Ottis Dewey "Slim" Whitman Jr. was an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. Recorded figures show 70 million sales, during a career that spanned more than seven decades. His prolific output included more than 100 albums and around 500 recorded songs; these consisted of country music, contemporary gospel, Broadway show tunes, love songs, and standards. Soon after being signed, in the 1950s Whitman toured with Elvis Presley.

Yodeling is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word yodel is derived from the German word jodeln, meaning "to utter the syllable jo". This vocal technique is used in many cultures worldwide. Recent scientific research concerning yodeling and non-Western cultures has shown that music and speech evolved from a common prosodic precursor.