See how much you really know about American country singer and songwriter Slim Whitman with this set of facts about his life and music career...
See how much you know about country singer Slim Whitman with this set of facts.
#1) Slim Whitman was born as Ottis Dewey Whitman on January 20, 1923 in Oak Park, Tampa, Florida. He worked as a young man in a meatpacking plant, at a shipyard and as a postman. he grew up playing baseball, fishing, and listening to Montana Slim and Jimmie Rodgers, the father of country music. He had a close-knit family, with two brothers and two sisters.
#2) Slim Whitman became a successful American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto
#3) His career spanned over seven decades, and consisted of a prolific output of over 100 albums and around 500 recorded songs
#4) He served in WWII in the South Pacific with the United States Navy. While aboard ship he would sing and entertain members aboard.
#5) Whitman’s early ambitions were to become either a boxer or a professional baseball player.
#6) 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.”
#7) Slim Whitman Whitman was married to Alma Geraldine “Jerry” Crist Whitman for 67 years. Jerry was born in Kansas, the daughter of church minister, A.D. Crist. She was a songwriter and embroider.
#8) Slim passed away on June 19, 2013 at the age of 90 years old. Whitman lived at his estate, Woodpecker Paradise, in Middleburg, a city located south of Orange Park, Florida, in Clay County. He was survived by his daughter, Sharon Beagle, and his son, Byron Whitman.