Roger Whittaker, who turns 85 on Monday 22 March, was born in Kenya to British parents.
– My mother was a teacher and my father was a successful businessman. After a motorcycle accident, he was told that he had to find a hot and dry climate to recover in – so that’s why I grew up in Kenya, he said in 2014 in an interview with the Daily Express.
As a child he was very fascinated by the African animals. The eager little boy spent several hours a day mimicking the sounds of exotic birds.
It was that fascination and his special African way of whistling – with his mouth – that later threw so much fame.
Roger Whittaker’s great talent for whistling can be seen, for example, in the song “Mexican Whistler”, where he whistles for two and a half minutes.
But it was not a given from the start that he would end up with a music career. In fact, it was his fascination with animals that first seemed to translate into a career.
Roger Whittaker went home to the UK and studied zoology, marine biology and biochemistry at Bangor University. He wanted to follow in his mother’s footsteps and be a teacher.
But while he was studying, he played at various clubs, and it threw, a few years after he had finished his studies, a record contract of his.
His biggest hit came in 1975 with the single “The Last Farewell”, which sold more than 11 million copies.
Other big hits include “Durham Town” from 1969, which became his breakthrough, “I Dont Believe In If Anymore” from 1970 and “New World In The Morning” from 1971.
When his career had taken off, Whittaker gave it an extra boost by recording in German. It was a great success and he has since become so good at German that he has given interviews in German.
The tours have been shelved, but it is not the music.
– I retired from the tours in 2013, but I have written 18 songs for a new album – and I still whistle really well, he said in 2014 to the Daily Express.
Roger Whittaker has been married to Natalie Whittaker for more than 50 years. They live in France today and together they have five children.
– I have encountered temptations in my career, but then I have always thought of my wife and her Irish ancestors. One of them burned 17 English soldiers in a barn – I should not be involved in that, he said in the same interview.
Source: The Nordic Page