Keith Whitley Didn’t Write What He Claimed Is One of His Most Autobiographical Tunes

In 1989, Keith Whitley had his third consecutive No. 1 single with “I’m No Stranger To The Rain”. The song is part of Whitley’s sophomore Don’t Close Your Eyes record.

Before releasing “I’m No Stranger To The Rain”, Whitley released the title track of Don’t Close Your Eyes and “When You Say Nothing At All”, his first two No. 1 singles.

“I’m No Stranger To The Rain” is a song about overcoming obstacles. It says in part, “And I’ll put this cloud behind me / That’s how the Man designed me / To ride the wind and dance in a hurricane / I’m no stranger to the rain.” The song was written by Sonny Curtis and Ron Hellard, but it could have been written by Whitley.

“Although I didn’t write the song, I could very well have written it,” Whitley says. “It really deals with survival. The line in that song that made me know I wanted to record it comes in that first verse: ‘I fought with the devil / Got down on his level / But I never gave in / So he gave up on me.’ I could really identify very strongly with that particular line.”

What Happened to Keith Whitley After Releasing “I’m No Stranger To The Rain”?

Sadly, “I’m No Stranger To The Rain” became Whitley’s final single that he released while he was alive. On May 9, 1989, Whitley passed away. His cause of death was later revealed as acute alcohol poisoning.

Whitley’s unexpected death cut short a career that likely would have lasted for decades. But Whitley still had hits after releasing “I’m No Stranger To The Rain”. Shortly after Whitley’s passing, “I Wonder Do You Think Of Me” was released. That song, the title track of Whitey’s third studio album, became a No. 1 single. In October, “It Ain’t Nothin’”, also from I Wonder Do You Think Of Me, was released. That song became Whitley’s final chart-topping single. 

Still, Whitley did have four more Top 20 hits that were posthumously released, including “I’m Over You” and “Brotherly Love”, the latter a duet with Earl Thomas Conley. Both of those songs reached the Top 5. In 1990, a Greatest Hits album was released. That record included “’Til A Tear Becomes A Rose”, a song that was recorded by Whitley and his widow, Lorrie Morgan, before he passed away.

“I’m No Stranger To The Rain” gave Whitley a CMA Award for Single of the Year. He also received his first Grammy Award nomination for this song.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images