"Brotherly Love" is a song written by Jimmy Alan Stewart and

Tim Nichols Tim Nichols (born in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since the late 1980s, Nichols has written for several country music singers including Keith Whitley, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, ...

, which has been recorded by

Moe Bandy Marion Franklin "Moe" Bandy Jr. (born February 12, 1944) is an American country music singer. He was most popular during the 1970s, when he had several hit songs, both alone and as part of a duo with Joe Stampley. Early life and recordings Ma ...

, as well as a duet between

Keith Whitley Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music and bluegrass singer and songwriter. During his career, he released only two albums, but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and seven more af ...

and

Earl Thomas Conley Earl Thomas Conley (October 17, 1941 – April 10, 2019)Wood, Gerry. (1998). "Earl Thomas Conley". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 108. was an American country music singer-songwriter. Between ...

. Bandy's version appears on his 1989 studio album ''Many Mansions'' for

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...

. The song was the second single from that album, reaching a peak of number 53 on the country music charts in 1989. Country singer

Billy Dean William Harold Dean Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition '' Star Search''. Active as a recording artist since 1990, ...

recorded the song on his 1990 debut album '' Young Man''.

Chart performance

Keith Whitley/Earl Thomas Conley version

and

recorded the song as a duet in 1987, but it was not included on an album until it concurrently appeared on Whitley's posthumous 1991 album '' Kentucky Bluebird'' and Conley's 1991 album ''Yours Truly''. This duet version charted for twenty weeks on

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

, peaking at number 2 and holding the position for one week, behind " Shameless" by

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

. This was the last Top 10 hit for both Whitley and Conley. In 1992, this version was nominated by the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

for Vocal Event of the Year. It also earned them a nomination for the

Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do ...

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes. *

Eddie Bayers Eddie Bayers (born January 28, 1949) is an American session drummer who has played on 300 gold and platinum albums. He received the Academy of Country Music 'Drummer of the Year Award' for fourteen years, has three times won the Nashville Music ...

— drums *

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

— mandolin * Paul Franklin — steel guitar * Rob Hajacos — fiddle *

Brent Mason Brent Mason (born July 13, 1959) is an American country music guitarist, songwriter and session musician. ''Guitar World'' magazine listed Mason as one of the "Top Ten Session Guitarists of All Time". Discovered and mentored by Chet Atkins, Maso ...

— electric guitar *

Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his sing ...

— acoustic guitar *

Dave Pomeroy Dave Pomeroy (born April 26, 1956) is an American musician, known as a Nashville vocalist, songwriter, and producer (Earwave Productions) but is best known as a bassist. He has played electric and acoustic bass for many artists, both in the stud ...

— upright bass *

Matt Rollings Matt Rollings is a Grammy Award-winning American composer, keyboard player and record producer. Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, Rollings has worked with many artists, not all country. Rollings won the 'Best Traditional Pop ...

— piano

Chart performance

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1989 singles 1991 singles Moe Bandy songs Billy Dean songs Earl Thomas Conley songs Keith Whitley songs Male vocal duets Songs written by Tim Nichols Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis RCA Records singles Songs released posthumously 1989 songs Songs about siblings