Real-life events inspired ‘Miami My Amy’
This week in 1985: Hundreds died in flash floods and landslides in Puerto Rico; Mediterranean hijackers seized the cruise ship Achille Lauro with 400 passengers on board; U.S. jets intercepted a plane carrying hijackers, forcing it to land at a NATO base in Italy; and a singer from Sandy Hook, Kentucky, was two weeks away from having his 4th hit record.
A lot of hit songs come from real-life situations and according to Hank Cochran, Keith Whitley’s 1985 hit, “Miami My Amy” was one of those tunes.
Hank said, “My son came from California to visit me when we were on the boat down in Miami Beach, Florida. And he started dating this real good-looking girl that my wife introduced him to. They hit it off real quick and real good. Well, he had to go back to California, and before he left he asked me if I thought this girl would wait for him and I told him that I really doubted it. And that’s where I got the idea for that song because her name was Amy and we were in Miami so I started saying those lines, “Miami My Amy” and that’s where that song came from.”
Keith Whitley’s RCA Victor single “Miami My Amy” came on the country music charts November 2nd, 1985 and peaked at No. 14. It was his 4th charted song and was on the charts for 20 weeks.
Keith placed 19 songs on the country music charts from 1984 and 1995 — including five No. 1’s. Whitley died in 1989.
Join Doug Davis for “Roots Of Country” – some special classic country plus a feature artist – each Saturday 6 a.m. to noon and also 6 a.m. to noon Sundays for “Sunday Country” – on 103.9 and 98.5, “The Pig.” Listeners can also pick up the show on the internet. Just go to Mypigradio.com and click on “Listen Live.”
Doug Davis & The Good Ole Boys will perform at Bella Vista Senior Apartments today at 10 a.m.