Music like William Elliott Whitmore

William Elliott Whitmore (born May 11, 1978) is an American blues, country, folk singer and musician. He plays roots-folk music that is often inspired by his life on his family farm in the hills of southeastern Iowa.

Whitmore grew up on a 160-acre horse farm in Lee County, Iowa, not far outside of Keokuk, Iowa. His parents, Elyse Whitmore (née Tweedy) and Harold Whitmore, were farmers, and the farm had been in his family since his third great grandfather, who was an immigrant from Ireland. After his parents died, he converted the farm to row crops, which he leases to a neighboring farmer so he can be on the road to perform. He has an older brother and sister.

While he was growing up, the family was musical, with his dad playing the guitar, his mother playing the accordion and piano, and both his paternal and maternal grandfathers playing the banjo. Charley Pride and Willie Nelson were huge influences growing up. Whitmore sang from his earliest years, but when he was a teenager he began playing guitar, then eventually the banjo.