On October 8, 1990, Lorrie Morgan’s name was called at the CMA Awards in Nashville. Next to her name was her husband’s: Keith Whitley. The award was for a duet called “‘Til a Tear Becomes a Rose.” But the two of them never stood in a studio and sang it together. Keith had died more than a year earlier. Lorrie recorded her part after he was gone.
Three Short Years
Keith Whitley and Lorrie Morgan met while he was touring behind his album L.A. to Miami. Both of them had grown up around country music. Keith came out of the bluegrass world of Kentucky, with a lonesome voice shaped by the Stanley Brothers and Lefty Frizzell. Lorrie was the daughter of Grand Ole Opry star George Morgan, and she first sang on the Opry stage when she was just 13.
They married in 1986. Keith adopted Lorrie’s daughter, Morgan, from her first marriage, and the couple had a son, Jesse. By 1988 and 1989, Keith was finally becoming the star so many in Nashville had long expected, with No. 1 hits like “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” “When You Say Nothing at All” and “I’m No Stranger to the Rain.”
May 9, 1989
Keith Whitley had battled alcoholism for most of his adult life. On May 9, 1989, while Lorrie was away on tour, he was found dead at their home near Nashville from alcohol poisoning. He was 33 years old. The day after his death, Music Row was lined with black ribbons in his memory.
He had just finished his next album, I Wonder Do You Think of Me. It was released three months after his death. And there were still other recordings of his that fans had never heard.
A Song for Two Voices
“‘Til a Tear Becomes a Rose” was written by Bill Rice and Sharon Vaughn. It had first been released in 1985 by another artist, peaking at No. 44 on the country chart. Keith Whitley later recorded his own version, and that recording was still sitting in the vault when he died.
Lorrie Morgan went into the studio and recorded her voice alongside his, turning his solo recording into a duet. It was the closest she could come to singing with him one more time.
RCA released the duet in July 1990 as the only single from Keith’s first Greatest Hits album. It rose to No. 13 on the country singles chart. The album itself reached No. 5 on the country albums chart and was eventually certified platinum.
The Night at the Opry
The 24th annual CMA Awards were held on October 8, 1990, at the Grand Ole Opry House, hosted by Reba McEntire and Randy Travis. It was a big night for a new generation. George Strait won Entertainer of the Year, Clint Black won Male Vocalist, and a young Garth Brooks took home the Horizon Award, an honor Lorrie herself was nominated for that year.
When the Vocal Event of the Year was announced, the winner was “‘Til a Tear Becomes a Rose,” by Keith Whitley and Lorrie Morgan. More than a year after his death, Keith’s voice had earned him one more CMA trophy, shared with the woman he married.
“Tell Lorrie I Love Her”
On Keith’s Greatest Hits album, the duet sits as the tenth track. The very next song, the last one on the record, is a recording Keith had made himself called “Tell Lorrie I Love Her.” It was his own personal spin on the 1960 classic “Tell Laura I Love Her,” with his wife’s name written into the title.
For fans who played the album from start to finish in 1990, the order was impossible to miss. First came Lorrie singing with Keith. Then came Keith, in his own words, asking someone to tell Lorrie that he loved her.
A Legacy That Lasted
Lorrie Morgan went on to become the first woman in country music to begin her career with three straight platinum albums. Keith Whitley’s music kept charting for years after his death, and in 2022 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Lorrie said the honor was well deserved, adding:
“Keith himself would’ve been painfully humbled.”
Do you remember the first time you heard “‘Til a Tear Becomes a Rose”? Did you know Lorrie recorded her part after Keith was gone?