THE Aussie Legend ...The Slim Dusty tale

THE SLIM DUSTY TALE

Slim Dusty, I can easily say that his one of my favourite song writers and performers ...yeah his "Country" BUT a outstanding tune smith is a outstanding tune smith

He’s known universally as Australia's King of Country, and it’s a title to which Slim Dusty can still lay an unchallenged claim, close to a decade after he passed away and took up his place at the head of the table in Country Music Heaven.

Slim has been the face of Australian country music for its entire history – close to 70 years, since its early roots in hillbilly and folk music. In that time, he evolved with the industry – setting the agenda and changing with the times.

Born David Gordon Kirkpatrick in 1927, at Nulla Nulla Creek near Kempsey, changed his name in 1938 at the age of 11 and never looked back. 

In 1951 he married fellow country singer Joy McKean, and the pair set off on a lifetime of travelling Australia, performing the music that emerged from their much-loved homeland, and that conveyed its passion and spirit so well. Along the way, they brought daughter Anne Kirkpatrick and son David Kirkpatrick into the world

Slim and Joy wrote several of Slim's most popular songs, including: "Walk A Country Mile", "Indian Pacific", "Kelly's Offsider", "The Angel Of Goulburn Hill" and "The Biggest Disappointment".  Although himself an accomplished writer of songs, Dusty had a number of other songwriters, including Mack Cormack, Gordon Parsons, Stan Coster, and Kelly Dixon, who were typically short on formal education but big on personal experience of the Australian bush. Drawing on his travels and such writers over a span of decades, Dusty chronicled the story of a rapidly changing postwar Australian nation. 

Nevertheless, the arrival of rock and roll music saw major metropolitan music radio stations abandon support for country artists, and despite record sales in the multimillions, after the 1950s, Dusty was rarely heard on-air outside regional centres in Australia.

 He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson that represented the Australian Bush Lifestyle, and also for his many trucking songs. Dusty was the first Australian to have a No. 1 Hit song with Gordon Parsons ("A Pub with No Beer").

 He received an un-equalled 37 Golden Guitar and two ARIA awards and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and the Country Music Roll of Renown. 

At the time of his death at the age of 76, Dusty had been working on his 106th album for EMI Records. In 2007, his domestic record sales in Australia surpassed seven million.

Dusty's 1957 hit "A Pub with No Beer" was the biggest-selling record by an Australian to that time, the first Australian single to go gold, and the first and only 78 rpm record to be awarded a gold disc. 

Over the course of his career, he collected more gold and platinum albums than any other Australian artist. (The "Pub with No Beer" is a real place, in Taylors Arm, not far from Kempsey where Slim was born). In 1959 and 1960, Dutch and German cover versions of the song became number one hits (even evergreens) in Belgium, Austria and Germany, brought by the Flemish country singer-guitarist and amusement park founder Bobbejaan Schoepen....I was there in 87 and can confirm that Bobby did do a version thereof

Dusty recorded and released his one hundredth album, Looking Forward, Looking Back, in 2000. All 100 albums had been recorded with the same record label, EMI, making Dusty the very first music artist in the world to record 100 albums with the same label. 

He was then given the honour of singing Waltzing Matilda in the Closing Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, with the whole stadium (officially 114,714 in attendance, the largest in Olympic history) singing along with him.

Dusty died at his home in St Ives, New South Wales, on 19 September 2003 at the age of 76 after a protracted battle with cancer....

Thousands gathered (me included) at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, on 26 September 2003 at a state funeral attended by the Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, and the federal opposition leader Simon Crean. Anglican Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen's tribute included leading the congregation of family, statesmen, fans, and musicians in the singing of "A Pub With No Beer". 

The funeral featured tributes from Slim's children as well as words from other national music stars (Peter Garrett and John Williamson) and music from Graeme Connors, Kasey Chambers, and Troy Cassar-Daley. Thousands of fans travelled from around Australia to stand outside the cathedral.

At the time of his death, Dusty had been working on his 106th album for EMI. The album Columbia Lane – the Last Sessions debuted at number five in the Australian album charts and number one on the country charts on 8 March 2004. It went gold after being on sale for less than two weeks.

Columbia Lane is a tribute to the laneway juxtaposed to Parramatta Road in Strathfield (near the railway bridge link), where the EMI studios once stood (now Kennards Hire), and it is where he traversed to begin his music career.....

