SAL DeTRAGLIA's VIRTUAL TAPAS BAR

ONE DEGREE OF SLIM WHITMAN?

Written by

Sal DeTraglia

in

Remember my April 2006 post about Slim Whitman?

Well…some time last night while I slept, I received the following, titilating Comment from an anonymous source:

At 5:17 AM, Anonymous said…

Slim Whitman is a friend of mine and I’m very familiar with the TV commercial you mention. It never stated that He had sold more records than elvis and the Beatles. It stated that he had a number one record in the UK for a longer period of time. eleven consecutive weeks. I have viewed the commercial 100’s of times.

Are your hearts beating as quickly as mine? Is it possible that there’s a mere one degree of separation between this VTB and the legend himself?

I wasted no time firing-off the following response:

Hello Anonymous:

You’re probably right about the Beatles/Elvis reference. It’s been 20+ years since I’ve seen this commercial, so I was going by memory.

But that’s not important. What is important is your statement that Slim is a friend of yours. Can you give us any kind of update on what Slim has been up to, his state of health, etc.? If you do, then I’ll write a post around it. We need to know.

Thanks for writing. I’ve always wondered if Slim realized the cult following he had amongst American Jr. High Schoolers in the 1980’s.

Sal

And now, we wait…and hope…and pray.

Will this shadowy, anonymous Commenter provide the details on a 21st century Slim that we so hungrily seek?

Or…is it possible that the unthinkable will happen, and the great man himself will make a triumphant appearance in the VTB chat lounge?

Please join me in the following chant: “WE’RE NOT WORTHY! WE’RE NOT WORTHY! WE’RE NOT WORTHY!”

Comments

11 responses to “ONE DEGREE OF SLIM WHITMAN?”

  1. euro-trac Avatar
    euro-trac

    Awww how sweet!
    A marriage made in heaven

    Reply
  2. christina Avatar
    christina

    LOL, trac! I don’t think Slim would like that very much. Better not mention it when he shows up at the VTB.

    (And can I just say how much Marilyn Manson creeps me out?)

    Reply
  3. Sal DeTraglia Avatar
    Sal DeTraglia

    You’re the coolest, Trac!

    What could be more surreal than the “coupling” of Slim Whitman and Marilyn Manson.

    Believe it or not, I spent twenty minutes poking around YouTube trying to find a bit of Slim. I don’t know how I missed the video that you linked. I encourage everyone in this VTB chat lounge to gather the children ’round the CRT and watch it.

    Say what you will about Slim’s music, but his voice is actually pretty impressive.

    BTW…if they came to blows, I think Slim could take Marilyn. He was an athlete (minor league baseball) before gaining fame as a crooner, ya know.

    Sal

    Reply
  4. woman wandering Avatar
    woman wandering

    Marilyn is creepy …

    Ewwww!

    Reply
  5. Mike B Avatar
    Mike B

    Now that would have been a good Celeb Death Match combo.

    And what a brush with greatness … whod’ve though Slim would live on into the 21st century with such loyal friends & followers?

    Reply
  6. CanadianSwiss Avatar
    CanadianSwiss

    Do you think it might even have Slim writing to you (incognito)?? I’ll have a look at that video now as long as all are out for lunch.

    Reply
  7. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I sent the Slim Whitman comment. I was president of the Slim Whitman Appreciation Society of the United States for 23 years and yes I call Slim my friend. His 89th CD was just relelased. He has recorded 541 individual songs. He has wall to wall gold and platinum records in his music room. He is retired living south of Jacksonville, Florida on his 40 acre farm called “Wood Pecker Paradise.” He also has a home in the Florida Keys. He might be recording an LP of classic Western Cowboy tunes, although I doubt he will ever get to it. He is in his mid 80’s now.
    Last time I talked to him he was doing well and enjoying fishing.
    If you’re interested I have mant Slim whitman items for sale from our club days. I can be reached at:
    flash@theriver.com
    My name is Loren.

    Reply
  8. The Big Finn Avatar
    The Big Finn

    Wait a second…
    If you know somebody who knows Slim Whitman, isn’t that technically 2 degrees of separation?

    Reply
  9. Sal DeTraglia Avatar
    Sal DeTraglia

    Hey The Big Finn:

    Yeah…I wondered about that when I was writing this post. How are degrees of separation calculated. In the end, I just applied common sense, which admittedly doesn’t always serve me well–not because I don’t have any, but because the rules of common sense so often don’t apply.

    Anyway, I calculated VTB…Loren…Slim. One…two…three. Seemed to make sense.

    Then, after reading your Comment, I thought of another example. VTB…Slim. Is it one? Or zero? Hmmm…I’m thinking zero.

    So, you may be right. I’m not really a numbers person. That’s why so few of my posts on this VTB pertain to calculus.

    However, I think there is a very simply resolution to this matter. Slim himself needs to contact us directly, and we can forget all thoughts of separation.

    U da man!
    Sal

    Reply
  10. Sal DeTraglia Avatar
    Sal DeTraglia

    TBF:

    I just re-read my response to you, and it makes no sense whatsoever. That’s what I get for trying to think logically ten minutes after waking up (yet before my first cup of Earl Grey). Let me try again.

    VTB…Loren…Slim. That’s only one stepping stone between us and the legend himself. That’s why I assumed one degree.

    But again…I could be wrong. And again, I think it’s best to cut out the middleman and just have Slim over for the next VTB BBQ.

    Reply
  11. christina Avatar
    christina

    Why don’t we just ask Kevin Bacon? He’d know.

    I’m thinking having Slim Whitman over for a BBQ would be THE event of the century.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to woman wandering Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts

Show Buttons
Hide Buttons