View source for Fred Lowery

{{For|the Southern Baptist pastor and author|Fred L. Lowery}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Fred Lowery
| image         = Fred Lowery.jpg
| caption       = Fred Lowery in a 1944 advertisement
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| birth_name    =
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|df=yes|1909|11|2}}
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| death_date    = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1984|12|11|1909|11|1}}
| death_place   =
| occupation    = Whistler
| relatives     =
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| module        = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| background   =
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| label        = {{hlist|[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]|[[Decca Records|Decca]]|Gra-Low|Word}}
| website      =
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| signature    = Fred_Lowery_Signature.jpg
}}
'''Fred Lowery''' (2 November 1909 – 11 December 1984)<ref>{{cite web|title=IMDB: Fred Lowery|publisher=[[IMDb]] |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0523209/bio|accessdate=12 May 2011}}</ref> was a blind professional [[whistling|whistler]] who recorded a No. 9 Billboard chart hit version of "[[The High and the Mighty (1954 song)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spaceagepop.com/lowery.htm|title=Fred Lowery|work=Space Age Pop|accessdate=12 May 2011}}</ref> His [http://grooveshark.com/s/Silent+Night/3p41as?src=5 'Silent Night'] and [http://grooveshark.com/s/William+Tell+Overture/3w9WJW?src=5 'William Tell Overture'] demonstrate the difference between everyday whistling and [[puccalo]].
Lowery was born in [[Palestine, Texas|Palestine]] in [[Anderson County, Texas|Anderson County]] in east Texas and 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whistlingrecords.net/78/Fred_Lowery/index.htm|title=Fred Lowery|work=The Online Guide To Whistling Records|accessdate=23 June 2016}}</ref> From the age of eight he was educated at the [[Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Dexter|first=Bruce|title=Whistler whips the long odds|newspaper=The San Diego Union-Tribune|date=9 December 1983}}</ref> In 1929, when he was attending school, he met a bird imitator. "He encouraged me," he recalled, "and I began to discover there was more to whistling than bird calls."  After a series of minor successes, including a radio show on WFAA in Dallas, and a {{frac|4|1|2}}-year engagement with the Vincent Lopez orchestra in New York, 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/flovc|title=LOWERY, FRED|author=Alicia Leschper|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=12 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Palm Beach Post]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3sQiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UrcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2105,5312704|date=17 April 1965|accessdate=12 May 2011|page=E2|title=Whistler King Due Wednesday}}</ref> During his career, he performed at [[Carnegie Hall]] and at the [[White House]].<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Vindicator]]|title=Fred Lowery; Famed Blind Whistler|date=12 December 1984|accessdate=12 May 2011|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C3xAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k1cMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1495,6821018}}</ref>
==Discography==
''William Tell Overture'' – Columbia 35234 (WB 24992) 10" 78 (1939)
''Listen to the Mocking Bird'' – Columbia 35234 (WB 24940) 10" 78 (1939)
''Whistling For You'' – Columbia C-148 10" 78 (1947)
''Whistling For You'' – Columbia CL 6091 10" LP (1950)
''Walking Along Kicking the Leaves'', Fred Lowery whistling with orchestra directed by Own Bradley – Decca DL 8476 LP Mono (1957)
''Whistle a Happy Tune'' – Decca DL 8995 LP Mono (1960)
''Fred Lowery Sings for the Birds'' – Lowery ED1001 LP Mono
''There'll Be Whistling and Singing in Heaven'' – Gra-Low GR-7100 LP Mono
''A Family Christmas'' – Gra-Low GR-7101 LP Mono
''Fred Lowery Whistles Your Gospel Favorites'' – Word WST-8326 LP Stereo (1967)
''Abide With Me'' – Word WST-8456 LP Stereo (1968)
''Precious Memories'' – Word WST-8516 LP Stereo (1971)
''It is Well with My Soul'' – Word WST-8563 LP Stereo (1972)
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowery, Fred}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:Blind musicians]]
[[Category:People from Palestine, Texas]]
[[Category:Musicians from Texas]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:American blind people]]
[[Category:American musicians with disabilities]]
[[Category:American whistlers]]
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