When You Say Nothing at All | when you say nothing at all alison krauss
1988singlebyKeithWhitley"WhenYouSayNothingatAll"isacountrysongwrittenbyPaulOverstreetandDonSchlitz.Itwasahitsongforthreedifferentperformers:KeithWhitley,whotookittothetopoftheBillboardHotCountrySingleschartonDecember24,1988;AlisonKrauss,whoseversionwasherfirstsolotop-10countryhitin1995;andIrishpopsingerRonanKeating,whoseversionwashisfirstsolosingleandanumber-onehitintheUnitedKingdom,Ireland,andNewZealandin1999.OverstreetandSchlitzcameupwith"WhenYouSayNothingatAll"attheendofanotherwiseunprodu...
1988 single by Keith Whitley
"When You Say Nothing at All" is a country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. It was a hit song for three different performers: Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on December 24, 1988; Alison Krauss, whose version was her first solo top-10 country hit in 1995; and Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, whose version was his first solo single and a number-one hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand in 1999.
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.[1] When Keith Whitley heard it, he loved it, and was not going to let it get away.[1] Earlier, he had recorded ano...