On This Day in 1988, Keith Whitley Was at No. 1 for the First Time With a Song Inspired by a 70s Rom-Com

On this day (August 13) in 1988, Keith Whitley topped the country chart for the first time with “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” While it only occupied the top spot for a week, Billboard named it the No. 1 country song of the year. It was also the song that let Whitley know that Garth Fundis was the right producer for his sophomore album.

Whitley saw success with his debut full-length, L.A. to Miami. It produced three top-10 country hits and three top-40 hits on the Hot 100. When recording his follow-up album, Whitley went back to producer Blake Mevis. However, he was unsatisfied with the result. So, Whitley convinced his label to shelve the project and let him go back into the studio with a new producer.

After Fundis sent him “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” a Bob McDill-penned ballad, he knew he’d found his co-producer, according to Songfacts. This time around, he recorded most of the tracks in a single take, capturing the energy of his live performances. The album went Platinum, produced three chart-topping singles, and peaked at No. 8 on the country chart.

How a ’70s Rom-Com Inspired This Keith Whitley Classic

Bob McDill wrote “Don’t Close Your Eyes” based on one of the vignettes from the 1978 romantic comedy California Suite. In the “Visitors from London” segment of the film, Maggie Smith plays a British actress who had traveled to Los Angeles because she’s been nominated for an Oscar. Her husband, played by Michael Caine, is gay. She knows he sleeps with other men on the side and assumes that he thinks of them while they’re being intimate. So, she tells him, “Tonight, don’t close your eyes.”

“Five years later, that comes to fruition,” McDill said. “It’s a slow business.”

[RELATED: On This Day in 1989, Keith Whitley Was at No. 1 for the Final Time in His Life With a Song That Could Have Been Written About Him]

In the song, the narrator is worried that his lover is still hung up on her ex and thinks about him while they’re together. While the situations are different, the plea comes from the same place.

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