Kenyans are mourning the death of Kenyan-born British folk singer and expert whistler Roger Whittaker, who is especially famed locally for his 1982 hit song My Land is Kenya. His greatest hits include Durham Town, The Last Farewell, New World in the Morning, and his 1982 version of Wind Beneath My Wings. Worldwide, he sold nearly 50 million records since the summer of 1962 when aged 26, he began writing songs and singing in Welsh folk clubs while studying zoology, biochemistry, and marine biology at the University of Bangor.
Whittaker, who is one of UK's most celebrated folk music singers, died aged 87. He was born in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, to English parents.
Whittaker had his first big breakthrough when he was asked to appear on an Ulster television show in Northern Ireland called This and That.
An extremely proficient whistler, his extraordinary composition Mexican Whistler later reached No. 1 in three different European countries.
He retired from singing in 2012 and is survived by his wife Natalie, whom he married nearly 60 years ago after three months of courtship, and their five children: Emily, Lauren, Jessica, Guy, and Alexander. in France.
He appeared occasionally on television to be interviewed. In 2014, he told a reporter that despite his retirement, he had written 18 new songs and joked: 'I still whistle very well'.
