David Whitfield (2 February 1925 – 15 January 1980) was a popular British male tenor

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

from

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

. He became the first British artist to have a UK No.1 single in the UK and in the

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with " Cara Mia", featuring Mantovani and his orchestra. He died from a brain haemorrhage in Sydney, Australia, while on tour at the age of 54.

Life and career

Whitfield was born in

in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire t ...

. He sang in the choir at his church during his childhood and entertained his fellow members of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. After the war, he stayed on in the Navy until June 1950 having had a long spell in Singapore where he broadcast on radio. He appeared on '' Opportunity Knocks'', a

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

on Radio Luxembourg on April 30, 1950 and won that round. He subsequently appeared on the all-winners show on May 21, 1950 singing "Good-Bye" from White Horse Inn. This led to him joining the touring stage show of "Opportunity Knocks" hosted by Hughie Green for a while. After leaving the Navy, he had taken a job in a cement factory but in 1953 he was given the opportunity to sing in a West-end cabaret at the Washington Hotel, Curzon St., London where he was a great success. This led to a variety stage tour. His first recording to reach the Top 10 of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in October 1953 was "Bridge of Sighs", written by Billy Reid. "

Answer Me "Answer Me" is a popular song, originally titled "Mütterlein", with German lyrics by Gerhard Winkler and Fred Rauch. "Mütterlein" was published on 19 April 1952. English lyrics were written by Carl Sigman, and the song was published as "Answe ...

" (later recorded with different lyrics as "

Answer Me, My Love "Answer Me" is a popular song, originally titled "Mütterlein", with German lyrics by Gerhard Winkler and Fred Rauch. "Mütterlein" was published on 19 April 1952. English lyrics were written by Carl Sigman, and the song was published as "Answ ...

") reached number one in the UK. Both versions have appeared on CD. Whitfield had other

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

in the 1950s, and was the most successful British male singer in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

during that period. In addition, he was the first British male vocalist to earn a gold disc and the third overall. He was also the first to reach the Top Ten of the Billboard Top 100, and the first artist from

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to sell over a million copies of a record in the US. All of his hits were released by the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

in the UK. His only

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

to reach the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

was ''The World of David Whitfield'', which reached Number 19. He used

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s, including those of

Stanley Black Stanley Black OBE (14 June 1913 – 27 November 2002) was an English bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and pianist. He wrote and arranged many film scores, recording prolifically for the Decca label (including their subsidiaries ''Lond ...

, fellow Decca artist Mantovani and

Roland Shaw Roland Shaw (born Roland Edgar Shaw-Tomkins; 26 May 1920 – 11 May 2012) was an English composer, musical arranger, and orchestra leader. Shaw was born in Leicester and attended the Trinity College of Music. He served in the Royal Air Force in ...

, as backing accompaniment for said hits. His most popular recordings were: * "

" – his first UK chart topper. * " Cara Mia" – with Mantovani which earned him that gold disc and gave him his second Number One in the

. * "My September Love". * "I'll Find You" – the

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

to the 1957

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, ''

Sea Wife ''Sea Wife'' is a 1957 British CinemaScope drama thriller war film photographed in DeLuxe Color, based on the 1955 James Maurice Scott novel ''Sea-Wyf and Biscuit''. Shot in Jamaica, the film follows a group of survivors from a torpedoed Briti ...

'', starring

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

and

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

. * "William Tell" – the theme music to the TV series, ''

The Adventures of William Tell ''The Adventures of William Tell'' is a British swashbuckler adventure series, first broadcast on the ITV network in 1958, and produced by ITC Entertainment. In the United States, the episodes aired on the syndicated NTA Film Network in 1958 ...

''. "Cara Mia" spent ten weeks at the pole position in the UK, making it one of the biggest selling British records in the pre-rock days. That recording co-credits Mantovani and his Orchestra and Chorus. Whitfield appeared on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' and the 1954

Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

. He continued to perform regularly across the globe, while living in

in the UK. Many of his singles were issued on LP and have been reissued in recent years on CD compilations under licence. There were three 45rpm EP specials (1959–60), one entitled "The Good Old Songs" and the other two featuring numbers from "Rose Marie" and "The Desert Song," two musical shows in which Whitfield toured. On leaving Decca he recorded two singles for

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

(1962–63). His last LP, made for

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

in 1975 and entitled ''Hey There! It's David Whitfield'', included his third recording of "Cara Mia" (he had already recorded a

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

re-make for Decca in 1966 for an album entitled ''Great Songs for Young Lovers''). Whitfield's last single was for Denman, a coupling of "

Land of Hope and Glory "Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar written in 1901 and lyrics by A. C. Benson later added in 1902. Composition The music to which the words of the refrain 'Land of Hope and Glory, &c' below ar ...

" and "When You Lose the One You Love" (1977). He died from a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, while on tour at the age of 54. A statue in the memory of Whitfield was unveiled outside of the New Theatre in Hull on 31 August 2012, before the opening night of a show celebrating the life and music of Whitfield.

Discography

References

External links

45-rpm websiteThe World's first David Whitfield websiteThis is Hull website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, David 1925 births 1980 deaths English male singers Musicians from Kingston upon Hull Royal Navy personnel of World War II Traditional pop music singers 20th-century English singers 20th-century British male singers

Life and career

Discography

See also

References

External links