Slim Whitman

Slim Whitman brought country music to the ears of pop record buyers (AP)

With no criticism of Spencer Leigh's well detailed Slim Whitman obituary (20 June), one item overlooked was the accomplishment that the singer didn't receive – a place in Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame, writes Tony Byworth.

While Nashville honours others who have achieved great success in their careers, Slim Whitman had done it before all the others. He brought country music to the ears of pop record buyers and achieved crossover success several years before Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline enjoyed theirs. He also extended his music internationally, especially in Britain, as Leigh noted. It is such success that's more than deserving of a place in the Hall of Fame but Whitman has been overlooked – possibly because he lived away from the industry and was not one of that clique. It's that old adage of a prophet not being recognised in his own land.