1. Roger Henry Brough Whittaker was a Kenyan-born British singer-songwriter and musician.
25 Facts About Roger Whittaker
1. 2.
Roger Whittaker's music is an eclectic mixture of folk music and popular songs, the latter variously in a crooning or in a schlager style.
3.
Roger Whittaker is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability as well as his guitar skills.
4.
Roger Whittaker was widely known for his own compositions, including "Durham Town " and "I Don't Believe in If Anymore".
5.
Roger Whittaker was born in Nairobi, then in British Kenya, to English parents, Vi and Edward Roger Whittaker, who were from Staffordshire, where they owned and operated a grocery shop.
6.
Roger Whittaker's father was injured in a motorcycle accident and the family moved to a farm near Thika, Kenya, because of its warmer climate.
7.
Roger Whittaker's grandfather sang in various clubs and his father played the violin.
8.
Roger Whittaker learned to play the guitar on an instrument made for him during the Second World War by an Italian prisoner of war from the North African campaign.
9.
Roger Whittaker was quoted as saying that all he wanted as a child were country and western gramophone records by artists such as The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, to which he used to sing along.
10.
Roger Whittaker said that he was "stupid, selfish, and angry" in his youth, and that the army "made a man" out of him.
11.
Roger Whittaker moved to Britain in September 1959 to continue his teaching career.
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Roger Whittaker was shortly signed to Fontana Records, which released his first professional single, "The Charge of the Light Brigade", in 1962.
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Roger Whittaker achieved a breakthrough when he was signed to appear on an Ulster Television show called This and That.
14.
Roger Whittaker's second single was a cover version of "Steel Men", released in June 1962.
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Roger Whittaker recorded the song himself and the single charted in several European countries.
16.
In 1986, Roger Whittaker returned to the UK Top 10 with a hit duet of The Skye Boat Song sung alongside popular entertainer Des O'Connor.
17.
Roger Whittaker appeared regularly on the TV series ZDF-Hitparade, received numerous awards, and was West Germany's bestselling artist of 1977, when he completed a 41-concert tour of the country.
18.
In March 2006, Roger Whittaker announced on his website that a 2007 Germany tour would be his last, and that he would limit future performances to "occasional concerts".
19.
Roger Whittaker's parents did not attend any of their son's concerts and refused to participate in the episode of This Is Your Life when he was the subject.
20.
The perpetrators were never caught, and Roger Whittaker's mother returned to England where she died in 1996.
21.
Roger Whittaker said of the incident: "It will affect me for the rest of my life, but I believe we should all live without hate if we can".
22.
Roger Whittaker was involved in efforts to save the black rhino, donating recording royalties and money from concert program sales to create sanctuaries for the species in Kenya.
23.
Roger Whittaker died in a hospital near Toulouse on 13 September 2023, aged 87.
24.
In 1976, Roger Whittaker undertook his first tour of the United States.
25.
Roger Whittaker was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1982 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at RAF Northolt.