Karl Denver (16 December 1931 – 21 December 1998) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

singer, who, with his trio had a series of UK

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s in the early 1960s. Most famous of these was a 1961

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * '' ...

of "

Wimoweh "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube" for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in isiZulu, while the English version's lyrics were wr ...

", which showed off Denver's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous e ...

yodelling register. He reached the

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include r ...

with his first five yodel-based singles.

Career

Denver was born Angus Murdo McKenzie in

Springburn Springburn ( gd, Allt an Fhuairainn) is an inner-city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, made up of generally working-class households. Springburn developed from a rural hamlet at the beginning of the 19th century. Its indu ...

, Glasgow, and was well travelled by the time he took up singing, having had a previous career in the Norwegian Merchant Navy. He also had a country music influence, having lived in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

, Tennessee, US, for a short time before being deported from there as an

illegal immigrant Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

in 1959. In the US, he adopted the new name that he retained for the remainder of his singing career. In the early 1960s, he formed a trio which included Kevin Neill (25 July 1931,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, Lancashire – 13 March 2010, Blackley, Manchester) and Gerry Cottrell (born Gerard Cottrell, 18 December 1933, Manchester, Lancashire – 24 November 2006). Denver's song, "Never Goodbye", was an entry in

A Song for Europe A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

and was another chart hit. In 1963, he appeared in the film '' Just for Fun'', along with Bobby Vee, the Vernons Girls, and various other American and British pop music acts. He also appeared on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

a few times alongside

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

on a show named after a song he performed with them called " Side by Side". After the mid-1960s, Denver worked mainly on the

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or ...

circuit. However, in 1989 he enjoyed a brief rise in profile after guesting on

Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene. Indie-dance (sometimes referred to as indie-rave) saw artists merging indie music w ...

band, the

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined ...

' single, "Lazyitis (One-Armed Boxer)", on

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

(FAC 222). Denver also appeared in The Happy Mondays'

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

for the song, although he contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

whilst filming the video. Following this collaboration Factory released two further Denver recordings, "Wimoweh '89" (FAC 228) and "Indambinigi" (FAC 278; credited to Karl Denver and Steve Lima). In 1993 he released his final album, ''Just Loving You'', aimed at the country music market. In mid-1998, Denver began recording a new album, but died before it was completed. The finished tracks were included on a re-release of ''Just Loving You'' entitled ''Movin' On'' in 1999. The final song he recorded was "I Can't Go on This Way".

Death

Karl Denver grave marker, Stockport Cemetery

Denver died from a brain tumour in December 1998, at the age of 67. His ashes are buried in Stockport Borough cemetery.

Family life

Twice married, Denver has eleven children. Two from his first marriage to Jean, three from his second partner Alma, one from his third partner Jean, and two from his second marriage to Andrea. In addition, he had three other children from other relationships.

Discography

Singles

* "Marcheta" – 1961 – UK No. 8 * "Mexicali Rose" – 1961 – UK No. 8 * "

" – 1962 – UK No. 4 * "Never Goodbye" – 1962 – UK No. 9 * "A Little Love a Little Kiss" – 1962 – UK No. 19 * "Blue Week-end" – 1962 – UK No. 33 * "Pastures of Plenty" – 1962 – UK * "Can You Forgive Me" – 1963 – UK No. 32 * "Indian Love Call" – 1963 – UK No. 32 * "Still" – 1963 – UK No. 13 * "My World of Blue" – 1964 – UK No. 29 * "

Love Me with All Your Heart "Love Me with All Your Heart" is a popular song, based on the Spanish language song " Cuando calienta el sol", originally composed as "Cuando Calienta El Sol En Masachapa". The music was written by , a Nicaraguan songwriter and bandleader. SADAIC ...

" – 1964 – UK No. 37 * "Lazyitis – One Armed Boxer" – 1990 – UK No. 46 –

and Karl Denver

Albums

* ''Wimoweh'' – 1961 – UK No. 7 * ''Karl Denver at The Yew Tree'' – 1964

References

External links

Memorial website, including ''Guardian'' obituary wording
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denver, Karl 1931 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Scottish male singers Yodelers People from Springburn Burials in Greater Manchester Factory Records artists 20th-century Scottish male musicians Deaths from brain cancer in England