Slim Whitman
Though he was once known as "America's Favorite Folksinger," Slim Whitman was, for the majority of his career, more famous in Europe than in the United States. Best remembered for his early-'50s hit singles like "Love Song of the Waterfall," "Indian Love Call," and "Singing Hills," Whitman was an excellent yodeler known for singing mellow, romantic, and clean-cut songs.As a child, Slim Whitman (born Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr.) became infatuated with music and learned to yodel listening to Montana Slim and Jimmie Rodgers records. At age 17, he married 15-year-old Geraldine Crist, a preacher's daughter. The newlyweds moved to a 40-acre farm south of Jacksonville, Florida, where Whitman worked as a meat packer. While working in the plant, he suffered an accident and lost two fingers on his left hand. After the accident, he began working in a Tampa shipyard. During World War II, Whitman served in the U.S. Navy, where he learned to play guitar. Following the war, he returned to the shipyard and also joined a local minor-league baseball team, the Plant City Berries. Whitman remained with the team through 1948, but then began building a singing career at several Tampa radio stations, eventually creating a backup band, the Variety Rhythm Boys.Slim Whitman got his first big break after Colonel Tom Parker -- who was managing Eddy Arnold at the time -- heard him singing on radio station WFLA. Parker landed a contract with RCA for Whitman by the end of 1948. After reluctantly complying with the label's request to change his first name to "Slim," he released his first single, "I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky" -- eventually to become his theme song. He made his national debut on the Mutual Network's Smokey Mountain Hayride in the summer of 1949, and the following year joined The Louisiana Hayride. Despite his national exposure, Whitman's career wasn't making much of an impact, and he was forced to take a job as a part-time mailman.In the early '50s, he released a cover of Bob Nolan's "Love Song of the Waterfall," which became his breakthrough hit, peaking at number ten on the country charts; the follow-up single, "Indian Love Call," made him a star, peaking at number two on the country charts and crossing over into the pop Top Ten. Both sides of his next single -- "Keep It a Secret"/"My Heart Is Broken in Three" -- were also major hits and he continued to have a string of Top Ten hits into the mid-'50s. In 1955, his title song for the film Rose-Marie became a smash on both sides of the Atlantic; following its success, Whitman joined the Grand Ole Opry, and then went to Britain in 1956 as the first country singer to play the London Palladium. Throughout the late '50s and early '60s, he had a string of British hits, including "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," "Unchain My Heart," and "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen."Although he was experiencing great success in the U.K., Whitman's career was in neutral in the U.S. After 1954's "Singing Hills," he had only two Top 40 hits in the course of a decade. In 1965, he bounced back into the country Top Ten with "More Than Yesterday." For the next few years, he had a series of minor country hits, including "Rainbows Are Back in Style" (1968), "Happy Street" (1968), and "Tomorrow Never Comes" (1970). Throughout the early '70s, he continued to have minor hits, but in 1974, he retired from active recording.In 1979, Whitman filmed a television commercial to support Suffolk Marketing's release of a collection of his greatest hits. On the strength of the commercials, All My Best sold four million records and became the best-selling television-marketed album in history. After its success, the label released Just for You in 1980, and The Best in 1982. Between 1980 and 1984, Whitman had a small run of minor hits, highlighted by 1980's number 15 hit "When." In the late '80s, he returned to television-marketed albums, releasing Slim Whitman: Best Loved Favorites in 1989 and 20 Precious Memories in 1991. During the '90s, Whitman recorded infrequently but continued to tour successfully, particularly in Europe and Australia. His final release, Twilight on the Trail, appeared in 2010, and he died three years later of heart failure.
© Sandra Brennan /TiVo
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Discografía
145 álbum(es) • Ordenado por Mejores ventas
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Essential Classics, Vol. 32: Slim Whitman
Country - Editado por Essential Classics el 16-12-2024
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
The Very Best Of Slim Whitman
Country - Editado por EMI Gold el 01-01-1974
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
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Country Style
Country - Editado por Capitol Nashville el 01-01-1988
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
The Legendary Slim Whitman Collection
Variété internacional - Editado por OMO LTD. el 17-08-2018
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
EMI Country Masters: 50 Originals
Country - Editado por Parlophone Catalogue el 01-01-1993
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Yodeling
Country - Editado por EMI Music Nashville (ERN) el 01-01-1963
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Una Paloma Blanca: The Best Of Slim Whitman
Country - Editado por EMI Music Nashville (ERN) el 01-10-1990
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
I'm Casting My Lasso Towards The Sky (Original Version)
Country - Editado por RCA - Legacy el 31-01-2020
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Slim Whitman The Collection
Country - Editado por EMI Gold el 01-01-2005
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Vintage Collections
Country - Editado por Capitol Nashville el 01-01-1996
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Slim Whitman
Country - Editado por EMI Music Nashville (ERN) el 01-01-1960
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
The Only Hymnal You Will Ever Need
Gospel - Editado por Bellaphon International el 21-05-2010
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Músicas navideñas - Editado por Epic - Legacy el 02-10-1981
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Happy Anniversary / 25th Anniversary Concert
Country - Editado por Parlophone Catalogue el 01-01-1974
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
20 Precious Memories
Country - Editado por Micksville el 07-03-2022
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Slim Whitman: Rose Marie
Jazz - Editado por Retrospective el 21-11-2007
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Love Songs of a Restless Heart
Country - Editado por Bidan & Velletranelle LLP el 13-12-2024
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
The King of Country (Remastered)
Country - Editado por Master Tape Records el 18-09-2020
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Magic Moments
Country - Editado por 7A Records Ltd el 30-01-2025
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
The Slim Whitman Christmas Album
Músicas navideñas - Editado por Capitol Nashville el 01-01-1975
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo