Three Chords And The Truth: Essential Country Music Songs: “I’m No Stranger To The Rain”- Keith Whitley. Thirty years ago Keith Whitley died at the age of 34 from alcohol intoxication. A great talent wasted. Whitley had only recorded two studio albums at that point and was a rising star in country music. He had started out as a bluegrass singer while in his teens. In the mid-80’s he was part of the neotraditional country music movement with artists like Randy Travis, George Strait, Dwight Yoakam etc. Whitley in 1988 and 1989 had a string of 5 #1 country singles in a row- “I’m No Stranger To The Rain” being one of them- it would win the CMA Single of the Year Award that year- the single had gone to #1 before he had died. The song was written by Sonny Curtis and Ron Hellard- Curtis was a teenage friend of Buddy Holly’s in Lubbock, Texas and played in Buddy’s band-  he also wrote the theme from Mary Tyler Moore Show- “Love Is All Around.”