Ronnie Ronalde: an amazing performer

I've written a couple of times over the years about Ronnie Ronalde (here and here). He was a most unusual artist, a singer and performer, but most of all, a siffleur, which is just a fancy word for a person who whistles. 

Well, you'd think that whistling was hardly anything to write home about, but so popular was Ronnie that on one occasion he filled Radio City Hall in New York every night for ten weeks (it holds 6,000 people). He toured extensively, and even gave two performances at the Aotea Centre in 1990 (when he was in his late sixties) and filled the place both times. At one time he was as popular as Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. 

Ronnie died just last month at the age of 91 - I only heard about it this morning. He was from Islington in London, originally, but by the time he'd finished his life he'd lived in Guernsey, the Isle of Man, New Zealand, and the Gold Coast. 

Whistling isn't as popular as it used to be - I don't hear many kids whistling these days. But Ronnie made it such a hit that his records would be broadcast week in and week out when I was a kid. The fact that he remained popular for so long is testament to the enjoyment he brought to people. 

Happy Birthday, George!

There's a delightful tribute to and interview with the singer George Beverley Shea on a website called Charisma News. I only discovered this because someone mentioned in a tweet that George was turning 103 on Wednesday (US time).

The piece doesn't give a great deal of information about George, but it does focus on his Christian upbringing, the way in which he wrote I'd rather have Jesus when he was only 23, and his time with Billy Graham.   What's delightful about the interview is George's sense of grace and his humility.   And his joy in life.

I used to hear his recordings when I was a child, on the request session on 4ZB, on a Sunday.  He would have been one of the most popular singers on the session, on which the same pieces often got played week after week.   The Robin's Return, and Remembrance, both played by Gil Dech, (who lived in my home town for a while) used to be immensely popular too, along with songs sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.

George had a long association with Billy Graham; the two names were almost inseparable at one time, and apparently they live in the same street in Montreat, North Carolina.