Popularity Edit

According to Whittaker, the wife of a program director for a radio station in Atlanta, Georgia was travelling in Canada, in 1975, and heard Whittaker's four-year-old recording on the radio. When she returned to the United States, she asked her husband to play it on the station. After he played the song a few times, listeners began calling the station to find out more about the song and singer, and soon thereafter "The Last Farewell" was on its way onto the charts. The single reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 19 in June 1975, the only single of Whittaker's career to appear on the Hot 100. It also went to number 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.[2] The response in America led the single to achieve success in other parts of the world, including in The United Kingdom, where it reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] It was kept from number 1 in the UK by Rod Stewart's "Sailing" - to date, this is the only occasion on which the top 2 songs in the British singles chart have both had a nautical theme.[citation needed] "The Last Farewell" also went to number 1 in 11 other countries and sold an estimated 11 million copies worldwide,[4] making it by far Whittaker's best-known song around the world. Whittaker has stated that he feels much of the appeal of "The Last Farewell" comes from the classical-sounding nature of the opening French horn solo. This arrangement was done by Lawrence for the song's initial airing on Whittaker's radio programme.[citation needed] For a time in the late 1970s, up until about 1981, WGN-TV used that introductory fanfare in its station identification.[5]

Cover versions Edit

See also Edit