"In the beginning"

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The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily the views of the blog management, (on the other hand, they are not necessarily not the views of the blog management).

No effort has been made to stay within the bounds of the truth in this blog as it has always been the view of the management that the truth should never be allowed to stand in the way of a good story.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Slim Dusty, Australian Legend.


This plaque, one of perhaps 50 (I didn't actually count them) set on large rocks at the front of the Country Music Centre at Tamworth NSW commemorates the life and achievements of my favourite Australian Country music artist, Slim Dusty, I was disappointed to find that in 2005 they had not updated the plaque with Slim's death in 2003, I hope that this has been done now.




David Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE (13 June 1927—19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning six decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson 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 (Pub With No Beer).[1] He received an unequalled 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.
Among Slim's huge tally of awards and achievements there is one that can never be taken away or equalled... The first artist broadcast from Space....
    ·  ·  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
Slim was the recipient of Australia's first Gold record and he also won more Gold and Platinum records than any other Australian artist.
Slim was honoured with an O.B.E. (order of the  British Empire) and an O.A. (order of Australia) for his services to the entertainment industry.
Slim won an unprecedented 37 Golden Guitar Awards from his 72 nominations,at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, this festival is Australia's equivalent to Nashville USA Grand Ole Opry, yet another triumph for Slim was his invitation to perform at the Opry.









Slim shared "pole" space with another artist Rex Dallas in 2005
















Not my best photos I'm afraid but good enough to get the general idea.


Please click to enbiggen.

3 comments:

Lee said...

Good post, Peter. I was never a fan of Slim, but I can understand that many were. Regardless of my thoughts...he is a legend...and good on him for that! I saw him in concert one Sunday afternoon at the Kuranda Amphitheatre. He and his daughter, Anne Kirkpatrick. I especially went along to see "The Flying Emus" who were a back-up band to his show.

I like your use of "I Love a Sunburnt Country". I just started reading a book last night by Susan Duncan; it's called "The House"...it's a true story...and the "house" which is the star so far of the book, was actually once the house built by Dorothea MacKellar. And so far, I'm loving the book!

Take good care.

Merle said...

Hi Peter ~~ Great post about Slim who was a great artist and very popular with many.
(Like Marcus). have a few of his albums, but not as many as you have. It must be nice to put on a post and have no trouble. See how next week's post goes. I cannot fathom why I can see our last 2 posts and nothing else. IF I click older posts it goes straight to I'm tired and I can't see the last two from there.Take care,Love Merle.

Cliff said...

Thanks Peter for this informative post. I've not heard slim but I'm sure he has plenty of fans in these parts.