• Mixed By Garth Fundis & Gary Laney
• Digital Editing By Carlos Grier
• Mastered By Denny Purcell

Personnel

• Eddie Bayers - drums
• Paul Franklin - steel guitar, Dobro
• Allen Frizzell - background vocals
• Sonny Garrish - steel guitar
• Vern Gosdin - background vocals
• Rob Hajacos - fiddle
• Emmylou Harris - background vocals
• Mitch Humphries - keyboards
• Jerry Kroon - drums
• Red Lane - guitar
• Mike Lawler - synthesizer
• Mac McAnally - acoustic guitar
• Larry Paxton - bass guitar
• Dave Pomeroy - bass guitar
• Matt Rollings - piano
• Brent Rowan - guitar
• Billy Sanford - guitar
• Dennis Wilson - background vocals
• Curtis Young - background vocals

References

1. ^ Owens, Thom. "Don't Close Your Eyes review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r94619. Retrieved 2009-08-20.