In 2004, Tamworth hosted the "Concert for Slim" as a memorial tribute featuring more than 30 Australian musical artists including Paul Kelly, Keith Urban, Lee Kernaghan and Kasey Chambers

In 2005, a statue of the "Cunumulla Fella" was unveiled in Cunnamulla, Queensland, in tribute to Dusty and Stan Coster and to the iconic song of that name performed by Dusty with lyrics by Coster.

The song recalls Coster's days working as a sheep-shearing "ringer" around Cunnamulla in the 1950s. Dusty recorded the song and it became an enduring country music hit, later covered by Lee Kernaghan. The statue was unveiled by country music personalities Anne Kirkpatrick (Dusty's daughter), Jayne Kelly, and Tracy and Russell Coster.....EMI Records' Australian sales of Slim Dusty records surpassed 7 million in 2007.

Honours and milestones

The first Australian to receive a Gold Record.

The first Australian to have an international record hit (A Pub with No Beer).

made a Member of the Order of the British Empire and an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to entertainment.

The first artist broadcast from space when astronauts played his rendition of Waltzing Matilda from Space Shuttle Columbia as it passed over Australia on its maiden flight in 1981.

The winner of an unequalled 36 Golden Guitar awards from 72 nominations at the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

 (see www.country.com.au/cmaa-awards/winners-archive)

One of the earliest members of Australia's country music Roll of Renown.

The achiever of more Gold Record and Platinum Record Awards than any other Australian artist.

Inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and the ARIA Special Achievement Award.

The Royal Australian Mint issued a coin celebrating his life.

Chronological list of all of Slims albums

(and WHAT a list)

Slim Dusty Sings

Songs For Rolling Stones

Along The Road Of Song

Aussie Sing Song

Songs In The Saddle

Another Aussie Sing Song

Songs Of Australia

People And Places

Australian Bush Ballads

The Nature Of The Man

An Evening With Slim And Joy

Essentially Australian

The Best Of Slim Dusty

Songs My Father Sang To Me

Songs From The Cattle Camps

Sing Along With Dad

Cattle Camp Crooner

Slim Dusty Encores

Sing A Happy Song

Songs From The Land I Love

Glory Bound Train

Live At Wagga Wagga

Me And My Guitar

Foolin' Around

The Best Of Slim Dusty/Country Living (WRC)

Live At Tamworth

Dusty Tracks

Tall Stories And Sad Songs

Slim Dusty - Australiana

Dinki Di Aussies

The Best Of Slim Dusty (Vol 2)

Lights On The Hill

Way Out There

Things I See Around Me

Give Me The Road

Slim Dusty - This Is Your Life

Songs From Down Under

Just Slim - With Old Friends

On The Move

Travellin' Country Man

To Whom It May Concern

Slim Dusty Sings His Favourite Songs (2 LP Set/WRC)

The Entertainer (Live At The Sydney Opera House)

Spirit Of Australia

Slim Dusty Rarities

Rodeo Riders

Walk A Country Mile

A Guitar And A Hat (3 LP Set WRC)

The Man Who Steadies The Lead

No 50 - Golden Anniversary Album

Slim Dusty Family Album

Where Country Is

Vintage Album (Vol 1)

Who's Riding Old Harlequin Now

Vintage Album (Vol 2)

On The Wallaby

I Haven't Changed A Bit

Trucks On The Track

Slim Dusty Movie (Soundtrack)

The Best Of Slim Dusty (6 LP Set/Reader's Digest)

I'll Take Mine Country Style

Singer From Down Under

To A Mate (Mack Cormack)

Australia Is His Name (3 LP Set)

Live Across Australia

Stories I Wanted To Tell

Vintage Album (Vol 3)

Slim Dusty's Beer Drinking Songs Of Australia

Neon City

Country Living

Cattlemen From The High Plains

The Heritage Album

Slim Dusty - Sings Stan Coster

G'day G'day

King Of Kalgoorlie

Morse Code and the Sauce (with Matthew Morse)

Slim Dusty - Henry Lawson And Banjo Paterson

Vintage Album (Vol 4)

Two Singers One Song7

Coming Home

Vintage Album (Vol 5)

