Roger Whittaker's song 'Why' accompanied by my interpretation of the songs lyrics in pics..just to add a little interest, hopefully...
Roger Whittaker (born March 22, 1936 in Nairobi, Kenya) is an Anglo Kenyan singer/songwriter and musician with worldwide record sales of more than 55 million. His music can be described as easy listening. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability.
Roger Whittaker, B.Sc. (Bangor) (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Kenya.[1]
His music is an eclectic mix of folk and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability as well as guitar.
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 No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
http://youtu.be/JKjhtN6iUX0
LYRICS:
Something is going wrong
With the singer and the song
And the music isn't gentle anymore
There's a mist across the moon
And the sun is too hot at noon
And the house is dark behind the broken door
Where the flowers used to grow
With their leaves are hanging low
And the constant shadow lies across the floor
There's a strange and empty sky
Where the wild birds used to fly
And I never tasted bitter rain before
And will the grass be gone from underneath the sky
Will the golden flower wither soon and die
Will the fire burn out the land
And the sea fill-up with sand
Will the last word ever spoken be why?
Will the last word ever spoken be why?
Someone has lost the plan
For the brotherhood of man
And no one's trying to find it anymore
And the winds become a sigh
For those who hate and those who die
And the waves are black and slow along the shore
And will the grass be gone from underneath the sky
Will the golden flower wither soon and die
Will the fire burn out the land
And the sea fill-up with sand
Will the last word ever spoken be why?
Will the last word ever spoken be why, why, why?
Will the last word ever spoken be... WHY?
His father was injured in a motorcycle accident and the family moved to a farm near Thika, Kenya, because of its warmer climate.
His grandfather sang in various clubs and his father played the violin. Roger learned to play the guitar.
Whittaker was called up for 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 after 18 months and joined the civil service education department as a teacher.
For the next three years, he studied zoology, biochemistry and marine biology at Bangor University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree.
He sang in local clubs and released 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 the summer of 1962, Whittaker performed in Portrush, Northern Ireland. He achieved a breakthrough when he was signed to appear on an Ulster Television show called This and That. His second single was a cover version of "Steel Men", released in June 1962.
In the spring of 1964, Roger met Natalie O'Brien, and they married in August. They have five children: Emily (b. 28 May 1968), Lauren (b. 4 June 1970), Jessica (b. 14 February 1973), Guy (b. 15 November 1974) and Alexander (b. 7 April 1978). They now have nine grandchildren.[citation needed]
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.
In the early 1970s Whittaker took interest in the Nordic countries when he recorded the single "Where the Angels Tread (Änglagård)" to the music of Evert Taube in 1972.
In 1974 he performed at the Finnish Eurovision qualifications. The song "The Finnish Whistler" he performed became famous in Finland as it was used as a title music for the popular Finnish YLE television cooking programme "Patakakkonen".
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. In 1979, Whittaker wrote the song "Call My Name" which reached the final of the UK Eurovision selection, A Song For Europe, performed by Eleanor Keenan and coming third.
Whittaker recorded the song himself and the single charted in several European countries. Whittaker also established himself in country music with "I Love You Because" getting "into the lower reaches of the country chart"[2] in late 1983.
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,[3] 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 recent years he had been living in Eyrecourt, County Galway, Ireland, close to the River Shannon and moved to France in 2012.[4]
He was part of a successful British team that won the annual Knokke Music Festival in Belgium, and won the Press Prize as the personality of the festival.
He was awarded a 'Gold Badge Award', from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) in 1988[5] and earned a "Golden Tuning Fork" (Goldene Stimmgabel in Germany) in 1986, based on record sales and TV viewer votes.
Roger Whittaker (born March 22, 1936 in Nairobi, Kenya) is an Anglo Kenyan singer/songwriter and musician with worldwide record sales of more than 55 million. His music can be described as easy listening. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability.
Roger Whittaker, B.Sc. (Bangor) (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Kenya.[1]
His music is an eclectic mix of folk and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability as well as guitar.
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 No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
http://youtu.be/JKjhtN6iUX0
LYRICS:
Something is going wrong
With the singer and the song
And the music isn't gentle anymore
There's a mist across the moon
And the sun is too hot at noon
And the house is dark behind the broken door
Where the flowers used to grow
With their leaves are hanging low
And the constant shadow lies across the floor
There's a strange and empty sky
Where the wild birds used to fly
And I never tasted bitter rain before
And will the grass be gone from underneath the sky
Will the golden flower wither soon and die
Will the fire burn out the land
And the sea fill-up with sand
Will the last word ever spoken be why?
Will the last word ever spoken be why?
Someone has lost the plan
For the brotherhood of man
And no one's trying to find it anymore
And the winds become a sigh
For those who hate and those who die
And the waves are black and slow along the shore
And will the grass be gone from underneath the sky
Will the golden flower wither soon and die
Will the fire burn out the land
And the sea fill-up with sand
Will the last word ever spoken be why?
Will the last word ever spoken be why, why, why?
Will the last word ever spoken be... WHY?
| Roger Whittaker | |
|---|---|
Roger Whittaker playing live
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born | 22 March 1936 Nairobi, Kenya, British Empire |
| Genres | Easy listening, pop |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter, teacher |
| Instruments | Guitar, Puccalo |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Website | www.rogerwhittaker.com |
Childhood and beginning
Whittaker's parents, Edward and Viola Whittaker, were from Staffordshire, England, where they owned and operated a grocery shop.His father was injured in a motorcycle accident and the family moved to a farm near Thika, Kenya, because of its warmer climate.
His grandfather sang in various clubs and his father played the violin. Roger learned to play the guitar.
Whittaker was called up for 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 after 18 months and joined the civil service education department as a teacher.
Recording and performing career
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 earned a Bachelor of Science degree.
He sang in local clubs and released 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 the summer of 1962, Whittaker performed in Portrush, Northern Ireland. He achieved a breakthrough when he was signed to appear on an Ulster Television show called This and That. His second single was a cover version of "Steel Men", released in June 1962.
In the spring of 1964, Roger met Natalie O'Brien, and they married in August. They have five children: Emily (b. 28 May 1968), Lauren (b. 4 June 1970), Jessica (b. 14 February 1973), Guy (b. 15 November 1974) and Alexander (b. 7 April 1978). They now have nine grandchildren.[citation needed]
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.
In the early 1970s Whittaker took interest in the Nordic countries when he recorded the single "Where the Angels Tread (Änglagård)" to the music of Evert Taube in 1972.
In 1974 he performed at the Finnish Eurovision qualifications. The song "The Finnish Whistler" he performed became famous in Finland as it was used as a title music for the popular Finnish YLE television cooking programme "Patakakkonen".
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. In 1979, Whittaker wrote the song "Call My Name" which reached the final of the UK Eurovision selection, A Song For Europe, performed by Eleanor Keenan and coming third.
Whittaker recorded the song himself and the single charted in several European countries. Whittaker also established himself in country music with "I Love You Because" getting "into the lower reaches of the country chart"[2] in late 1983.
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,[3] 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 recent years he had been living in Eyrecourt, County Galway, Ireland, close to the River Shannon and moved to France in 2012.[4]
Awards
In his career to date, Whittaker has earned over 250 silver, gold and platinum albums.He was part of a successful British team that won the annual Knokke Music Festival in Belgium, and won the Press Prize as the personality of the festival.
He was awarded a 'Gold Badge Award', from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) in 1988[5] and earned a "Golden Tuning Fork" (Goldene Stimmgabel in Germany) in 1986, based on record sales and TV viewer votes.
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