The Last Farewell

Infobox Single
Name = The Last Farewell


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Artist = Roger Whittaker
Album = A Special Kind of Man
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Released = 1975
Format = 7" (45 rpm)
Recorded = 1971
Genre = Adult contemporary
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Label = RCA Records
Writer = Roger Whittaker, Ron A. Webster
Producer = Dennis Preston
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"The Last Farewell" is the title of a popular song from 1975 (see 1975 in music) by the British-Kenyan folk singer Roger Whittaker.

During 1971, Whittaker hosted a radio program in England, backed by a full orchestra with arrangements by Zack Lawrence. Whittaker is quoted as saying that "one of the ideas I had was to invite listeners to send their poems or lyrics to me and I would make songs out of them. We got a million replies, and I did one each week for 26 weeks." [Hyatt, Wesley (1999). "The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits" (Billboard Publications)] Ron A. Webster, a silversmith from Birmingham, England (not to be confused with the footballer named Ron Webster, who played for Derby County F.C.), sent Whittaker his poem titled "The Last Farewell", and this became one of the selections to appear on the radio program. It was subsequently recorded and featured on Whittaker's 1971 album, "A Special Kind of Man", although the song failed to reach the music charts.

According to Whittaker, in 1975 the wife of a program director for a radio station in Atlanta, Georgia was traveling in Canada and heard Whittaker's recording on the radio; when she returned to the United States, she asked her husband to play the song on the station. After playing 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 during the spring of 1975, peaking at #19. It also went to #1 on the "Billboard" adult contemporary chart. [Whitburn, Joel (1996). "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits", 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)] The response to the song in America led the single to achieve success in other parts of the world, including in England, where the song reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart. [ [http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=6748 British singles chart info at chartstats.com] ] It also went to #1 in 11 other countries and sold an estimated 11 million copies worldwide, [ [http://www.rogerwhittaker.com/bio.htm Biography at Whittaker's website] ] making it by far Whittaker's best-known song around the world.

The opening of "The Last Farewell" features a French horn solo that was arranged by Lawrence on the initial airing of the radio program. Whittaker has stated that he feels much of the song's appeal comes from the classical-sounding nature of this instrumental arrangement at the beginning of the song.

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