"Ten Feet Away" is a song written by

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Gle ...

Troy Seals Troy Harold Seals (born November 16, 1938, in Bighill, Madison County, Kentucky, United States) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is a member of the prominent Seals family of musicians that includes Jim Seals (of Seals and C ...

and

Max D. Barnes Max Duane Barnes (July 24, 1935 – January 11, 2004) was an American country singer and songwriter born in Hard Scratch, Iowa, United States. In 1973, Barnes moved with his family from Omaha, Nebraska to Nashville, Tennessee, where he di ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Keith Whitley Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music singer and songwriter. During his career, Whitley released only two albums but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and 7 more after his death. ...

. It was released in June 1986 as the third single from the album '' L.A. to Miami''. The song reached number 9 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

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 from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart.

Content

The song is a midtempo description of instant attraction.

Critical reception

Kip Kirby, of ''

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that Whitley is "more intimate and less hard-edged here than in recent outings."''

'', June 7, 1986

Chart performance

"Ten Feet Away" debuted at number 72 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of June 21, 1986.

References

1986 singles 1986 songs Keith Whitley songs Songs written by Billy Sherrill Songs written by Troy Seals Songs written by Max D. Barnes RCA Records singles {{1986-country-song-stub