Roger Whittaker
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| Roger Whittaker | |
|---|---|
 Roger Whittaker playing live |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 22 March 1936 Nairobi, Kenya, British Empire |
| Genres | Easy listening, pop |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter, teacher |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Website | www.rogerwhittaker.com |
Roger Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is an Anglo-Kenyan singer-songwriter and musician with worldwide record sales of over 55 million. His music can be described as easy listening. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability. American audiences are most familiar with his 1970 hit "New World in the Morning" and his 1975 hit "The Last Farewell," the latter of which is his only single to hit the Billboard Hot 100 (it made the Top 20) and also hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
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[edit] Childhood and beginning
Whittaker's parents, Edward and Viola, were originally from Staffordshire, England, where they owned and operated a grocery shop. His father had a motorcycle accident and the family moved to a farm near Thika, Kenya because of the warmer climate. His grandfather sang in various clubs and his father played the violin. Roger learned to play the guitar.
Whittaker was drafted into national service and spent two years in the Kenya Regiment. In 1956 he was demobilized and decided on a career in medicine. He enrolled at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
He left the university after 18 months and joined the civil service education department to try teaching.
[edit] Recording and performing career
To further his teaching career, Whittaker moved to Britain in September 1959. For the next three years, he studied zoology, biochemistry, and marine biology at the Bangor University and received a B.Sc. degree. He continued to sing in local clubs and released some of his songs on flexi-discs included with the campus newspaper, the Bangor University Rag. Shortly afterwards, he was signed to Fontana Records who released his first professional single, "The Charge of The Light Brigade", in 1962.
In the summer of 1962, he appeared at a professional gig in Portrush, Northern Ireland. He landed his first major breakthrough when he was signed to appear on an Ulster Television show called This And That. His second single was a cover version of "Steel Men", released in June 1962.
Whittaker met Natalie O'Brien in the spring of 1964 and they married on 15 August of that year. They have five children: Emily (b. May 28, 1968), Lauren (b. June 4, 1970), Jessica (b. February 14, 1973), Guy (b. November 15, 1974), and Alexander (b. April 7, 1978). They now have nine grandchildren.
In 1966, Whittaker switched from Fontana to EMI's Columbia label. His fourth single for the imprint was "Durham Town (The Leavin')", which in 1969 became Whittaker's first UK Top 20 hit. Whittaker's US label, RCA Victor, released the uptempo "New World In The Morning" in 1970, where it became a Top 20 hit in Billboard magazine's Easy Listening chart.
In the early 70's Whittaker took interest in the Nordic Countries when he recorded the single "Where the Angels Tread (Änglagård)" to the music of Evert Taube in 1972. In 1974 he partook in the Finnish Eurovision qualifications. The song "The Finnish Whistler" he performed in the qualifications later became famous in Finland as it was used as a title music for the popular Finnish YLE TV cooking program "Patakakkonen".
1975 saw EMI release "The Last Farewell", a track from his 1971 New World in The Morning album. It became his biggest hit and a signature song, selling more than 11 million copies worldwide. In 1979, Whittaker wrote the song "Call My Name" which reached the final of the UK Eurovision selection, A Song For Europe, performed by Eleanor Keenan and coming third. Whittaker recorded the song himself and the single charted in several European countries. Whittaker also established himself in country music with "I Love You Because" getting "into the lower reaches of the country chart"[1] in late 1983. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Whittaker had success in Germany, with German language songs produced by Nick Munro. Unable to speak German, Whittaker sang the songs phonetically. He appeared on German and Danish TV several times,[2] and was on the UK Top Of The Pops show 10 times in the early to mid 1970s.
In 1986, he published his autobiography, So Far, So Good, co-written with his wife.
In March 2006, Whittaker announced on his website that a 2007 Germany tour would be his last, and that he will limit future performances to "occasional concerts". Now more fluent in German, he was seen singing and was interviewed in German on Danish TV in November 2008.
In recent years he has been living in Eyrecourt, County Galway, Ireland, close to the River Shannon.
[edit] Tours
In 1976, Whittaker undertook his first tour of the United States.
In 2003 he again toured Germany. After recovering from heart problems at the end of 2004, he started touring in Germany in 2005, and then in UK from May to July.
[edit] Awards
In his career to date, Whittaker has earned over 250 silver, gold and platinum albums.
He was part of a successful British team that won the annual Knokke music festival in Belgium, and won the Press Prize as the personality of the festival.
