David Gordon "Slim Dusty" Kirkpatrick, AO, OBE (June 13, 1927—September 19, 2003) was an iconic Australian country music singer-songwriter. Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in Kempsey Shire Council. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Australian country music is a vibrant part of the Music of Australia. Singer-songwriter is a term that refers to Performers who write, compose and sing their own material including Lyrics A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Singer-songwriter is a term that refers to Performers who write, compose and sing their own material including Lyrics He sold more than five million albums and singles in Australia. An album or record album is a collection of related audio or Music tracks distributed to the public

Early life/career

Slim was born David Gordon Kirkpatrick on June 13, 1927 in Kempsey, New South Wales, the son of a cattle farmer. Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in Kempsey Shire Council. He adopted the stage name "Slim Dusty" in 1938 at eleven years of age. A stage name, also called a screen name, is a Pseudonym used by Performers and Entertainers such as Events January 16 Benny Goodman plays the first jazz concert at Carnegie Hall. ^[1] His earliest musical influences included Jimmie Rodgers. Jimmie Rodgers ( September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) an early purveyor of Delta blues, known as "The Singing Brakeman" Slim released his first record in 1945 at the age of eighteen. Events The Motion Picture Daily Fame Poll designates Bing Crosby "Top Male Vocalist" for the ninth straight year In 1946 he signed his first recording contract with Columbia Graphophone for the Regal Zonophone label. ^[2]

Rise to fame

In 1951, Slim 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. His 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. Events January 5 - Renato Carosone and his band start their American tour in Cuba. A Pub With No Beer is the title of a well-known humorous country Song. ^[3]

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 Dusty was born). Taylors Arm is a small town in Nambucca Shire in New South Wales, Australia. 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. Bobbejaan Schoepen ( Pseudonym of Modest Schoepen, 16 May 1925, Boom, Antwerp) is a Flemish pioneer in Belgian

1964 saw the establishment of the annual Slim Dusty round Australia tour, a 30,000 mile 10 month journey.

Dusty not only recorded songs written by himself and other fellow Australian performers, but also recorded classic Australian poems by Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson with new tunes, to call attention to the old 'Bush Ballads. Henry Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922 was an Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson (17 February 1864 – 5 February 1941 was a famous Australian Bush poet, journalist and author ' An example is The Man from Snowy River by Paterson. " The Man From Snowy River " is a Poem by Australian Bush poet Banjo Paterson.

In 1970, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to music. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. In 1971 he won Best Single at the Australian Country Music Awards at the Tamworth Country Music Festival (Slim's wife Joy McKean won Song of the Year as writer of the song for which he won best single). Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia and is a celebration of Australian In all, he won a record 35 "Golden Guitars" over the years.

Slim Dusty and his wife were patrons of the National Truck Drivers' Memorial located at Tarcutta, New South Wales. Tarcutta is a small town located 438km south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway in New South Wales, Australia.

Slim Dusty plaque at the National Truck Driver Memorial at Tarcutta

The General Manager of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee invited him and his wife to perform in 1997, recognising 50 years contributing to Country Music. Tarcutta is a small town located 438km south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway in New South Wales, Australia.

He was given the honour to sing Waltzing Matilda in the Closing Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, with the whole stadium singing along with him. "Waltzing Matilda" is Australia 's most widely known country Folk song, and has been referred to as 'the unofficial national anthem of Australia'

Death

When he died in 2003, he had been working on his 106th album, for EMI Records. See also 2003 in music (UK Musical groups established in 2003 Record labels The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in The album Columbia Lane - the Last Sessions debuted at number five in the Australian album charts and number one on the country charts on March 8, 2004. Columbia Lane - the Last Sessions is an album released by Australian Country music singer Slim Dusty, who was recording the album when he died on 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's where he traversed to crack the national country music market from Kempsey. Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, Australia, connecting the Sydney with Parramatta.

He died at home in St Ives, New South Wales on 19 September 2003 after a protracted battle with cancer, at age 76. St Ives is a Suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ^[4]

Legacy

• Slim Dusty was the first artist broadcast from space when astronauts Bob Crippen and John Young played his rendition of Waltzing Matilda from the space shuttle "Columbia" as it passed over Australia in 1983^[5].
• Slim Dusty was a guest on the Wiggles' children DVD "Wiggly Wiggly World". The Wiggles are a children's musical group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1991
• His daughter Anne Kirkpatrick is also an award-winning country singer.

See also

• Slim Dusty Discography (incomplete)

References

1. ^ "Senior Australian of the Year"], 1999 award by the Australian government, retrieved March 10, 2008
2. ^ "Slim Dusty: The boy who lived his dream", The Age (Australia), September 21, 2003
3. ^ Dave" Laing, "Slim Dusty: Country singer famous for A Pub With No Beer", The Guardian (UK), September 20, 2003
4. ^ "Slim Dusty dies", Sydney Morning Herald, September 19, 2003
5. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/slim.htm" "Historian of the Bush: Australian country music icon Slim Dusty has died, aged 76 (Obituary: Slim Dusty dead)"], ABC News On-Line, retrieved 2007-06-20. Slim Dusty recorded 106 records in his career This is a list of most of them - as yet a definitive list of the years that the records were released has not been prepared

External links

• Official Website (includes a more thorough discography)
• Slim Dusty at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Slim Dusty Centre Project