Description:
Born: Nairobi, Kenya
Father: Edward Whittaker
Mother: Viola Whittaker
Education: University of Cape Town, South Africa and Bangor University, Wales.
Spouse: Natalie O'Brien (15 August 1964 to present) - 5 children
Children: daughters, Emily Whittaker (born: 28 May 1968), Lauren Whittaker (born: 4 June 1970), Jessica Whittaker (born: 14 February 1973) and sons, Guy Whittaker (born: 15 November 1974) and Alexander Whittaker (born: 7 April 1978).
An Anglo-Kenyan singer-songwriter and musician. His music can be described as easy listening and ballads. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whi
Born: Nairobi, Kenya
Father: Edward Whittaker
Mother: Viola Whittaker
Education: University of Cape Town, South Africa and Bangor University, Wales.
Spouse: Natalie O'Brien (15 August 1964 to present) - 5 children
Children: daughters, Emily Whittaker (born: 28 May 1968), Lauren Whittaker (born: 4 June 1970), Jessica Whittaker (born: 14 February 1973) and sons, Guy Whittaker (born: 15 November 1974) and Alexander Whittaker (born: 7 April 1978).
An Anglo-Kenyan singer-songwriter and musician. His music can be described as easy listening and ballads. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability.
American audiences are most familiar with his 1970 hit "New World in the Morning" and his 1975 hit "The Last Farewell," the latter of which is his only single to hit the Billboard Hot 100 (it made the Top 20) and also hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Whittaker's parents were originally from Staffordshire, England where they owned and operated a grocery shop. His father had a motorcycle accident and the family moved to a farm near Thika, Kenya because of the warmer climate. His grandfather sang in various clubs and his father played the violin. Roger learned to play the guitar.
Whittaker was drafted into national service and spent two years in the Kenya Regiment. In 1956 he was demobilized and decided on a career in medicine. He enrolled at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. However, he left the university after 18 months and joined the civil service education department to try teaching.
To further his teaching career, Whittaker moved to Britain in September 1959. For the next three years, he studied zoology, biochemistry and marine biology at Bangor University and received a Bachelor of Science degree. He continued to sing in local clubs and released some of his songs on flexi-discs included with the campus newspaper the 'Bangor University Rag'. Shortly afterwards, he was signed to Fontana Records, which released his first professional single "The Charge of The Light Brigade" in 1962.
In 1966, Whittaker switched from Fontana to EMI's Columbia label. His fourth single for the imprint was "Durham Town (The Leavin')", which in 1969 became Whittaker's first UK Top 20 hit. Whittaker's US label, RCA Victor, released the uptempo "New World In The Morning" in 1970, where it became a Top 20 hit in Billboard magazine's Easy Listening chart.
1975 saw EMI release "The Last Farewell", a track from his 1971 'New World in The Morning' album. It became his biggest hit and a signature song, selling more than 11 million copies worldwide.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Whittaker had success in Germany, with German language songs produced by Nick Munro. Unable to speak German, Whittaker sang the songs phonetically. He appeared on German and Danish TV several times and was on the UK 'Top Of The Pops' show 10 times in the early to mid 1970s.
In 1986, he published his autobiography 'So Far, So Good' co-written with his wife.
In March 2006, Whittaker announced on his website that a 2007 Germany tour would be his last and that he will limit future performances to "occasional concerts". Now more fluent in German, he was seen singing and was interviewed in German on Danish TV in November 2008.
In his career to date, Whittaker has earned over 250 silver, gold and platinum albums. He was awarded a 'Gold Badge Award' from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) in 1988 and earned a 'Golden Tuning Fork' award in Germany in 1986 based on record sales and TV viewer votes.
Currently resides: Eyrecourt, County Galway, Ireland.
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