If there's one thing I love it's a good siffleur. Ronnie Ronalde (born Ronald Charles Waldron, 1923, London) is a British music hall singer and siffleur. Ronalde is famous for his voice, whistling, yodelling, imitations of bird song and stage personality.
Ronalde’s first recordings were with Decca Records, but his first major label contract came from EMI. Ronalde would also join Pye, Major Minor and Columbia records, becoming one of their biggest sellers. Ronalde was a million selling artiste in the pre-Beatles age.
“If I Were a Blackbird” (1950) is among Ronalde’s most famous songs. This rendering of Delia Murphy’s Irish folk song had him in the British top 20 for a record 6 months. She would later jovially express her thanks for boosting her income. Other songs include “Tritsch Tratsch Polka” (in which the speed of delivery illustrates Ronalde’s excellence in the art of whistling), “Bells Across the Meadow” (by Albert Ketèlbey), and many more. (Thanks Wikipedia)
While his vocal style is somewhat dated, his whistling ability is not to be missed - and, if like me, you like a good yodeller then this is a must have. There's some fab youtube vids if you're interested. The vinyl is showing some signs of wear but has scrubbed up pretty well overall...
01 - The Yodelling Whistler
02 - Bells Across The Meadow
03 - Macnamara's Band
04 - Dream Of Olwen
05 - If I Were A Blackbird
06 - On Wings Of Song
07 - The Skaters Waltz
08 - The Yodelling Boy
09 - Song Of The Mountains
10 - The Pleasant Peasant
11 - Sanctuary Of The Heart
12 - Tritsch Tratsch Polka
13 - When You Were Sweet Sixteen
14 - Ave Maria
Ronnie Ronalde - The Yodelling Whistler
Mr Snookles
