Fred Lowery
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Fred Lowery | |
|---|---|
 Fred Lowery in a 1944 advertisement | |
| Born | 2 November 1909 |
| Died | 11 December 1984 (aged 75) |
| Occupation | Whistler |
| Musical career | |
| Labels | |
| Signature | |
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Fred Lowery (2 November 1909 – 11 December 1984)[1] was a blind professional whistler who recorded a No. 9 Billboard chart hit version of "The High and the Mighty" with conductor and arranger LeRoy Holmes. Lowery whistled with bandleaders Horace Heidt and Vincent Lopez in the 1930s and 40s.[2] His 'Silent Night' Archived 31 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine and 'William Tell Overture' Archived 31 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine demonstrate the difference between everyday whistling and puccalo.
Lowery was born in Palestine, Texas, a small city in East Texas to parents William and Mary (White) Lowery.[3] Mary died soon after Fred's birth, and William abandoned him and his sisters at a railroard depot in Gould, Texas.[4] His grandma, Lucy White, and Mary's brother, Ed, raised them.[5] lost his eyesight at the age of two after being stricken with scarlet fever. With an artificial right eye and limited vision in the left, Fred Lowery was legally blind – not totally blind.[6]
From the age of eight he was educated at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Austin, Texas.[7] That year, Fred learned how to whistle from copying Ed.[8] In 1929, when he was attending school, he met a bird imitator named Ernest Nichols, who was visiting the school.[9] "He encouraged me," he recalled, "and I began to discover there was more to whistling than bird calls." Lowery's piano teacher, Peggy Richter, also encouraged the boy and had Lowery whistle the songs she taught him on piano.[10]
Career
Richter was fired by the school's principal, who was jealous of both her and Lowery's quick success due to his own failed singing career. After that, Lowery moved into Richter's family in Dallas, Texas where she found a new job and he continued performing locally.[11] After a series of minor successes, including a radio show on WFAA in Dallas, and a 4+1⁄2-year engagement with the Vincent Lopez orchestra in New York City, he was heard by Horace Heidt. Heidt gave Lowery his chance for national recognition as a featured part of his show. In 1945, Lowery struck out on his own. His 1939 version of the song Indian Love Call sold over 2 million copies.[12][13] During his career, he performed at Carnegie Hall and at the White House.[14]
