Slim Whitman, the legendary country singer who was best known for his yodeling and sole millions of records around the world, has died at age 90.
According to The Florida Times-Union, the singer, who lived in Middleburg, Florida, died at Orange Park Medical Center Wednesday. His son-in-law, Roy Beagle, had also confirmed the sad news to the Associated Press.
“He loved his wife so much. They had a great, great marriage and he and [son] Byron used to sing at their church and they were just really wonderful people,” family friend Sherry Raymer told the Times-Union. “For people who were famous they acted just good. ... There wasn’t anybody like Slim.”
Whitman was born in Tampa in January 1920 and served in World War II in the South Pacific. In 1948, he scored a contract with the legendary Col. Tom Parker. When he signed with RCA, he was billed as “the cowboy singer” and scored his first big hits with “Love Song of the Waterfall” and “Indian Love Song.” According to CBS News, Whitman was a huge star in the U.K., popularizing country music over there. His catalog includes over 65 albums.
He became well known for marketing albums on television. His All My Best scored 4 million copies sold thanks mostly to the advertisements.
“That TV ad is the reason I'm still here,” he said during a 1991 AP interview. “It buys fuel for the boat.”
His music actually plays a role in sci-fi films, since “Love Song of the Waterfall” can be heard in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. His yodel caused Martians’ heads to explode in Mars Attacks!.
He is survived by his children, Sharon Beagle and Byron Whitman.