A Land He Calls Our Own

Slim Dusty Sings Joy McKean

Travellin' Guitar

Live Into The '90s

That's The Song We're Singing

Ringer From The Top End

Anniversary Album No 2 (1943–1993)

Natural High

Country Way Of Life

Live At Townsville 1956 (Theatre Royal)

Country Classics (3 CD Set/Reader's Digest)

91 Over 50

A Time To Remember

Makin' A Mile

Talk About The Good Times

Land Of Lots Of Time - Songs Of Australia (2 CD Set)

Down The Dusty Road-Old Time Drover's Lament (2 CD Set)

The Very Best Of Slim Dusty

'99 (1999)

Looking Forward, Looking Back (2000)

West Of Winton

The Men From Nulla Nulla - Reunited And Revisited

Travellin' Still...Always Will (with Anne Kirkpatrick)

The Very Best of Slim Dusty - Bonus edition (2003) contains "Waltzing Matilda" and "Looking Forward, Looking Back"

Another Day, Another Town (2003)

Columbia Lane - the Last Sessions (2004)

A DUSTY LEGEND

REGGIE RULES..The glittering tale of Elton John

Elton Hercules John...has been in my record collection since...um...forever...between him and Bernie they write a good bloody tune, you must admit...anyway, to the tale of the man himself

In terms of sales and lasting popularity, Elton John was the biggest pop superstar of the early '70s. Initially marketed as a singer/songwriter, John soon revealed he could craft Beatlesque pop and pound out rockers with equal aplomb. He could dip into soul, disco, and country, as well as classic pop balladry and even progressive rock. 

His versatility, combined with his effortless melodic skills, dynamic charisma, and flamboyant stage shows, made him the most popular recording artist of the '70s. Unlike many pop stars, John was able to sustain his popularity, charting a Top 40 single every single year from 1970 to 1996. During that time, he had temporary slumps in creativity and sales, as he fell out of favor with critics, had fights with his lyricist, Bernie Taupin, and battled various addictions and public scandals. 

But through it all, John remained a remarkably popular artist, and many of his songs -- including "Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" -- became contemporary pop standards.

The son of a former Royal Air Force trumpeter, John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947. Dwight began playing piano at the age of four, and when he was 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. After studying for six years, he left school with the intention of breaking into the music business. In 1961, he joined his first band, Bluesology, and divided his time between playing with the group, giving solo concerts at a local hotel, and running errands for a London publishing house. 

By 1965, Bluesology was backing touring American soul and R&B musicians like Major Lance, Doris Troy, and the Bluebells. In 1966, Bluesology became Long John Baldry's supporting band and began touring cabarets throughout England. Dwight became frustrated with Baldry's control of the band and began searching for other groups to join. He failed his lead vocalist auditions for both King Crimson and Gentle Giant before responding to an advertisement by Liberty Records. Though he failed his Liberty audition, he was given a stack of lyrics left with the label courtesy of Bernie Taupin, who had also replied to the ad. Dwight wrote music for Taupin's lyrics and began corresponding with him through mail. By the time the two met six months later, Dwight had changed his name to Elton John, taking his first name from Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and his last from John Baldry.

 John and Taupin were hired by Dick James to become staff songwriters at his fledgling DJM in 1968. The pair collaborated at a rapid rate, with Taupin submitting batches of lyrics -- he often wrote a song an hour -- every few weeks. John would then write music without changing the words, sometimes completing the songs in under a half-hour. Over the next two years, the duo wrote songs for pop singers like Roger Cook and Lulu. In the meantime, John recorded cover versions of current hits for budget labels to be sold in supermarkets. By the summer of 1968, he had begun recording singles for release under his own name. Usually, these songs were more rock- and radio-oriented than the tunes he and Taupin were giving to other vocalists, yet neither of his early singles for Philips, "I've Been Loving You Too Long" and "Lady Samantha," sold well. In June of 1969, he released his debut album for DJM, Empty Sky, which received fair reviews, but no sales.

