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 (1988) I Wonder Do You Think of Me (1989)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Don't Close Your Eyes is the second studio 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 Keith Whitley: A Tribute Album in 1995, taking her version to number 3 on the country charts. Irish singer Ronan Keating later had a number 1 single in the United Kingdom and Ireland with a 1999 cover of the same song.

It peaked at number 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^A
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 D. Ferris) - 3:25
7. "Would These Arms Be in Your Way" (Hank Cochran, Vern Gosdin, Red Lane) - 3:10^A
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^A
12. "Honky Tonk Heart" (Johnny Neel, Lonnie Wilson) - 3:04

• ^AOmitted from cassette version.

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes.^[2]

All tracks except "Some Old Side Road" and "Would These Arms Be in Your Way"

Musicians

• Eddie Bayers — drums
• Paul Franklin — steel guitar, Pedabro
• Allen Frizzell — background vocals on "I Never Go Around Mirrors"
• Garth Fundis — background vocals
• Red Lane — acoustic guitar
• Mac McAnally — acoustic guitar
• Dave Pomeroy — bass guitar
• Matt Rollings — piano
• Billy Sanford — acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Keith Whitley — vocals
• Dennis Wilson — background vocals

Technical

• Garth Fundis — production, mixing
• Carlos Grier — mastering assistant
• Gary Laney — engineering, mixing
• Denny Purcell — mastering
• Todd Sholar — assistant engineer
• Keith Whitley — production

"Some Old Side Road" and "Would These Arms Be in Your Way"

Musicians

• Sonny Garrish — steel guitar
• Vern Gosdin — background vocals on "Would These Arms Be in Your Way"
• Rob Hajacos — fiddle on "Would These Arms Be in Your Way"
• Emmylou Harris — background vocals on "Would These Arms Be in Your Way"
• Mitch Humphries — keyboards
• Jerry Kroon — drums
• Mike Lawler — synthesizer
• Larry Paxton — bass guitar
• Brent Rowan — lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Dennis Wilson — background vocals on "Some Old Side Road"
• Curtis "Mr. Harmony" Young — background vocals on "Some Old Side Road"

Technical

• Bill Harris — engineering
• Blake Mevis — production

Chart performance

Album

Singles

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

References