The musician who inspired George Harrison to pick up a guitar: “The first thing I got into”
Of all the heroes you’d expect George Harrison to be in awe of, the last person on this list is probably a guitar-playing, yodelling virtuoso who didn’t even want to pursue a music career to begin with.
The name Slim Whitman might be synonymous with musical excellence now, but there was once a time when the future guitar-playing icon wanted to pursue a different path entirely, initially wanting to be nothing more than a professional baseball player. This dream started to shift slightly when he was later in the US Navy, where he stepped into the shoes of the resident guitarist-singer to boost morale.
In fact, Whitman’s spontaneous musical hobby aboard the ship not only paved the way for his legacy but may well have saved his life, as he was prevented from transferring to another ship that later sank with no survivors, simply because they wanted him to lift the crew’s mood and improve its overall atmosphere.
Then, in 1948, Whitman’s foray into the world of music officially began when he started performing in a handful of groups, one of which was called the Light Crust Doughboys. During one of their performances, he was discovered by Elvis Presley’s future manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who was managing Eddy Arnold at the time and helped Whitman to secure a recording deal with RCA.
However, even with the backing of one of the biggest names in the business and with RCA also on hand, Whitman’s career struggled to take flight, and he was eventually dropped from the label for failing to secure enough hits. It wasn’t until he signed with Imperial Records in 1952 that he finally started to gain success, before his 1955 megahit ‘Rose Marie’ cemented his position in rock ‘n’ roll history forever.
‘Rose Marie’ was significant for multiple reasons, one being that it was one of the best-selling singles of the entire year, spending 11 consecutive weeks at number one – a record he kept for 36 years, until it was knocked off in 1991 by Bryan Adams’ ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’. This song also helped Whitman to reach an explosive level of success, especially in the UK, where he inspired countless musicians to go on to become legendary names in their own right.
One was the Fab Four’s guitar-playing virtuoso himself, George Harrison. The moment that Harrison saw Whitman for the first time was the first time he ever felt properly inspired in a musical sense, especially because everything he represented was about the simple art of playing music, something Harrison resonated with. As he explained, “Musically, the first thing I got into was this guy called Slim Whitman, who was an American country singer.”
He went on, “He was just a guy playing a guitar. I remember that was the first time I felt like playing the guitar.”
Musically, Whitman had a profound impact on the forthcoming influx of British pop-rock legends like Harrison, many of whom would revolutionise the scene in unimaginable ways. Billed as a “pop” musician, Whitman also defied expectations by existing in multiple realms, blending the simplicity of guitar-playing with the emotional resonance of his rich tone, providing a space where creative curiosity could flourish.
