Keith Whitley Also Recorded What Became One of Randy Travis’ Biggest Hits

In 1985, Randy Travis released “On The Other Hand”. Written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, “On The Other Hand” is the debut single from Storms Of Life, Travis’s freshman record. When Travis first released “On The Other Hand”, the song did not chart at radio. But the follow-up single “1982″, became a Top 10 single.

Undeterred, Travis released “On The Other Hand” again after “1982”. This time, the song became the first of many Travis songs that would reach the top of the charts.

“On The Other Hand” remains one of Travis’s most noteworthy singles. But Travis isn’t the only artist to release “On The Other Hand”. Keith Whitley includes the song on L.A. To Miami, Whitley’s sophomore record. However, Whitley did not release “On The Other Hand” as a single, not that he needed to.  L.A. To Miami includes “Miami, My Amy”, “Ten Feet Away”, “Homecoming ’63”, and “Hard Livin’”, all big hits for Whitley.

The Story Behind “On The Other Hand” by Randy Travis

The chorus of “On The Other Hand” says, “But on the other hand, there’s a golden band / To remind me of someone who would not understand / On one hand, I could stay and be your lovin’ man / But the reason I must go is on the other hand.”

When Overstreet sat down to write “On The Other Hand” with Schlitz, it was his way of rebelling against the trend in country music of lack of fidelity in relationships.

“I personally was tired of that whole scenario of going from one relationship to another, and not having the strength to really say no in tempting situations,” Overstreet says. “I was hoping we could write a song that would say we had the strength to say no.”

“So right in the middle of that song, we kind of bantered some lines back and forth. And Don said, ‘But on the other hand,’ and I said, ‘There’s a golden band,’” he continues. “From that point, we looked at each other and kind of got that glitter in our eyes, and finished it real quick. Then we went to lunch.”

Interestingly, Overstreet and Schlitz first pitched “On The Other Hand” to Dan Seals, who passed on it. Overstreet wanted to keep the song for himself, even though a producer named Kyle Lehning wanted it for Travis, who was still an unknown act at the time.

 “Everybody else wanted to let Kyle cut it on this new artist. I was just fighting it a little bit. Then, I was driving down Music Row one day, and I got this little Bible verse going through my head. It is more blessed to give than to receive,” Overstreet tells American Songwriter. “So, I called everybody and told them to let them have the song. That’s how our relationship with Randy started. We didn’t even really know his name.”

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