Music
British pop singer Roger Whittaker dies
British singer Roger Whittaker has died. photo
© Patrick Seeger/dpa
His biggest hits included “Albany”, “The Last Farewell” and “Indian Lady”: Now the pop singer Roger Whittaker has died. He was 87 years old.
The pop singer Roger Whittaker is dead. As his family announced, the British native died on September 13th. He was 87 years old.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Roger Whittaker,” said the statement distributed by record label Sony. He died peacefully and surrounded by his family. The “Bild” newspaper had previously reported.
“Roger was an iconic artist, a wonderful husband and father. He touched so many hearts in his life with his music and will live on in our memories forever,” the statement continued.
Career as a musician in the early 1960s
Born in Kenya in 1936 to English parents, Whittaker embarked on a career as a musician in the early 1960s. The career of the trained zoologist, marine biologist and biochemist only really took off at the end of the decade.
His big breakthrough came in 1969 with the ballad “Durham Town”. His biggest hits included “Albany” and “The Last Farewell.” After this song made it onto American radio and the US Top 20 in 1975, it also became a huge success in Europe. In the UK it reached number 2 on the charts, just behind Rod Stewart’s “Sailing”. Later even Elvis Presley recorded “The Last Farewell”.
Whittaker had his most loyal fan base in Germany. He therefore recorded many songs in German using phonetic transcription, although he had to struggle with the umlauts. The British singer with the gentle baritone voice was often a guest on the ZDF hit parade and other TV entertainment shows.
Whittaker had been withdrawn from the public eye for years and most recently lived in the south of France with his wife Natalie.