Ivor Novello awards (twice) for songwriting in 1971-72 and for "The Last Farewell" in 1975-76 (?) (unconfirmed - e-mail query pending)
He was awarded a 'Gold Badge Award', from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) in 1988.[3]
He earned a 'Golden Tuning Fork' (Goldene Stimmgabel in Germany) in 1986, based on record sales and TV viewer votes.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Hit singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US AC |
UK[4] | Germany | US Country | ||
| 1969 | "Durham Town (The Leavin')" | 12 | ||||
| 1970 | "New World in the Morning" | 12 | 17 | |||
| "I Don't Believe in 'If' Anymore" | 26 | 8 | ||||
| 1971 | "Why?" | 40 | 47 | |||
| "Mammy Blue" | 31 | |||||
| 1975 | "The Last Farewell" | 19 | 1 | 2 | 19 | |
| "I Don't Believe in 'If' Anymore" (re-entry) | 10 | |||||
| 1976 | "Durham Town (The Leavin')" (re-entry) | 23 | ||||
| "The First Hello, the Last Goodbye" | 16 | |||||
| "River Lady (A Little Goodbye)" | 2 | |||||
| "Das Alte Schiff (River Lady)" | 10 | |||||
| "Indian Lady" | 14 | |||||
| 1977 | "Before She Breaks My Heart" | 39 | ||||
| "From the People, to the People" | 46 | |||||
| 1978 | "If I Knew Just What to Say" | 47 | ||||
| "Love Lasts Forever" | 50 | |||||
| 1979 | "You Are My Miracle" | 35 | ||||
| 1979 | "Goodbye, 1st Goodbye" | 40 | ||||
| 1982 | "Albany" | 3 | ||||
| 1983 | "I Love You Because" | 91 | ||||
| "Wenn Es Dich Noch Gibt" | 8 | |||||
| "Tanz Heut Nacht Mit Mir" | 20 | |||||
| 1984 | "Abschied Ist Ein Scharfes Schwert" | 9 | ||||
| "Eloisa" | 27 | |||||
| 1985 | "Leben Mit Dir" | 16 | ||||
| 1986 | "The Skye Boat Song"(with Des O'Connor) | 10 | ||||
| "Fernweh" | 50 | |||||
| "Ein Bisschen Aroma" | 38 | |||||
| 1989 | "Bleib' Heut' Nacht Bei Mir" | 41 | ||||
| 1990 | "Schoen War Die Zeit" | 52 | ||||
| "Was Ist Dabei, Wenn Wir Zwei Uns Lieben" (with Cindy Berger) | 48 | |||||
| 1991 | "7 Jahre, 7 Meere" | 46 | ||||
| "Doch Tanzen Will Ich Nur Mit Dir Allein" | 76 | |||||
| "Sag' Ihr" | 50 | |||||
| 1992 | "Du Wirst Alle Jahre Schoener" | 31 | ||||
| 1993 | "Tauch Hinab In Die Nacht" | 72 | ||||
| "Bring Mir Noch Einmal Die Jahre Zurueck" | 94 | |||||
| 1996 | "Wir Sind Jung (Oh Maria)" | 58 | ||||
| 1997 | "Du Kannst Zaubern" | 97 | ||||
| 1999 | "Alles Roger" | 98 | ||||
[edit] European albums
a selection
- 1971 New World in the Morning
- 1979 Mein deutsches Album (in German)
- 1981 Zum Weinen ist immer noch Zeit
- 1982 Typisch Roger Whittaker
- 1983 Voyager
- 1984 Ein Glück, daß es Dich gibt
- 1987 Heut bin ich arm - Heut bin ich reich
- 1991 Frohe Weinacht - Die schonsten Weihnachtslieder
- 1991 Mein Herz schlägt nur für Dich
- 1992 Stimme des Herzens
- 1993 Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht
- 1994 Leben mit Dir
- 1994 Sehnsucht nach Liebe
- 1994 Geschenk des Himmels
- 1995 Ein schöner Tag mit Dir
- 1996 Alles Roger!