For his second album, John and Taupin hired producer Gus Dudgeon and arranger Paul Buckmaster, who contributed grandiose string charts to Elton John. Released in the summer of 1970, Elton John began to make inroads in America, where it appeared on MCA's Uni subsidiary. In August, he gave his first American concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, which received enthusiastic reviews, as well as praise from Quincy Jones and Leon Russell. Throughout the fall, Elton John continued to climb the charts on the strength of the Top Ten single "Your Song." John followed it quickly in late 1970 with the concept album Tumbleweed Connection, which received heavy airplay on album-oriented radio in the U.S., helping it climb into the Top Ten. The rapid release of Tumbleweed Connection established a pattern of frequent releases that John maintained throughout his career. In 1971, he released the live 11-17-70 and the Friends soundtrack, before releasing Madman Across the Water late in the year. Madman Across the Water was successful, but John achieved stardom with the follow-up, 1972's Honky Chateau. Recorded with his touring band -- bassist Dee Murray, drummer Nigel Olsson, and guitarist Davey Johnstone -- and featuring the hit singles "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat," Honky Chateau became his first American number one album, spending five weeks at the top of the charts.

 Between 1972 and 1976, John and Taupin's hitmaking machine was virtually unstoppable. "Rocket Man" began a four-year streak of 16 Top 20 hits in a row; out of those 16 -- including "Crocodile Rock," "Daniel," "Bennie and the Jets," "The Bitch Is Back," and "Philadelphia Freedom" -- only one, the FM hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," failed to reach the Top Ten. Honky Chateau began a streak of seven consecutive number one albums -- Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973), Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), Caribou (1974), Greatest Hits (1974), Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975), Rock of the Westies (1975) -- that all went platinum. John founded Rocket, a record label distributed by MCA, in 1973 in order to sign and produce acts like Neil Sedaka and Kiki Dee. John didn't become a Rocket recording artist himself, choosing to stay with MCA for a record-breaking eight-million-dollar contract in 1974. Later in 1974, he played and sang on John Lennon's number one comeback single "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," and he persuaded Lennon to join him on-stage at Madison Square Garden on Thanksgiving Day 1974; it would prove to be Lennon's last live performance. The following year, Captain Fantastic became John's first album to enter the American charts at number one. After its release, he revamped his band, which now featured Johnstone, Quaye, Roger Pope, Ray Cooper, and bassist Kenny Passarelli; Rock of the Westies was the first album to feature this lineup.

Throughout the mid-'70s, John's concerts were enormously popular, as were his singles and albums, and he continued to record and perform at a rapid pace until 1976. 

That year, he revealed in an interview in Rolling Stone that he was bisexual; he would later admit that the confession was a compromise, since he was afraid to reveal that he was homosexual. Many fans reacted negatively to John's bisexuality, and his audience began to shrink somewhat in the late '70s. The decline in his record sales was also due to his exhaustion. After 1976, John cut his performance schedule drastically, announcing that he was retiring from live performances in 1977 and started recording only one album a year.

 His relationship with Taupin became strained following the release of 1976's double album Blue Moves, and the lyricist began working with other musicians. John returned in 1978 with A Single Man, which was written with Gary Osborne; the record produced no Top 20 singles. That year, he returned to live performances, first by jamming at the Live Stiffs package tour, then by launching a comeback tour in 1979 accompanied only by percussionist Ray Cooper. "Mama Can't Buy You Love," a song he recorded with Philly soul producer Thom Bell in 1977, returned him to the Top Ten in 1979, but that year's Victim of Love was a commercial disappointment.

John reunited with Taupin for 1980's 21 at 33, which featured the Top Ten single "Little Jeannie." Over the next three years, John remained a popular concert artist, but his singles failed to break the Top Ten, even if they reached the Top 40. In 1981, he signed with Geffen Records and his second album, Jump Up!, became a gold album on the strength of "Blue Eyes" and "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," his tribute to John Lennon. 

But it was 1983's Too Low for Zero that began his last great streak of hit singles, with the MTV hit "I'm Still Standing" and the Top Ten single "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." Throughout the rest of the '80s, John's albums would consistently go gold, and they always generated at least one Top 40 single; frequently, they featured Top Ten singles like "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" (1984), "Nikita" (1986), "Candle in the Wind" (1987), and "I Don't Want to Go on with You Like That" (1988).

 While his career continued to be successful, his personal life was in turmoil. Since the mid-'70s, he had been addicted to cocaine and alcohol, and the situation only worsened during the '80s. In a surprise move, he married engineer Renate Blauel in 1984; the couple stayed married for four years, although John later admitted he realized he was homosexual before his marriage. In 1986, he underwent throat surgery while on tour, but even after he successfully recovered, he continued to consume record amounts of  cocaine and alcohol.
 

