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For Immediate Release
September 25, 2002 - Shreveport, Louisiana
Slim Whitman "Earliest & Rarest Recordings" Debuts This Week
Includes Just Discovered First Recording From 1948
Fans of country crooner Slim Whitman whose name and recordings were
popularized to the nation in a series of legendary TV commercials in the
early 1980's will have something new and exciting to add to their
collections in the coming week. British-based TKO/Magnum Enterprises in
association with Music Mill Entertainment of Nashville and the Louisiana
Hayride Archives announces the forthcoming release of Whitman's earliest and
rarest audio recordings to coincide with Slim's final tour of Great Britain
which kicks off next month.
The CD opens with Slim's very first recording, a demo song he cut when just
starting out in Tampa, Florida in the spring of 1948. Entitled "Way Down In
Florida (That's The Only Place To Be)", the song was recorded at Florida
Music Enterprise and fifty copies were pressed for distribution to local and
regional radio stations. One copy managed to survive the ages and surfaced
recently on the auction website eBay where it was purchased by longtime
Whitman fan Loren R. Knapp. Loren is the president of Slim Whitman
Collectors International (formerly the Slim Whitman Appreciation Society)
and is pleased to share the first of what would become 540 Whitman songs
spanning more than 45 years.
In the early fifties, Slim left his native Florida and ventured first to
Nashville before heading to Louisiana to join the cast of the Louisiana
Hayride where he found international fame while holding down a job as a
local postman. Several of Slim's early efforts from the Hayride show are
included in the CD, showcasing appearances from 1951 through 1968. Slim
yodels his way through "Rose Marie", "Cattle Call", "I'm Casting My Lasso",
"Indian Love Call" and "I Remember You" plus a self-penned rarity
"Whippoorwill Yodel". Rounding out the collection are two recordings from a
1965 tour Slim made of South Africa featuring vocals in the local Afrikaans
language.
The CD concludes with a short narrative piece by Louisiana Hayride
announcer Frank Page that details the story of Slim's association with the
Hayride show. Offering many unreleased and rare recordings, this
retrospective spans twenty years in the career of America's most popular
crooner, Slim Whitman, and charts his growth from crooner to legend.
European release of the 14-track CD entitled "The Only Place To Be - Slim
Whitman's Earliest & Rarest Recordings" is scheduled for September 27, with
a US debut through Griffin Music on October 22. The product may be ordered
direct from TKO or will be available through most internet retailers and US
record outlets.
Slim Whitman Collectors International
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