Friday Oct 22, 2021
Australian-Charts-EP.21 1963 Pt.4B
Australian Music Archives
Building on the work of many others, this series of podcasts charts the development of Australian Music. The Chart series commences at 1957 with the introduction of Top 40 charts. Other series will focus on Singers and Groups. Whilst 1957 is the starting-point, we will also be moving back in time to chart the rich history of Australian Music in many forms, before the beginning of the Top 40 era. The general principle in the development of these podcasts is 'let the music do the talking'. Thus, there will be a premium on musical content, with less emphasis on the narrative. Occasionally, when there is a good story to be told (and there are many!), I may wax a touch lyrical, more so in the Singers and Groups series. The key reference work is David Kent's "Australian Chart Chronicles 1940-2008", a truly monumental work in its breadth of detail. Many people/sites have contributed to the research for the podcasts; too many to name them all but special thanks to the History of Aussie Music Blogspot, the Milesago Facebook page, the Best of Bandstand Facebook page and the Pop Archives site, where you can answer the question, "Where did they get that song from?". Many video contributors on You Tube have been a great resource in finding obscure songs including Folk Rock Australian Rock More! sallie6 and Clem Viney and there are many others! The podcasts are designed to be a permanent record and as such this is a 'labour of love' and strictly not-for-profit. I have attempted to partner with a major Australian organisation but, alas, no interest! Thus, as my late Father would have said, I am the "chief cook and bottle-washer" which means that I'm researcher, scriptwriter, digitiser, narrator and producer. As such, especially in terms of digitising vinyl records, there may appear to the ear of the listener, to be less-than-optimal sound. I work all music through Audacity, vinyl or otherwise, but, at times with old vinyl, "you can only do so much"! So, please enjoy the podcasts and let me know what you think.
Listen on:
Episodes
Episodes
Friday Oct 15, 2021
Friday Oct 15, 2021
So much Australian content for the last quarter of 1963 that I've split it into two parts. Part A will take us through to mid-November, as the 'Summer of Surf' cranks up. The Delltones, The Denvermen, The Joy Boys & Johnny Devlin provide the surfin' action. Some old favourites chime in with new music, including Jimmy Little and his best-remembered song, Royal Telephone. Johnny O'Keefe has yet another double-sided hit with Shake Baby Shake/Good Luck Charm. And, almost from left field, The Seekers' career is launched with their first 45, a version of Waltzing Matilda, with Bruce Woodley taking the lead. Enjoy Part A and I'll get Part B up next week.
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Friday Oct 08, 2021
A fill-in of sorts for this week's episode; the first in the Australian EPs series. This episode features two very early Australian EPs; Johnny O'Keefe & The Dee Jays with Whole Lotta' Shakin', their first EP, 1957, and The Crescents with their first EP, Rock Time, 1960. The two EPs are connected through Johnny O'Keefe because in his alias as "Johnny Cash Jnr.", he arranged and produced the Rock Time EP for The Crescents. The two EPs also share an unusual trait in that none of the tracks were released on an original 45 in Australia. The EP had a chequered lifespan in Australia, actually first appearing in 1954. At times, the EP became a cash-in, recycling songs that first appeared on a 45. These two EPs are not of that type!
I hope to have the next episode in the Charts Series ready for next week. I'm missing one song but the 45 is in the mail. Fingers crossed!
Friday Oct 01, 2021
Friday Oct 01, 2021
Recording-wise, this is a relatively short episode because Yvonne Barrett was woefully under-recorded for an artist of her talent. Most would be aware of the circumstances of her tragic passing; murdered in a Birchgrove, Sydney apartment in 1985. In some ways, this is a story of a child-star moving into an adult world; Yvonne's stage career started at the age of 10. In 1964, just before she burst onto the pop scene, Yvonne told Teenagers' Weekly that her dream was to move into musical theatre; to play the lead in the musical, Gypsy, to be exact. So there's an element of unfulfilled ambition in this story. There's also many gaps in the story; not the least of which is why there was a ten-month gap between her 1st and 2nd GO!! label 45 releases. Finally, there's the question of how, the Vietnamese refugee, Hoang Van Truong, jailed for life for Yvonne's murder, managed to get unconditional parole in 1995 and then apparently vanish from sight. I do have some comments to make on this situation that may bring some finality to the mystery. It is a case of; enjoy the musical talents of Yvonne Barrett, and hopefully learn a little about how a life, so full of promise, could end so tragically.
