On This Day in 2013, We Lost the Yodeling Crooner Who Influenced Our Favorite Musicians, From the Beatles to Michael Jackson 

How a musician translates their inspiration into a final product is unique to each individual artist, which is how a yodeling crooner managed to influence the Beatles and Michael Jackson, two musical acts with vastly different upbringings, careers, and styles. Interestingly, the inspiring man in question, Slim Whitman, couldn’t have been more different from the bands he influenced.

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Nevertheless, Whitman’s musical legacy lives on in his own discography as well as countless artists who borrowed from his “countrypolitan” approach. Contrary to an erroneous obituary published while he was still alive, we lost Whitman, the yodeling crooner, on June 19, 2013.

This Yodeling Crooner Influenced Countless Artists

At the height of his career, Slim Whitman proudly bore the title “America’s Favorite Folk Artist.” Ironically, his career seemed to do much better overseas in the U.K. Whitman’s “countrypolitan” blend of classic crooning and Western country tropes ruffled the feathers of American colleagues in the country music genre, with Hank Williams once denouncing him by saying, “He ain’t no hillbilly,” per The Guardian. But to the rest of the world, Whitman was a highly palatable amalgamation of everything they associated with the U.S.: glamour, cowboys, and pop music.

Whitman worked closely with Colonel Tom Parker, the infamous manager of Elvis Presley, in the earliest days of his career. He cut records that received relative success in the early to mid-1950s. However, as rock ‘n’ roll began to dominate the airwaves, Whitman’s career consequently began to shrink (in the States, anyway). Across the pond, Whitman was a beloved folk singer, winning the title of No. 1 international star four times in the U.K. Not bad for a WWI veteran from Florida.

With his distinct yodel, falsetto voice, and unique left-handed playing, Whitman inspired countless artists after him, including the Beatles and Michael Jackson.

Whitman’s Connection to the Beatles and Michael Jackson

Witnessing how musical inspiration can manifest in different ways is always an interesting part of reviewing music history, and Slim Whitman’s influence on the Beatles and Michael Jackson is certainly no exception. Unsurprisingly, Jackson took to Whitman’s high, agile voice as his main source of inspiration. Jackson had quite the limber voice himself, moving through tenor-y ballads to gritty, baritone rock numbers. At one point, the “Thriller” singer cited Whitman as one of his favorite vocalists.

For the future members of the Beatles, Whitman’s guitar playing served as their major inspiration. George Harrison once said Whitman was the first musician he ever saw playing a guitar, sparking a lifelong passion that would lead to Harrison’s monumental career, both as the lead guitarist of the Beatles and as a solo artist. McCartney, who had previously been discouraged from playing guitar because he was left-handed, was inspired to restring his guitar upside down after seeing Whitman do the same thing.

A false report of Whitman’s death in 2008 led to the premature publishing of his obituary. He actually died on June 19, 2013, at 90 in his home state of Florida.

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