Bird Man Whistles "Georgia On My Mind"

Wrote Molly McBride Jacobson on Atlas Obscura:

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

That shrill whistle is actually emanating from this man's torturously pursed lips.

From 1977 to 1994 the Detroit TV channel WXYZ hosted Kelly and Company, a M-F crowd-sourced variety show.

One day in 1984 the clear winner was Ralph "Whistler" Giese's rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" [go ahead, sing along, no one will notice...].

The contestants' talents were varied (the man right before Giese tried — and failed — to stack a tower of bowling balls), but Giese's birdly whistle won over the audience.

This was no one-off for Giese.

Whistling was his passion (it's in his name for goodness' sake) and he continues to teach and perform to this day with a group called "Whistler's Muthers."