“I know your life on earth was troubled, and only you could know the pain
You weren’t afraid to face the devil, you were no stranger to the rain.”
– “Go Rest High on that Mountain,” by Vince Gill
Vince Gill wrote “Go Rest High on that Mountain” to pay tribute to country singer Keith Whitley. Whitley, whose hits included “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” succumbed to the demons of alcoholism on May 9, 1989. Whitley was one of several country stars (alongside Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Shenandoah, Restless Heart, and others) whose big tours in the 1980s & 1990s never failed to book a little joint in Grayson County called Calhoon’s.
Calhoon’s left us briefly in the 2000s, but it’s back! Now named Jake’s Place, the owners have restored the old Calhoon’s to its former two-steppin’ glory. Even better? The old Calhoon’s will be the official Saturday Night event for the 2023 Austin College Homecoming (Nov 3-5). “Old Mister Webster could never define” what its return means to Roos like me who were regulars nearly thirty-five years ago.
After pledgeship ended for me and my pledge brothers in April of 1989, my fraternity was a constant presence at Calhoon’s. “Maybe I’ve been a fool holding on all this time” for a Calhoon’s return. But now that it is a reality, you better believe I’ll be there. I know more than a few people who saw Garth, Alan, & Shenandoah perform there live. I saw my favorite band Restless Heart there as well. And I would have also enjoyed a Calhoon’s concert featuring Keith Whitley.
Whitley’s life was straight out of the movie “Leaving Las Vegas,” with the singer emulating the role played by Nicolas Cage. Whitley’s Elizabeth Shue was Lorrie Morgan, an excellent artist in her own right. Lorrie tried her best to rescue her husband, but in the end was no match for his addiction. Still, Whitley’s love for Morgan was heartbreakingly real. His song “Tell Lorrie I Love Her,” written for their wedding and released after his death, is my favorite Whitley tune.
Austin College is well known for one musical tragedy, which will mark its 50th anniversary in the fall of 2023. Folk singer Jim Croce was booked to perform at Austin College’s Sid Rich Gym on September 20, 1973. But a tragic plane crash on the way to Sherman took his life one day prior to that concert. Claude Webb Jr., AC alum and proprietor of the unofficial Austin College beer joint The Gar Hole, was a Roo freshman in 1973 when the AC student body got the terrible news.
But there are actually two Austin College musical tragedies, and tragedy #2 took place when I was a Roo freshman in 1989. Keith Whitley’s tragic and untimely death on May 9th, 1989 meant that his May 10th concert one day later would become another Jim Croce-like event that never happened. And that May 10th concert was scheduled, incredibly, at Calhoon’s. I know Roos who were planning to attend that evening with Keith Whitley just up the road from Austin College.
Keith Whitley has been in the news a lot recently. Whitley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022; Lorrie accepted the honor in his name. And a top country tune in 2023 is a tribute song titled “Keith Whitley,” whose lyrics refer to the work of the gone-too-soon country singer. The reaction of Lorrie and son Jesse Keith Whitley to the tribute was “phenomenal.”
Nostalgia is a helluva drug; I know I’m not the only Roo excited about a return of the old Calhoon’s this fall. Life is short, so I won’t be missing an opportunity to two-step like it is 1989 again. You never know how long things will stick around before they are no more. Hope to see you there, cause “the things I love got a way of gettin’ gone too soon. Kinda like Calhoon’s, Keith Whitley and you.”
Y’all have fun at the Gar Hole on Friday during Legends weekend. Wish I could be there. If you are taking requests Brent Hollensed, play some Whitley.
