Gravy Boat by lazarus57

lazarus57 - Gravy Boat

lazarus57

Jun 24, 2025 11:46am

Magic Mountain... Round 2<img src="https://singsnap-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/message-board/threads/3BFZ/c042e647a2_UUIA_media.gif"> Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (22 March 1936 – 13 September 2023) was a Kenyan-born British singer-songwriter and musician.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Whittaker#cite_note-CMT-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[3]</a> His music is an eclectic mixture of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">folk music</a> and popular songs, the latter variously in a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crooning" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">crooning</a> or in a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlager" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">schlager</a> style. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistling" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">whistling</a> ability as well as his guitar skills.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">The Times</a> observed that "[s]ome pop singers define the zeitgeist and many more follow it. A much rarer number of them defy it and Roger Whittaker counted himself proudly and unapologetically among them".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Whittaker#cite_note-Times-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[4]</a> Despite not obtaining sustained chart success, he gained a large international following through TV appearances and live performances, with fan clubs in at least 12 countries (including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Australia</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Canada</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Great Britain</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">New Zealand</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">South Africa</a>, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">United States</a>). One admirer was US president <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">George H. W. Bush</a>, at whose home he was invited to perform.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Whittaker#cite_note-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Whittaker#cite_note-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[6]</a>Whittaker is best known internationally for his 1971 single "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Farewell" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">The Last Farewell</a>", which charted in 11 countries. In the United States, where the song was released four years later, it became his only entry in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_(magazine)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Billboard</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hot_100" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Hot 100</a>, and reached number one on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Contemporary_(chart)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Adult Contemporary chart</a>. Whittaker was widely known for his own compositions, including "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_Town_(The_Leavin%27)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Durham Town (The Leavin')</a>" (1969) and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Don%27t_Believe_in_If_Anymore" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">I Don't Believe in If Anymore</a>" (1970). American audiences are most familiar with his 1970 hit album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_in_the_Morning" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">New World in the Morning</a> and his renditions of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ding_Dong_Merrily_on_High" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Ding! Dong! Merrily on High</a>" and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">The Twelve Days of Christmas</a>". From the 1970s onward he had great success and a devoted fan base in Germany singing in German.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Whittaker#cite_note-Sweeting-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[7]</a> His 1977 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Greatest Hits</a> album All My Best was marketed on television through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_order" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">mail order</a> and went on to sell nearly one million copies.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Whittaker#cite_note-Sweeting-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[7]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Whittaker#cite_note-Rea-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[8]</a> In total, he sold an estimated 50–60 million records during his career.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Whittaker#cite_note-Times-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[4]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Whittaker#cite_note-Lewis-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[9]</a> <img src="https://i.etsystatic.com/37746330/r/il/7632da/5157357126/il_fullxfull.5157357126_gury.jpg" alt="1954 WM Rogers and Son Silver-plate Gravy Boat With Under Plate ...">