Slim-Whitman-Obituary

Slim Whitman

Obituary

MIAMI (AP) - Country singer Slim Whitman, the high-pitched yodeler who sold millions of records through ever-present TV ads in the 1980s and 1990s and whose song saved the world in the film comedy "Mars Attacks!," died Wednesday at a Florida hospital. He was 90.

Whitman died of heart failure at Orange Park Medical Center, his son-in-law Roy Beagle said.

Whitman's tenor falsetto and ebony mustache and sideburns became global trademarks - and an inspiration for countless jokes - thanks to the TV commercials that pitched his records.

But he was a serious musical influence on early rock, and in the British Isles, he was known as a pioneer of country music for popularizing the style there. Whitman also encouraged a teen Elvis Presley when he was the headliner on the bill and the young singer was making his professional debut.

Whitman recorded more than 65 albums and sold millions of records, including 4 million of "All My Best" that was mar keted on TV.

His career spanned six decades, beginning in the late 1940s, but he achieved cult figure status in the 1980s. His visage as an ordinary guy singing romantic ballads struck a responsive chord with the public.

"All of a sudden, here comes a guy in a black and white suit, with a mustache and a receding hairline, playing a guitar and singing 'Rose Marie,'" Whitman told The Associated Press in 1991. "They hadn't seen that."

For most of the 1980s, he was consistent fodder for Johnny Carson's monologues on late night NBC-TV, and the butt of Slim Whitman look-alike contests.

"That TV ad is the reason I'm still here," he said. "It buys fuel for the boat."

"I almost didn't do them. I had seen those kinds of commercials and didn't like them. But it was one of the smartest things I ever did."

He yodeled throughout his career and had a three-octave singing range. Whitman said yodeling required rehearsal.

"It's like a prize fighter. He knows he has a fight coming up, so he gets in the gym and trains. So when I have a show coming up, I practice yodeling."

Born Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. in Tampa on Jan. 23, 1923, he worked as a young man in a meatpacking plant, at a shipyard and as a postman.

He was able to get on radio in Tampa and signed with RCA Records in 1949 with the help of Col. Tom Parker, who later became Presley's longtime manager. RCA gave Whitman the show business name Slim - he was a slender 6-foot-1 - to replace his uninspiring birth name.

In 1952, Whitman had his first hit record, "Love Song of the Waterfall," which 25 years later became part of the soundtrack of the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Another Whitman hit from that year, "Indian Love Call," was used to humorous effect in the 1996 "Mars Attacks!" - his yodel causes the Martians' heads to explode.

He crossed paths with Presley in July 1954 when he starred at a concert in a Memphis park just as Presl ey - mistakenly billed as "Ellis Presley" in one ad for the show - was launching his career.

According to Peter Guralnick's book "Last Train to Memphis," Presley's brief, energetic turn on stage caused a wild reaction from the crowd. When Whitman came on for his performance, he told the audience: "You know, I can understand your reaction, 'cause I was standing backstage and I was enjoying it just as much as you."

With Whitman's early hits, he became a star on the "Louisiana Hayride" radio show.

His version of "Rose Marie," the title song from the venerable operetta that spawned "Indian Love Call," became a huge hit in England in 1955, staying at No. 1 on the charts for 11 weeks.

Whitman's other hits included "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You," ''Red River Valley," ''Danny Boy" and "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen."

"The material I did was lasting material," Whitman said in 1991. "A lot of people thought I wasn't doing anything, but I was in the studio. The biggest factor is the material you choose. You hunt, you cut."

He was survived by his daughter, Sharon Beagle, and his son, Byron Whitman.

Whitman told the AP in 1991 that he wanted to be remembered as "a nice guy."

"I don't think you've ever heard anything bad about me, and I'd like to keep it that way. I'd like my son (Bryon) to remember me as a good dad. I'd like the people to remember me as having a good voice and a clean suit."


Copyright © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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I was 10 when I started listening and I still to this day do. I am now 82 and will til I die. At my funeral I want him singing HOW GREAT THOU ART AND IN THE SWEET BY AND BY

I loved Slim Whitman in the early 50´s. I was only 10 years old when I first heard him singing. I had all his albums by the time I was 30. I lost them all, but since have them on cds. I grew up in the Elvis era loved his music. Slim was always my very favorite. I listen to his tapes almost daily. Some of my new found favorites are AT MAIL CALL TODAY, WHEN MY DREAM BOAT COMES HOME, and of course many hymns. A truly unique and sincere voice to listen to. I enjoy also his songs with his son...

Godspeed Slim. Wonderful voice and wonderful music memories. Unforgettable. Thank you Slim. My late step-father only wanted Slim's wonderful song "Sunrise" played at his memorial service. Eternal "Sunrise" for Slim now. Fair winds and following seas sailor. "Boatswain... Standby to pipe the side... Shipmate's going Ashore..." Thank you Slim for your service to this nation. U.S. Navy, WWII.

I first heard slim singing on the radio when I was 10 and have loved his music all my life and am now almost 81 I have all his records and c ds. Saw him every time he was in Norfolk England. I listen to him all the time in the car. No one will ever replace him although Byron has a great voice too

I have known Slim Whitman relatively recently. I am the same age as his son Byron. I have never heard a voice like his, it is a wonder that will last forever. I thought I knew how to sing, but Slim is teaching me now after he left. Rest in peace, I will always remember you. Thank you so much for allowing us to enjoy your voice.
Juáner Domínguez. Spain.

Nobody like him before or after. Love you man, you are a true original!

He made me laugh and he made me cry. God Bless him for his high moral standards.

Tho you're in heaven and we are apart your voice will forever be kept within my music loviing ❤!

Tanks You Mr Slim Whitman for Indian Love Call, the song that Western Civilization. RIP