Following a record-breaking five-date stint at Madison Square Garden in 1988, John auctioned off all of his theatrical costumes, thousands of pieces of memorabilia, and his extensive record collection through Sotheby's. The auction was a symbolic turning point. Over the next two years, John battled both his drug addiction and bulimia, undergoing hair replacement surgery at the same time. By 1991 he was sober, and the following year he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation; he also announced that he would donate all royalties from his single sales to AIDS research.

Elton returned to active recording with The One. Peaking at number eight on the U.S. charts and going double platinum, the album became his most successful record since Blue Moves and sparked a career renaissance for John. He and Taupin signed a record-breaking publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 1992 for an estimated 39 million dollars. In 1994, John collaborated with lyricist Tim Rice on songs for Disney's animated feature The Lion King. One of their collaborations, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. John's 1995 album Made in England continued his comeback, peaking at number three on the U.K. charts and number 13 in the U.S.; in America, the album went platinum.

 The 1997 follow-up, The Big Picture, delivered more of the same well-crafted pop, made the Top Ten, and produced a hit in "Something About the Way You Look Tonight." However, its success was overshadowed by John's response to the tragic death of Princess Diana -- he re-recorded "Candle in the Wind" (originally a eulogy for Marilyn Monroe) as a tribute to his slain friend, with Taupin adapting the lyrics for what was planned as the B-side of "Something About the Way You Look Tonight."

With the profits earmarked for Diana's favorite charities, and with a debut performance at Diana's funeral, "Candle in the Wind 1997" became the fastest-selling hit of all time in both Britain and the U.S. upon the single's release, easily debuting at number one on both sides of the Atlantic; with first-week sales of over three million copies in the U.S. alone and 14 weeks in the top spot, it was John's biggest hit ever.

 For his next project, John reunited with Lion King collaborator Tim Rice to write songs for Disney's Broadway musical adaptation of the story of Aida; an album of their efforts featuring a who's who of contemporary pop musicians was released in early 1999, going gold by the end of the year. In late 2000, John landed a TV special with CBS, performing a selection of his greatest hits at Madison Square Garden; a companion album drawn from those performances, One Night Only, was issued shortly before the special aired. Released in 2001, Songs from the West Coast was a return to form for John, who found critical success for the first time since the '80s.

 However, it wasn't until 2004's popular Peachtree Road album that he managed to match that success commercially. In 2006, John and Taupin released The Captain & the Kid, a sequel to 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. John busied himself with stage work and a Vegas show before he unexpectedly recorded a duet album with Leon Russell, releasing the T-Bone Burnett-produced The Union in the fall of 2010.

The Union revived Russell's career and the duo supported the record with a limited tour. John settled into another Vegas stint in 2011, signing a contract with Caesars Palace to deliver a show called The Million Dollar Piano over the next three years. 

Despite this long-term commitment, Elton pursued other projects: he published an autobiography called Love Is the Cure in the summer of 2012 and around the same time, the Australian dance duo Pnau reworked many of his classic '70s recordings on the Good Morning to the Night album. He also completed another collection of new songs called The Diving Board; the T-Bone Burnett-produced album appeared in September 

1969 Empty Sky 

1970 Elton John  

 1970 Tumbleweed Connection 

1970 The Games

1971 Friends

 1971 11-17-70

1971 Madman Across the Water

1972 Honky Chateau 

1973 Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player 

1973 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

1974 Caribou

1975 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy 

1975 Rock of the Westies  

1976 Blue Moves

1978 A Single Man 

1979 Victim of Love

 1980 21 at 33

 1981 The Fox 

1982 Jump Up!  

1983 Too Low for Zero  

1984 Breaking Hearts 

1985 Ice on Fire 

1986 Leather Jackets

1987 Live in Australia 

 1988 Reg Strikes Back 

1989 Sleeping with the Past 

1992 The One 

1993 Duets

1995 Made in England 

1997 The Big Picture

1999 Elton John & Tim Rice's "Aida" 

1999 The Muse

 2000 The Road to El Dorado

 2000 One Night Only

 2001 Songs from the West Coast

 2004 Peachtree Road 

 2006 The Captain & the Kid

2010 Live in Verona

2010 The Union

2012 Good Morning to the Night

2013 The Diving Board 

REGGIE RULES