On January 20, 1923, Slim Whitman was born.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

In all the excitement on Wednesday, I overlooked this. What was I thinking?

Fri Jan 19, 2018: A very special "happy 95th birthday" to January 20's honoree, Slim Whitman

Slim Whitman


Whitman in 1968

Born: January 20, 1923; Oak Park, Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Died: June 19, 2013 (aged 90); Orange Park, Florida, U.S.

Website: http://www.slimenet.com

Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013), professionally known by the stage name Slim Whitman, was an American country music, western music and folk music artist singer-songwriter and instrumentalist known for his yodeling abilities and his smooth, high, three-octave-range falsetto in a style christened as "countrypolitan". 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.
....

Biography

Early life

Whitman was born in Oak Park, Tampa, Florida, on January 20, 1923, one of six siblings, to Ottis Dewey Whitman Sr. (1896-1961) and Lucy Whitman (née Mahon) (1903–1987). Growing up, he liked the country music of Jimmie Rodgers and the songs of Gene Autry, but he did not embark on a musical career of his own until the end of World War II, after he had served in the South Pacific with the United States Navy. While aboard ship he would sing and entertain members aboard. This resulted in the captain blocking his transfer to another ship—hence saving his life, as the other ship later sank with all hands lost. Whitman's early ambitions were to become either a boxer or a professional baseball player.

{snip}

Early career

Whitman was a self-taught left-handed guitarist, though he was right-handed. He had lost almost all of the second finger on his left hand in an accident while working at a meat packing plant. He worked odd jobs at a Tampa shipyard while developing a musical career, eventually performing with bands such as the Variety Rhythm Boys and the Light Crust Doughboys. He was briefly nicknamed The Smiling Starduster after a stint with a group called The Stardusters. Whitman's first big break came when talent manager "Colonel" Tom Parker heard him singing on the radio and offered to represent him. After signing with RCA Records, he was billed as "the cowboy singer Slim Whitman", after Canadian singer Wilf Carter, who was known in the United States as Montana Slim. Whitman released his first single in 1948, "I'm Casting My Lasso Towards The Sky", complete with yodel. He toured and sang in a variety of venues, including the radio show Louisiana Hayride.

At first he was unable to make a living from music, and kept a part-time job at a post office. That changed in the early 1950s after he recorded a version of the Bob Nolan hit "Love Song of the Waterfall", which made it into the country music top ten. His next single, "Indian Love Call", taken from the light operetta Rose-Marie, was even more successful, reaching number two in the country music charts and appearing in the US pop music chart's top ten.

{snip}

I'm working on this for my next office-wide meeting:

I Remember You (1941 song):

Slim Whitman,I remember you
293,031 views•Nov 15, 2008

wim pas
2K subscribers

I Remember You

Another biggie:

Slim Whitman "Rose Marie"
1,108,251 views•Apr 24, 2008

David Bates
5.78K subscribers

a legend in the country music world there was rumours that he died earlier this year but they were wrong he is still going strong at 84. that was back in 2008 but sadly he did pass away this year 2013
also i would like to mention,musical composition administered by:warner chappell.
for this great piece.

I absolutely love this cover. You can't make a parody of Slim Whitman, because Slim Whitman sang from the heart. As the first clip shows, Andy Kaufman was a big fan of Slim Whitman.

{no longer working}

It had been a cover of "Rose Marie," performed by Andy Kaufman. It was great, but it got removed.

[dubyadiprecession]

1. Elvis was envious of Whitman.

All of those young female fans, would not give Elvis any peace.

[Clash City Rocker]

2. Hard to think of him now and not think of K-Tel records

Those commercials for his records ran endlessly when I was a kid.