Biography

Roger Whittaker came to renown as a guitarist, singer and songwriter, as well as possibly the best whistler in the business. His music, a mix of folk and pop songs, has sometimes been described as 'middle of the road'. Whittaker was at his peak in the late 1960s and 70s, his record sales eventually totaling nearly 50 million worldwide.

Born to British parents Edward (a grocer) and Vi Whittaker (a teacher) in Nairobi, Roger went to school in Kenya and later underwent two years of national service, seeing action during the infamous Mau Mau uprising. After being demobbed in 1956, he studied medicine in Cape Town for 18 months and briefly worked as a teacher, while sidelining as a singer in local clubs. In 1959, he moved to Britain to study zoology and marine biology at the University of Bangor in Wales, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree. In between studies, he wrote several songs, one of which he sent as a demo track to a music producer. This led to recording of his first single 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'. He then had a minor hit with 'Steel Man', the first to feature on British charts.

Whittaker represented Britain as the winning contestant at the 1967 Knokke music festival in Belgium. His own composition of 'Mexican Whistler' and his interpretation of 'If I Were a Rich Man' went to Nr. 3 on European charts. Two years later, Whittaker had his biggest hits yet with his whistled version of 'The Skye Boat Song' (released again in 1986 as a duet with TV entertainer Des O'Connor and becoming a UK top ten) and 'Durham Town' (aka 'The Leavin'). His most popular number in the U.S. was 'The Last Farewell', recorded in 1971. It went on to sell 11 million copies worldwide. Another hit that year was 'New World in the Morning'.

For 25 years, Whittaker went on sellout tours of Europe and North America. He had a particularly strong following in Germany -- a country he toured on several occasions - mainly due to his singing in German (though recording phonetically, as he did not speak the language). He also maintained ties to Africa, promoting wildlife conservation during a 1987 tour with his rendition of 'Save the Rhino'.

In 1989, Whittaker was awarded the prestigious Gold Badge of Merit from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. He retired from performing in 2012, settling in France with his wife of 59 years, Natalie O'Brien. He died there on September 13 2023, aged 87.

- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis