WHEN YOU SAY NOTHING AT ALL

"'When You Say Nothing at All'" is a country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. It is among the best-known hit songs for three different performers: Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of Billboard's country music charts on December 24, 1988; Alison Krauss, whose version became her first solo top-10 country hit in 1995; and Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, whose version was his first solo single and a chart-topper in the UK in 1999.

Contents

Origin

Keith Whitley's version

Alison Krauss' version

Ronan Keating's version

Other versions

Track listings

References

Origin

Overstreet and Schlitz came up with "When You Say Nothing at All" at the end of an otherwise unproductive day. Strumming a guitar, trying to write their next song, they were coming up empty. "As we tried to find another way to say nothing, we came up with the song," Overstreet later told author Ace Collins. They thought the song was OK, but nothing special. The Stories Behind Country Music's All-Time Greatest 100 Songs, , Ace, Collins, Boulevard, ,
When Keith Whitley heard it, he loved it, and was not going to let it get away. Earlier, he had recorded two Overstreet-Schlitz compositions that became #1 hits for other artists, "On the Other Hand" for Randy Travis and "Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her" for George Strait. Whitley did not plan to let "When You Say Nothing at All" meet the same fate. The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits, , Tom, Roland, Billboard, ,

Keith Whitley's version

RCA released "When You Say Nothing at All" as the follow-up single to the title song of Whitley's ''Don't Close Your Eyes'' album. The former song already had hit #1 on the Billboard country charts, his first chart-topper after three prior singles made the top 10. Top Country Songs 1944 to 2005, , Joel, Whitburn, Record Research, , "When You Say Nothing at All" entered the Billboard country charts on September 17, 1988, at #61, and gradually rose to the top, where it stayed for two weeks at the end of the year.
It was the second of five consecutive #1 singles for Whitley, who did not live to see the last two, as he died on May 9, 1989 of alcohol poisoning.
"Keith did a great job singin' that song," co-composer Schlitz told author Tom Roland. "He truly sang it from the heart."
In 2004, Whitley's original was ranked 12th among CMT's ''100 Greatest Love Songs''.^[1] It was sung by Sara Evans on the show.

Alison Krauss' version

Krauss, already a veteran bluegrass fiddler and vocalist at age 23, recorded "When You Say Nothing at All" with her group, Union Station, in 1994 for a tribute album to Whitley. After the song began to receive unsolicited airplay, BNA Records, the label that had released the album, issued Krauss' version to radio in January 1995.^[2]
That version, also featured on Krauss' compilation '', peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and a commercial single reached #2 on the same magazine's Hot Country Singles Sales chart. Its success, as well as that of the album, caught Krauss by surprise. "It's a freak thing," she told a ''Los Angeles Times'' reporter in March 1995. "It's kinda ticklin' us all. We haven't had anything really chart before. At all. Isn't it funny though? We don't know what's goin' on....The office said, 'Hey, it's charting,' and we're like, 'Huh?'"^[3]
While Krauss' version was on the charts, Mike Cromwell, then the production director at WMIL-FM in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, concocted a duet merging elements of Krauss' version with Whitley's original hit version. The "duet" garnered national attention, and it spread from at least Philadelphia to Albuquerque.^[4] It was never officially serviced to radio and has never been available commercially.
Krauss' recording won the 1995 CMA award for "Single of the Year".

Ronan Keating's version

"When You Say Nothing at All" was Keating's first solo single outside the confines of popular UK group Boyzone. He recorded it in 1999 for the soundtrack of the film ''Notting Hill''. The song would also appear on Keating's solo debut album ''Ronan'' the following year.
Keating's version of "When You Say Nothing at All" was released as a single in the third quarter of 1999 and reached number one on the UK chart. It also reached the top position in Ireland. In the UK, the single was certified gold.
In 2003, he re-recorded the single as a duet with Mexican singer Paulina Rubio, which was released in Mexico and Latin America to promote a hits compilation.

Other versions

Steven McLachlan, a Scottish singer, recorded "When You Say Nothing at All" in 2003. As a digital download, it stayed at #1 on the Australian Country-Pop Digital Charts for six months.
Among others who have recorded the song:

★ Keahiwai - 2001

★ Ryan & Rachel O'Donnell - 2003

★ The Nervous Rex - 2004

★ Kathy Phillips - 2006

Track listings

'Keith Whitley US 7" and cassette single'
RCA 8637-7-R, 1988
#"When You Say Nothing at All"
#"Lucky Dog"
'Alison Krauss US 7" single'
BNA 64277, 1995
#"When You Say Nothing at All"
#"Charlotte's in North Carolina" (by Keith Whitley)
'Ronan Keating UK CD single #1'
Polydor 561 291-2, 1999
# "When You Say Nothing at All"
# "This Is Your Song"
# "At the End of a Perfect Day"
# "I Will Miss You"
'Ronan Keating UK CD single #2'
Polydor 561 290-2, 1999
# "When You Say Nothing at All"
# "When You Say Nothing at All" (Acoustic version)
# "This Is Your Song"
# "When You Say Nothing at All" music video

References

1. 100 Greatest Love Songs
2. Rounder Goes All Out for Grammy-Nominated Krauss Terri Horak Accessed via ProQuest.
3. A Hit from Country's Kinfolk / Bluegrass's most prominent figure makes her way into country music's Top 10. Even Alison Krauss can't explain it. Richard Cromelin Accessed via ProQuest.
4. Whitley, Krauss blend grabs national attention Kathy Cave Accessed via ProQuest.