With 30 No. 1 singles to his name, Blake Shelton is still at the top of his game. He recently dropped his highly anticipated new album, For Recreational Use Only, and is gearing up to co-star in the upcoming CBS series The Road. The Oklahoma native is also co-producing a documentary on the life and musical legacy of Country Music Hall of Famer Keith Whitley.
Ahead of his performance of “Texas” at the 60th Annual ACM Awards, Shelton spoke with Country Now and shared an update on this Keith Whitley project, admitting that is very “exciting” for him to help share Whitley’s story.
“The reason that we decided to make this thing is, I want to say about three or four years ago, Gwen and I really got into the documentary things that were on Netflix and all those channels and we were looking for a new one to start. And I remember saying to her, let’s watch the Keith Whitley documentary. This is going to blow your mind. This is the stuff that I knew. I said, ‘Man, this is the very first ‘A Star Is Born.’ This really happened and started looking for it and realized it doesn’t exist, which blew my mind,” Shelton explained. “How could this not exist already? And so it sent me down the path of trying to figure out how to do it.”
After obtaining permission from Whitley’s widow, fellow country star Lorrie Morgan, Shelton and his team got the ball rolling on the project.
As for a timeline on the documentary, Shelton told us, “If you’re asking me where I’m in the process, I don’t know because I’m no good.”
He revealed that they have collected hours upon hours of unseen Keith Whitley footage.
“I do know that we have over a hundred hours of footage of Keith Whitley, like stuff most people have never seen before,” he shared and added. “The Country Music Hall of Fame has also been very helpful with a lot of the stuff that they have.”
Shelton previously said he was “proud and honored” to help bring this documentary to life, and now he’s giving credit to ACM New Male Artist of the Year, Zach Top, for introducing Whitley’s music to a new generation of fans.
“I think this new kid, Zach Top, he’s got a huge social media following and he started doing these Keith Whitley covers and because of that, it’s like our kids are walking around singing Keith Whitley’s songs. They may not even know that it’s Keith Whitley’s songs, but they’re singing and they love him and it’s just a testament to his music. [It] still stands up to things that are out there today.”
Lucky Horseshoe Entertainment and Anomaly Content & Entertainment (ACE) announced the production of what’s being called a “groundbreaking documentary film” about Keith Whitley in December of 2024. According to the initial announcement, The film will document the country music icon’s personal and professional journey of the beloved artist who faced a heartbreaking untimely death at the age of 34.
Whitley, who is best known for songs such as “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” “Miami, My Amy,” and “I’m No Stranger To The Rain,” had a tragically brief career, spanning just over four years from his debut on the Billboard Country singles charts to his untimely passing on May 9, 1989. Despite his short time in the spotlight, his music continues to inspire and influence fans and artists for generations. Shelton, Morgan Wallen, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Ronnie Dunn, Alison Krauss, Lainey Wilson and Reba McEntire, who was a backup vocalist on Whitley’s debut album, are just some of the artists who continue to be inspired by his lasting legacy.
The post Blake Shelton Shares Exclusive Update On Keith Whitley Documentary appeared first on Country Now.