One of country music’s most famous power couples. Keith Whitley and Lorrie Morgan were married back in 1986, the second marriage for both artists. Their love was forever immortalized with the posthumous release of “Tell Lorrie I Love Her,” a song that Keith wrote for their wedding and recorded as a worktape in his home. But their love story started years before that, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Lorrie and her son, Jesse Keith Whitley, recently joined hosts Bobby Johnson and Barrett Hobbs on The Nashville Palace Podcast, where she recalled the first time she ever met her future husband. As it turns out, they were both married at the time of their first meeting on the morning show of legendary Nashville radio host Ralph Emery. But it was another encounter with Keith Whitley that Lorrie recalled as the time she fell in love with his iconic voice. At the time, she was working as a receptionist for Acuff-Rose Music, a legendary publishing company here in Music City. And as she was walking through the office, she heard what she calls “the best country voice” she’d ever heard: “He was singing, ‘Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind.’ He did the demo on it before George Strait released it. So I stuck my head in the studio … and I was just mesmerized by his voice.” Well after that session, she introduced herself to Keith – but as it turns out, he already knew who she was: “He came out into the studio room and I said, ‘Hi, I’m Lorrie Morgan.’ He said, ‘I know who you are, I loved your record Someday We’ll Be Together.’ I said, ‘What?’ I didn’t know anybody ever heard that song.” The song Lorrie was talking about wasn’t released until 1991, two years after Keith’s death, so it sounds like he had somehow got ahold of a demo or an earlier version that she had recorded. But however he heard it, apparently he was impressed. But unfortunately for Lorrie, she soon found out that Keith wasn’t on the market: “He said, ‘Well this is my wife Kathi.’ And I went, ‘Aw, shit.'” It wasn’t long, though, before Lorrie would run into Keith again when the two found themselves playing the Grand Ole Opry on the same night. She recalls finding out that they were on the same show while listening to WSM radio announcer Keith Bilbrey on her way to the Opry: “I pulled my car over on Briley Parkway to listen to ‘Miami, My Amy,’ and all of a sudden Keith Bilbrey said, ‘That’s Keith Whitley with #15 this week on the charts, and Keith’s going to be on our show tonight.’ And man, I hauled butt to the Opry. I said, I’m going to see him.” Well by that point both Keith and Lorrie were single, and while backstage at the Opry that night Keith finally asked Lorrie out for the first time – and the rest, as they say, is history. (Jesse Keith jokes that he’s “the history,” as Lorrie and Keith’s only child together. Keith would also go on to adopt Lorrie’s daughter, Morgan, from her first marriage). Of course we all know what would happen just a few years later, when Keith tragically passed away at the age of 34 on May 9, 1989. But lucky for us, we’ve still got Lorrie and Jesse Keith around to keep his memory – and these incredible stories – alive. The post Lorrie Morgan Recalls Keith Whitley First Asking Her Out While Backstage At The Grand Ole Opry first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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Garth Brooks cleaned up at the ACM Awards back in 1991. There probably wasn’t an artist that had a more dominant run in the 90s than Garth Brooks. Everything he touched turned to gold, and at the 26th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, that was on full display. The country star took home not one, not two, not three (I’ll skip the next couple numbers to save us some time), but six separate awards in one night. All of those wins are listed below: -Top Country Video (“The Dance”) -Song of the Year (“The Dance”) -Single of the Year (“Friends in Low Places”) -Album of the Year (No Fences) -Top Male Vocalist -Entertainer of the Year At the time, Garth’s big night set a record for most awards won for a single year at the ACMs (Faith Hill tied that record in 1999, as did Chris Stapleton in 2016). It wasn’t necessarily a shock that Garth Brooks was awarded with all of those trophies. Many expected him to win a number of the categories he was nominated in, but even the “If Tomorrow Never Comes” singer was shocked when he had already been up on stage five times, and heard his name called once more for the “Entertainer of the Year” title. Garth Brooks’ own website (where most of Garth’s news is now shared) even pinpointed the moment that truly froze Brooks in place. Alabama was up on stage presenting the award, and when they did a count down and all exclaimed Garth’s name at once, the country music superstar had to take a moment to fully grasp what had just happened: “When they said Garth’s name in unison, he sat for a few seconds in stunned silence before hugging his family and stepping to the podium. He thanked his booking agency, Buddy Lee Attractions, his band and crew, and ‘most of all, those people that fill those concert seats and slept out overnight for tickets. You guys are crazy, but I’m having a ball!'” Though Brooks was undoubtedly having a ball in the 1990s, for a moment at the 1991 ACM Awards, he didn’t move a muscle. He just sat in his chair and tried his best to soak in the moment. Then he got up on stage and gave his acceptance speech, which you can view below: Pretty soon, another “Entertainer of the Year” will be named. The 61st Annual ACM Awards will air live from Las Vegas this Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 8 P.M. EST on Prime Video. 61st Annual ACM Awards Nominees Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs Jelly Roll Cody Johnson Megan Moroney Chris Stapleton Morgan Wallen Lainey Wilson Female Artist of the Year Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Ella Langley Megan Moroney Lainey Wilson Male Artist of the Year Luke Combs Riley Green Cody Johnson Chris Stapleton Zach Top Group of the Year 49 Winchester Flatland Cavalry Old Dominion Rascal Flatts The Red Clay Strays Duo of the Year Brooks & Dunn Brothers Osborne Dan + Shay Muscadine Bloodline Thelma & James Album of the Year [Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record Company–label(s)] Ain’t In It For My Health – Zach Top; Producer: Carson Chamberlain; Record Company-Label: Leo33 Cherry Valley – Carter Faith; Producer: Tofer Brown; Record Company-Label: Gatsby Records / MCA Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe) – Riley Green; Producers: Dann Huff, Michael Knox; Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen; Producers: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett; Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum; Producers: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse; Record Company-Label: MCA Song of the Year “A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton; Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure “Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney; Songwriters: Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley; Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor “I Never Lie” – Zach Top; Songwriters: Zach Top, Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols “Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson; Songwriters: Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg Single of the Year “6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley “I Never Lie” – Zach Top “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson “The Fall” – Cody Johnson Visual Media of the Year “6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney “A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton “Cuckoo” -Stephen Wilson, Jr. (Winner) “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson “The Fall” – Cody Johnson Music Event of the Year “A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton “Amen” – Shaboozey & Jelly Roll “Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green feat. Ella Langley “Trailblazer” – Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson “You Had To Be There” – Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney Songwriter of the Year Jessie Jo Dillon (Winner) Ashley Gorley Charlie Handsome Chase McGill Blake Pendergrass Artist-Songwriter of the Year Luke Combs Riley Green Ella Langley Megan Moroney Morgan Wallen New Male Artist of the Year Gavin Adcock Vincent Mason Shaboozey Hudson Westbrook Tucker Wetmore (Winner) New Female Artist of the Year Avery Anna (Winner) Mackenzie Carpenter Dasha Caroline Jones Emily Ann RobertsThe post ACM Awards 1991: Garth Brooks Doesn’t Move A Muscle After Winning His First Entertainer Of The Year Award first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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