Slim Dusty, AOMBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon, referred to universally as Australia's King of Country Music[1] and one of the country's most awarded stars, with a career spanning nearly seven decades and producing numerous recordings. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australia genre, particularly of bush life, including works by renowned Australian bush poetsHenry Lawson and Banjo Paterson, who represented the lifestyle. The music genre was coined the "bush ballad", a style first made popular by Buddy Williams. Dusty was also known for his many trucking songs.
David Gordon Kirkpatrick was born on 13 June 1927 in Nulla Nulla Creek west of Kempsey, New South Wales, the son of a cattle farmer. His childhood home, "Homewood", survives and is now heritage-listed. He was known by his middle name, Gordon. He wrote his first song, "The Way the Cowboy Dies", in 1937 and adopted the stage name "Slim Dusty" in 1938 at age 11.[3] His earliest musical influences included American Jimmie Rodgers, New Zealander Tex Morton, and Australia's Buddy Williams. In 1945, Dusty wrote "When the Rain Tumbles Down in July" and released his first record that year at age 18. In 1946, he signed his first recording contract with Columbia Graphophone for the Regal Zonophone label.[4]
In 1951, Dusty married singer-songwriter Joy McKean and, with her help, achieved great success around Australia. In 1954, the two launched a full-time business career, including the Slim Dusty Travelling Show. McKean was Dusty's wife and manager for over 50 years.
McKean's sister Heather, half of the McKean Sisters music duo that preceded Joy's association with Dusty, was married to Australian country singer Reg Lindsay, before separating and later divorcing in the 1980s, whereupon the McKean sisters re-started their music duo.
Together Dusty and Joy McKean had two children, Anne Kirkpatrick and David Kirkpatrick, who are also accomplished singer-songwriters.[5]
Dusty hits written by Joy McKean
McKean wrote several of Dusty's most popular songs, including "Lights On The Hill", "Walk a Country Mile", "Indian Pacific", "Kelly's Offsider", "The Angel of Goulburn Hill" and "The Biggest Disappointment".[6]
Other songwriters' contributions
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.
First megahit
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.[7] (The "Pub with No Beer" is a real place, in Taylors Arm, not far from Kempsey, where Slim was born.)[8] 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.
In 1964 the annual Slim Dusty Australia-round tour, a 48,280 kilometres (30,000 mi) journey that went on for ten months, was started. This regular event was the subject of a feature film, The Slim Dusty Movie, in 1984.
Contributions of other songwriters
Dusty recorded not only songs written by himself and other fellow Australian performers but also classic Australian poems by Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson, with new tunes to call attention to the old "bush ballads". An example is "The Man from Snowy River" by Paterson. The 1980 album and songs The Man Who Steadies the Lead and The Pearl of Them All were the works of Paterson's rival for the title of Australia's bush balladeer, Scottish-Australian poet Will H. Ogilvie (1869–1963). In 1970, Dusty was made a member of the Order of the British Empire for services to music.[9]
Dusty and his wife were patrons of the National Truck Drivers' Memorial, located in Tarcutta, New South Wales.
The general manager of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, Bob Whitaker, invited Dusty and his wife to perform in 1997, recognising 50 years of contributing to country music.
The following January, Dusty was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to the entertainment industry.[11]
Dusty recorded and released his 100th album, Looking Forward, Looking Back, in 2000 and became the first artist in worldwide commercial recording history to do so; second was Cliff Richard. All 100 albums were recorded with the same record label, EMI, making Dusty the first music artist in the world to record 100 albums with the same label.[12]
Dusty was appointed to sing "Waltzing Matilda" at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics; the whole stadium (officially 114,714 in attendance, the largest in Olympic history) sang along with him.[13][14]
ARIA Music Awards (ARIA)
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards or ARIA Awards) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
Slim Dusty has won one award from 10 nominations.
Additionally, Dusty was awarded two achievement awards and inducted into the Hall of Fame.[15]
The Country Music Awards (CMAA) are an annual awards ceremondy celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. It first commenced in 1973 at the TamworthCountry Music Awards of Australia.
Note: the Most Popular Australian Country Musician award was only presented in 1977 and 1978.
Mo Awards
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Slim Dusty won two awards in that time. From 2006, the "best country entertainer" award was named in his honour.[23]
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result (wins only)
1985
Slim Dusty
Male Country Entertainer of the Year
Won
2015
Slim Dusty
Special Lifetime Achievement Award
Won
Tamworth Songwriters Awards
The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. They commenced in 1986.[24] Slim Dusty won two awards in that time.[25]
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result (wins only)
1993
"Bucking Horse Called Time" by Slim Dusty and Keith Garvey
Traditional Bush Ballad of the Year
Won
1996
"Fifteen Hundred Head" by Slim Dusty and K&M Dixon
Traditional Bush Ballad of the Year
Won
Country gospel music interest
Dusty's repertoire included country gospel music, with which he liked to finish his shows.[26] His live albums usually carried the theme, and in 1971 he released the Gospel album Glory Bound Train featuring the eponymous hit Glory Bound Train and other songs of a Christian theme. Glory Bound Train was in turn the song selected to conclude the tribute concert held at Tamworth after his death. The "Concert for Slim" was recorded live on 20 January 2004, at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre, and an all-star cast of Australian musicians sang out the show with Slim's Glory Bound Train. The DVD was certified 3× Platinum in Australia.[27]
Eminent figures, including the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, and the federal opposition leader, Simon Crean, attended a state funeral at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney on 26 September 2003, where thousands had gathered. In the funeral, the Anglican Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen paid tribute by leading the congregation of family, statesmen, fans and musicians in the singing of "A Pub With No Beer". Several tributes were featured from Dusty's children as well as words from other national musicians (Peter Garrett and John Williamson) and music from Graeme Connors, Kasey Chambers and Troy Cassar-Daley. Around Australia, thousands of fans gathered to stand outside the cathedral; Dusty was later cremated.
Dusty had been working on his 106th album for EMI at the time of his death. On 8 March 2004 the album, Columbia Lane – the Last Sessions, debuted at number five on the Australian album charts and number one on the country charts. Gold status was achieved 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 a Kennards Self Storage store), and where he began his music career.
In 2005, in tribute to the iconic song "Cunnamulla Fella" performed by Dusty with lyrics by Stan Coster, an eponymous statue was unveiled in the Queensland town of Cunnamulla.[30]
EMI Records' Australian sales of Dusty's records surpassed seven million in 2007.[31]
Milestones
Slim Dusty was Australia's most successful and prolific musical artist, with more Gold and Platinum albums than any other Australian artist.[32] He was also:[12]
