In the article, McGraw talks about his drinking and the influences that helped him to stop. One of those influences was country music star Keith Whitley:
Whitley was a hard-drinking, death-cheating, lighting-fingered bluegrass phenom out of Kentucky. As brilliant as his playing was, his voice was another gift all together. “Miami, My Amy” was the first in a volley of singles that would climb the charts. And then, at the age of 34 and right in the middle of a run of number ones, Whitley died–by his own hand, you could say. And in that hand was an empty bottle. He would have two more number one hits, each charting after he was in the grave.
The day Keith Whitley died, Tim McGraw arrived in Nashville.
[snip]
“Keith Whitley taught me how demons can overtake you if you let ’em.” says McGraw. “And I was headed down that path.”
See more photos and more snippets from the article at menshealth.com