Profile: Born: 20th January 1924 Tampa, Florida, USA Died: 19th June 2013 Orange Park, Florida, USA. They also had two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His decidedly "countrified" renditions of Irish classics like "Galway Bay" and "Londonderry Air" -- no "Danny Boy"? Slim Whitman (January 20, 1924 in Tampa, Florida - June 19, 2013, Orange Park, Florida) is an American country music singer and songwriter. For his contribution to the recording industry, Slim Whitman was given the accolade of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1709 Vine Street. A new version of Last.fm is available, to keep everything running smoothly, please reload the site. Yodeling / Country Son… WHITMAN,SLIM. Slim Whitman died of heart failure[16] on June 19, 2013, at age 90, surrounded by family at Orange Park Medical Center in Orange Park, Florida. Whitman's first big break came when talent manager "Colonel" Tom Parker heard him singing on the radio and offered to represent him. In 1976 a compilation album, The Very Best of Slim Whitman, was number one for six weeks, staying seventeen weeks on the chart. Together they had a daughter, Sharron Beagle (b. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Despite this exposure, he never achieved the level of stardom in the United States that he did in Britain, where he had a number of other hits during the 1950s. [15] Byron is a performer and music producer, has released a number of recordings, and toured and recorded with his father on numerous occasions. Slim Whitman and son Byron in conversation with Paul Hazell as broadcast in Paul Hazell's "World Of Country" In 1955 he would have a No.1 hit on the pop music charts in the United Kingdom with the theme song to the operetta "Rose Marie." Whitman released his last album under contract Angeline in 1984, after which he continued to tour & with his last U.K. performance being at Norwich in October 2002 & in the U.S. in Sept or Oct 2003. -- feature weeping pedal steels in lieu of pipes and fiddles, and … Slim sings here in slightly lower key than 10, 20, 30 or 40 years ago but still has that easy, crooning quality that surprises you once in a while when he slips effortlessly into the famous Whitman falsetto. !If you like this video why not subscribe, YouTube channel (ChorltonPete) or follow me on Twitter @PeterHeslin He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in country music history and yet is … Nothing about Slim Whitman's recordings appear particularly singular or innovative at first glance, and his output of mellow, romantic songs seems to be straight old traditional country, with unassuming vocals and standard instrumentation. But a closer look at his peak period in the mid-'50s when he was with Lew Chudd's Los … In 1956 he became the first-ever country music singer to perform at the London Palladium. I have never heard a voice like his, it is a wonder that will last forever. Hopefully, one day, his Story will be brought up to date & completed by his son Byron. "River Of No Return" is dedicated to Jerry - although the notes don't say so - and Slim's reading of Wilf Carter's "Golden Lariat" will bring a lump to your throat. He is the master of the technique, even today. Self-taught on the guitar, Otis Whitman worked at a shipyard in Tampa while developing a musical career, eventually performing with a band known as the "Variety Rhythm Boys". [9] Although he recorded many country and western tunes, including hits "Tumbling Tumbleweeds", "Singing Hills", and "The Cattle Call", love and romance songs like "Serenade", "Something Beautiful (to remember)", and "Keep It a Secret" figured prominently in his repertoire. How Great Thou Art Whitman, Slim. I am the same age as his son Byron. ROSE MARIE ~ Slim Whitman (1954) Imperial Records. Slim Whitman originally did If You Love Me (Let Me Know), Happy Street, Candy Kisses, I'll Fly Away and other songs. Slim loves these old songs and that love shines through as he delivers his personal interpretation of each of the 12 numbers on … His latest new release titled "The Legendary Slim Whitman - Traditional Country" features duets with his son Byron. Byron K. Whitman: Birthdate: estimated between 1930 and 1988 : Death: Immediate Family: Son of Slim Whitman and Alma Geraldine "Jerry" Whitman. Please Share !! Slim was voted Best International Male Vocalist at The International Country Music Awards in 1976, 1977, 1978 & 1979. On January 20, 2008, on what was, coincidentally, Whitman's 85th birthday, a premature obituary believed to have been started by an erroneous report was published by the Nashville Tennessean newspaper and later picked up virally on the newspaper's website. 1981 Press Photo Byron Whitman, singer, son of Slim Whitman - mja23079. Slim Whitman (January 20, 1924 in Tampa, Florida - June 19, 2013, Orange Park, Florida) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His 1955 hit single "Rose Marie" spent 11 weeks at #1 on the UK Singles Chart and held the Guinness World Record for the longest consecutive number of weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart for 36 years until Bryan Adams broke the record in 1991 and was listed in British Hit Singles & Albums. The TV albums briefly made Whitman a household name in America for the first time in his career, resulting in everything from a first-time appearance on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson to Whitman being parodied in a comic skit on SCTV with him (played by Joe Flaherty) starring in the Che-like male lead in an Evita-like Broadway musical on the life of Indira Gandhi. He personally stated that he had sold in excess of 120 million records, although the recorded sales figures give 70 million, during a career that spanned over seven decades, and consisted of a prolific output of over 100 albums and around 500 recorded songs, that not only consisted of country music, but also of contemporary gospel, Broadway show tunes, love songs and standards. Whitman had a string of top ten hits from the mid-1960s and into the 1970s and became known to a new generation of fans through television direct marketing in the 1980s. During this time he toured Europe and Australia with moderate success.