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
The Winter/Early Spring of 1963 is dominated by one sound; Bombora! The Atlantics' mega-hit dominates this quarter and indeed the rest of the year, it lasted a massive 26 weeks in the charts. Sadly as I publish this episode, I relate the sad news of the passing of Atlantics' drummer, Peter Hood on 22 September 2021. When you listen to Bombora, you can't miss the pounding drum beat that underpins the epic sound. Vale Peter Hood. There's a good deal of other instrumental magic in this episode, including Rob E.G.'s, 55 Days at Peking and The Denvermen's Avalon Stomp. The Bee Gees' 2nd 45, Timber, makes the chart as does The De Kroo Brothers' biggest hit, (And Her Name Is) Scarlet. And Frank Ifield's chart run continues with Waltzing Matilda! Frank's version really swings! Enjoy!
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Heading to the winter of '63, we'll hear some moments of historical significance and some moments of oddness! The first chart success for The Bee Gees, The Battle of The Blue and The Grey, and Barry Gibb's first chart success as a composer for another artist, Col Joye's Starlight of Love, provide the historically significant moments. Darryl Stewart, star of Bobby Limb's Sound of Music, provides the oddness with, I Watch The Surf, the vocal version of The Denvermen's Surfside! Johnny O'Keefe hits with another double-sided No. 1, Move Baby Move/You'll Never Cherish a Love So True. Jay Justin reaches No. 4 with his biggest-ever hit, Proud of You. And, plenty for instrumental fans, with chart entries from Rob E.G., The Phantoms, The Denvermen, The Vibratones (genesis of The Aztecs) and plenty more: Enjoy!
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
Onto 1963 and the first quarter, with the biggest hit going to The Delltones, now with lead singer Col Loughnan; Come a Little Bit Closer. The Denvermen kick things off with the soothing surf sound of Surfside, a summer before the main surf era in Australia, the summer of 1963/4. A solo debut for Colin Cook hits in January; It's Up To You. And plenty of instrumental action from The Thunderbirds, The Marksmen and a version of Mary Had a Little Lamb (yes-no typo!) for Melbourne band, The Premiers! Enjoy!
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Monday Aug 30, 2021
The last quarter of 1962 is full of Australian artist chart successes. Yet again, Frank Ifield scores the highest position with Lovesick Blues reaching No.2. Johnny O'Keefe chimes in with a couple of entries including a double-sided hit written by New York songwriter Alice Evelyn. Some very strong instrumentals appear, including The Chessmen (without Johnny) and The Rebel (Johnny Yuma), and The Phantoms with Stampede which, 12 months later, would be referred to as "Surf Music". With the nuclear threat very prominent, Kevin Shegog comes to the rescue with "Fallout Shelter", although it's not the shelter that will save you but rather......take a listen and enjoy! And, Merry Christmas for 1962 with The Joy Boys' Xmas Guitar!
Sunday Aug 22, 2021
Sunday Aug 22, 2021
Returning to the Singers Series and Part 1 of the Johnny Rebb Project: The Early Years with his band, The Rebels. For Donald James Delbridge, the story began with a sole Columbia release in 1958 before being signed, with The Rebels, to the Leedon/Lee Gordon label. This episode will chart the successful 45/EP releases of this period and Johnny's only-ever LP release, Some Swing Some Sweet. This is a real Australian success story, the course of which will be charted in future episodes.
Welcome
Building on the work of many others, this series of podcasts charts the development of Australian Music. The Chart series commences at 1957 with the introduction of Top 40 charts. Other series will focus on Singers and Groups. Whilst 1957 is the starting-point, we will also be moving back in time to chart the rich history of Australian Music in many forms, before the beginning of the Top 40 era. The general principle in the development of these podcasts is 'let the music do the talking'. Thus, there will be a premium on musical content, with less emphasis on the narrative. Occasionally, when there is a good story to be told (and there are many!), I may wax a touch lyrical, more so in the Singers and Groups series. The key reference work is David Kent's "Australian Chart Chronicles 1940-2008", a truly monumental work in its breadth of detail. Many people/sites have contributed to the research for the podcasts; too many to name them all but special thanks to the History of Aussie Music Blogspot, the Milesago Facebook page, the Best of Bandstand Facebook page and the Pop Archives site, where you can answer the question, "Where did they get that song from?". Many video contributors on You Tube have been a great resource in finding obscure songs including Folk Rock Australian Rock More! sallie6 and Clem Viney and there are many others! The podcasts are designed to be a permanent record and as such this is a 'labour of love' and strictly not-for-profit. I have attempted to partner with a major Australian organisation but, alas, no interest! Thus, as my late Father would have said, I am the "chief cook and bottle-washer" which means that I'm researcher, scriptwriter, digitiser, narrator and producer. As such, especially in terms of digitising vinyl records, there may appear to the ear of the listener, to be less-than-optimal sound. I work all music through Audacity, vinyl or otherwise, but, at times with old vinyl, "you can only do so much"! So, please enjoy the podcasts and let me know what you think.