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Both his brothers played in the school brass band at Stowmarket Middle School and Bob started playing trumpet when he was 9, initially at home and usually in the garden. After taking some lessons, he took a Grade 5 exam when he was 11 and was soon invited to join the school band.  Although he had never sung before, the music teacher wanted him to join the school choir. This he did, and for the first time, realised he wasn’t a bad singer and could hold a note.  There were plans for the choir to go to Germany to sing film songs. This probably included The Choral where a group of villagers join a local choral society and eventually sing on a church rooftop. Bob thought he was going along to play the trumpet but was included in the tour because he was a reasonable singer as well.
Unfortunately, because of his dad’s work, the family had to move home to Debenham where his new school didn’t have a band. Although his parents encouraged him to carry on playing there was no longer any instructions or lessons so the trumpet was put to one side. When he was 12/13 his music teacher decided to start a brass band and Bob played with this band at Gislingham (Suffolk) for a while until girls came along and his interests changed!
c1982 a school friend did a couple of discos for parties in the village hall and Bob got involved and quickly realised that this is what he wanted to do.  The two of them ran mobile discos for three years playing pop music of the day. Bob still listens to and enjoys listening to 80s music on the radio today.
Bob really started to enjoy popular music at this time and soon went on from mobile discos to DJing in night clubs in the Colchester area; he did this for 10 years.  Although he enjoyed listening to country music on the radio as a child he had no thoughts of playing any country music.  Bob joked recently “You haven’t matured at that age and haven’t realised the sort of music you actually enjoy” 
After singing in the school choir he didn’t sing again until one day c1989, when he was working at a night club in Clacton.  There was karaoke there on a Sunday night and one of the other DJs asked him to come along as it would “be a good laugh with lots of young ladies there”. He joined his friends at the club and somebody volunteered him to get up and sing. He got up reluctantly with one of his friends and they sung You’re The One That I Want. This was his first time singing in public. He was very nervous but soon realised it was easy and immediately had another go and quickly knew he actually enjoyed singing.
He and a friend, Kevin Emmanuel bought a karaoke kit and they started arranging karaoke sessions.  Their voices blended well so they always sung together in an Everly Bothers style with Kevin taking the high harmony and Bob the low.  During the day they both worked in a local music shop and sung a few songs in the shop. They did karaoke for a couple of years and Bob particularly remembers one club in Ipswich where they used to do the Sunday every bank holiday weekend. It was packed and on one occasion they sung a Showaddywaddy song and somebody asked them to do another which they did and people started dancing. Before they realised what was happening the next time they went to the club they did a half hour set as well as their karaoke session and quickly knew they would rather be singing as a duo rather than doing karaoke. They sold the karaoke system and contacted a few social clubs to see if they would book them as Decades Duo playing music spanning five decades; 50s and rock ‘n’ roll, 60s pop to contemporary 90s music. Decades Duo were a vocal duo playing in the style of the Everly Brothers. Kevin had played drums in other local bands including Mod Cons, Stratus, Skull and Jeeps.
In 2000 Bob and Kevin started a business together selling karaoke equipment.  Decades Duo carried on for a few years but eventually came off the road for personal reasons and Bob ended up running the business on his own and, in 2003, launched his solo career as Bob Whiting. Bob told me this is the first time he began to really believe in what he was doing, prior to that he always felt he was riding on the back of Kevin but now he had the confidence to do it alone.
Bob’s mum was a big fan of British artists like Brian Mann (with his duo New West with Jayne Allison) and Steve Travis. Brian was on the radio doing a weekly country show on BBC Radio Suffolk and Bob used to listen to his show on a Sunday afternoon. Brian phoned him at the shop one day looking for some PA equipment. He came into the shop and they soon got on like a house on fire and became good friends.
At that time, one of Bob’s customers told him of a new country music club that he had just opened at the Orwell Crossing Lorry Park near Ipswich. Orwell Crossing CMC was in Olive’s Bar and hosted live Country & Western music nights, line dancing and social events on a Friday night with Irish specials on a Sunday. Bob visited the new club and it was clear they needed help so he offered to help and got Brian involved as he knew the acts and the right people to book. Brian Mann obviously worked there himself and another popular act that played there was the Paddy O’Brien Band.
Through the Orwell Crossing CMC, Bob got to know Cheryl Halliwell who was Brian Mann’s niece. Cheryl had her own singing career and had been in Bob’s shop buying tracks. She first sang with Brian Mann’s band when she was 4 and had been working on cruises for many years but she now decided it was time to settle down at home. Cheryl has shared the stage with many top Irish singers including Daniel O’Donnell, Mary Duff, John McNichol and Shawn Cuddy. In 2009 she performed at The Variety Club Silver Heart Award with The Bee Gees, Ronan Keating and others. On one occasion Bob and Cheryl decided to split an evening each singing a set before performing together as a duo at the end. As they were both looking to do duo work it seemed logical to launch a new duo and Country Mile started in c2010. Bob and Cheryl both sing lead with great harmonies as their voices really compliment each other. Cheryl has many strings to her bow as well as working in the duo, she’s a vocal coach and teaches dancing.
Bob also worked with Neil Sands on a country music theatre production called Nashville Nights and Dixie Days. The show was designed as a celebration of classic American country music, featuring hits from legends like Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, Tammy Wynette, and Hank Williams. It featured a full live band, vocalists, and performers bringing the sounds of Music City to UK theatres. Both Nadine Somers and Marie Saunders worked with Neil Sands for a while in the show. 
Neil Sands is a former professional heavyweight wrestler who competed during the golden era of British wrestling in the 1960s/70s. He had transitioned into a successful career as a theatre producer and author after retiring from the ring in the late 1980s, going into the entertainment industry as a cabaret artist, singer, and comedian. He subsequently launched Neil Sands Productions.  His company produced popular, highly successful matinee nostalgia theatre shows tailored primarily for senior audiences across the UK.
Neil and Bob first met at Bob’s shop when he was there looking for a large PA for his shows and Bob ended up doing the sound for one of his shows, Ultimate Fantasy, a British version of The Chippendales usually booked for stags. Neil is a big fan of country music and wanted to put a county music theatre show together. Nashville Nights and Dixie Days ran for 4 or 5 years but was, in time, replaced by Remember When, also with Bob’s help, another matinee show for an older audience. It was a fast-paced musical journey designed to evoke memories of the “Golden Days”. It covered four major decades of music 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s and encouraged the audience to clap, laugh, and sing along.  Bob stayed with the show for 4 or 5 years before taking time off to concentrate on his solo career and his shop; his friend Jim Edmunds took over from him in the show. He stepped back into the show after a 6 year break when Jim moved to Spain, then covid struck.
Bob continues to work with Cheryl in Country Mile and also works solo in country clubs but also in social clubs doing 60s and rock ‘n’ roll. He also works with his long time friend Jim Edmunds when he comes over from Spain in another duo called Red Rock Country. He told me recently “I have never really got into modern music. Even these days if I do a social club its always old songs because he prefers to sing to that age of audience. They are nice people and are always happy to see you.”
Decades Duo recorded a couple of cassette albums and Bob has recorded a solo CD album Country Moments (2007) and a CD album with Country Mile, Our Country Journey which includes their signature song, ‘Country Mile’