- 1996 Einfach leben
- 1997 Zurück zur Liebe
- 1999 Alles Roger 2
- 1999 Awakening
- 2000 Wunderbar geborgen
- 2002 Mehr denn je
- 2003 Alles Roger 3
- 2003 Der weihnachtliche Liedermarkt
- 2004 Live in Berlin
- 2004 Mein schönster Traum
- 2005 Moments in My Life
- 2007 The Danish collection
[edit] US albums
| Album | Label | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Changes | ||
| Christmas Songs | Capitol | |
| Best Ballads #1 | ||
| Genius of Love | RCA | |
| Roger Whittaker Christmas Album | ||
| New World in the Morning | Columbia Collectables | 1971 |
| Special Kind of Man | Pair | 1971 |
| The Last Farewell & Other Hits | RCA Records | 1974 |
| Magical World of Roger Whittaker | 1975 | |
| Reflections of Love | RCA Records | 1976 |
| In Concert - Recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra | DVD | 1976 |
| The Best of Roger Whittaker | RCA | 1977 |
| Folk Songs of Our Time | RCA | 1977 |
| The Roger Whittaker Christmas Album | RCA | 1978 |
| Imagine | RCA | 1978 |
| Evergreens | 1979 | |
| When I Need You | 1979 | |
| Mirrors of My Mind | RCA | 1979 |
| With Love | 1980 | |
| Voyager | RCA | 1980 |
| Live in Concert | RCA Records | 1981 |
| The Wind Beneath My Wings | RCA Records | 1982 |
| Take a Little: Give a Little | RCA | 1984 |
| Tidings of Comfort & Joy | Liberty | 1984 |
| All Time Heart Touching Favorites | 1984 | |
| The Best of Roger Whittaker | RCA | 1984 |
| Fire & Rain | Pair | 1985 |
| Living & Loving | Liberty | 1988 |
| The World of Roger Whittaker | Pair | 1988 |
| I'd Fall in Love Tonight | Liberty | 1989 |
| Love Will Be Our Home | Word/Epic | 1989 |
| World's Most Beautiful Christmas Songs | Liberty | 1989 |
| All Time Heart Touching Favorites, Vol. 1 | Liberty | April 23, 1990 |
| All Time Heart Touching Favorites, Vol. 2 | Liberty | May 21, 1990 |
| Best Loved Ballads, Vol. 2 | Liberty | June 4, 1990 |
| Best Loved Ballads, Vol. 1 | Liberty | June 4, 1990 |
| Golden Tones | Pair | October 25, 1990 |
| You Deserve the Best | Capitol/EMI Records | January 1991 |
| Country Collection | Liberty | April 29, 1991 |
| Classics Collection, Vol. 1 | Liberty | August 1991 |
| The Wind Beneath My Wings & Other Hits | RCA Records | December 1991 |
| I Wish You a Merry Christmas | January 1992 | |
| All-Time Favorites | EMI-Capitol Special Markets | January 1992 |
| Greatest Hits Live | K-Tel | January 1992 |
| Classics Collection, Vol. 2 | Liberty | January 1992 |
| All About Love | Liberty | April 27, 1992 |
| Collection | June 30, 1992 | |
| Christmas With Roger Whittaker | RCA Victor | September 14, 1992 |
| Celebration | RCA Victor | January 1, 1993 |
| The Best of Roger Whittaker | EMI-Capitol Special Markets | January 1, 1993 |
| Live | Drive - (import) | December 7, 1993 |
| Greatest Hits | RCA Records | January 1, 1994 |
| Feelings | RCA Victor | February 15, 1994 |
| Danny Boy | RCA Victor | February 15, 1994 |
| What a Wonderful World | RCA Victor | April 12, 1994 |
| Annie's Song | RCA Victor | April 12, 1994 |
| Live! | RCA Victor | April 12, 1994 |
| The Best of Roger Whittaker | Curb Records | May 31, 1994 |
| I Will Always Love You | RCA Victor | August 16, 1994 |
| The Christmas Song | RCA Victor | August 15, 1995 |
| All Time Favorites | Prime Cuts | January 1, 1995 |
| Sincerely Yours | August 11, 1995 | |
| On Broadway | RCA Victor | October 1, 1995 |
| The World of Roger Whittaker | Universal International | January 1996 |
| A Perfect Day | RCA Victor | September 17, 1996 |
| Einfach Leben | BMG/Ariola | October 3, 1996 |
| Star Gold | Polygram France | May 9, 1997 |
| Happy Holidays | BMG Special Products | September 23, 1997 |
| New World in the Morning: The Encore Collection | BMG Special Products | November 18, 1997 |
| Irish Standards | BMG Special Products | April 14, 1998 |
| The Best of Roger Whittaker | Pegasus/Cleopatra | October 20, 1998 |
| All of My Life: The Very Best of Roger Whittaker | Camden | January 1, 1999 |
| The Greatest Hits of Roger Whittaker | Prism | January 1999 |
| In Concert | Charly | July 1, 1999 |
| Awakening | RCA Victor | August 10, 1999 |
| The Best of Roger Whittaker | Time/Life Music | December 17, 1999 |
| The Last Farewell...Live | Legacy Entertainment | January 2001 |
| The Very Best of Roger Whittaker, Vol. 2 | Polygram International | August 28, 2001 |
| The Holly and the Ivy | BMG Special Products | April 2002 |
| Best of: Original Hits | Paradiso | April 23, 2002 |
| Songs for You: The Collection | Universal International | September 17, 2002 |
| New World in the Morning | Collectables | January 2003 |
| All of My Life: Very Best of | BMG International | July 20, 2004 |
| Moments in My Life | BMG/Ariola | May 6, 2005 |
| An Evening With | Prism Platinum | June 7, 2005 |
| Now and Then: Greatest Hits 1964-2004 | BMG International | October 11, 2005 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Roger Whittaker-Biography". Cmt.com. 1936-03-22. http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/whittaker_roger/bio.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
- ^ IMDb page on Roger Whittaker
- ^ British Academy website on award won by Roger Whittaker
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 600. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
