It was a hit song for four different performers: Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on December 24, 1988; Alison Krauss & Union Station, whose version was their first solo top-10 country hit in 1995; Irish singer Frances Black, whose 1996 version became her third Irish top-10 single and brought the song to the attention of Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, whose 1999 version was his first solo single and a number-one hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand.

[1][2] RCA released "When You Say Nothing at All" as the follow-up single to the title song of Whitley's Don't Close Your Eyes album.

[1][2] It was the second of five consecutive chart-topping singles for Whitley, who did not live to see the last two, as he died on May 9, 1989, of alcohol poisoning.

[3] "Keith did a great job singin' that song," co-composer Schlitz told author Tom Roland.

After this cover began to receive unsolicited airplay, BNA Records, the label that had released the album, issued it to radio in January 1995.

[3] The B-side of the single was Keith Whitley's "Charlotte's in North Carolina", which was another previously unreleased track featured on the Tribute album.

The Alison Krauss & Union Station recording won the 1995 CMA award for "Single of the Year".

"When You Say Nothing at All" was released as the debut solo single by Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating of Boyzone.

The song was recorded for the soundtrack to the film Notting Hill and also appeared on Keating's debut solo album, Ronan.

[23] In Brazil, Ronan chose the Brazilian singer Deborah Blando to re-record the song in English and English-Portuguese for the 10 Years Of Hits album exclusive for that country.

[24] Daily Record wrote that Keating "sounds like Marti Pellow on this drippy ballad.