David Gordon "Slim Dusty" Kirkpatrick, AO, OBE (June 13, 1927—September 19, 2003) was an iconic Australian country music singer-songwriter. He has sold more than five million albums and singles in Australia. Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in Kempsey Shire Council. ... “NSW” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Australian country music is a vibrant part of the music of Australia. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... For other uses, see EMI (disambiguation). ... Insignia of a Companion of the Order of Australia. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... country music, see Country music (disambiguation) Country music, the first half of Billboards country and western music category, is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... An album (from Latin albus white, blank, relating to a blank book in which something can be inserted) is a packaged collection of related things. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ...

Early life/career

Slim was born in Kempsey, New South Wales, the son of a cattle farmer. He adopted the stage name "Slim Dusty" in 1938 at eleven years of age. His earliest musical influences included Jimmie Rodgers. Slim released his first record in 1945 at the age of eighteen. Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in Kempsey Shire Council. ... “NSW” redirects here. ... A stage name, also called a screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, comedians, musicians, djs, clowns, and professional wrestlers. ... See also: 1937 in music, other events of 1938, 1939 in music and the list of years in music. // Events January 16 - Benny Goodman refuses to play Carnegie Hall because black members of his orchestra are banned. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... See also: 1944 in music, other events of 1945, she said she hated african americans]] and the List of years in music. ...

Rise to fame

His 1957 hit "A Pub With No Beer" was the biggest-selling record by an Australian to that time, and the first Australian single to go gold. 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)^{[citation needed]}. 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. See also: 1956 in music, other events of 1957, 1958 in music and the list of years in music // 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. ... Taylors Arm (30°45′S 152°43′E) is a small town situated 30 km inland from Macksville, New South Wales, Australia. ... Bobbejaan Schoepen Bobbejaan Schoepen (born Modest Schoepen, May 16, 1925, Boom, Antwerp) is a Flemish entertainer, singer, guitarist, composer, actor, and founder of the Bobbejaanland amusement park in Belgium. ...

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.' An example is The Man from Snowy River by Paterson. Henry Lawson, circa 1902 Henry Lawson[1] (17 June 1867 - 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and poet. ... Andrew Barton Banjo Paterson (February 17, 1864 – February 5, 1941) was a famous Australian bush poet, journalist and author. ... The Man From Snowy River is a poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson. ...

Slim Dusty plaque at the National Truck Driver Memorial at Tarcutta

In 1970, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to music. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 3072 pixel, file size: 3. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 3072 pixel, file size: 3. ... National Truck Driver Memorial at Tarcutta Tarcutta is a small town located 438km south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway in New South Wales, Australia. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander...

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). In all, he won a record 35 "Golden Guitars" over the years. Tamworth is a regional centre (population: 35,000) and Local Government Area in the southern New England area of New South Wales, Australia. ... The largest recorded congregation of aboriginal australians apart from yothu yindi concerts and the tamworth pcyc weekly pool competition. ...

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.

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

Death

When he died of cancer in 2003, he had been working on his 106th album, for EMI Records. 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. It went gold after being on sale for fewer than two weeks. See also: 2003 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2003 Record labels established in 2003 // January - following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It... For other uses, see EMI (disambiguation). ... 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 September 19, 2003. ...

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 City of Sydney with Parramatta. ...

Legacy

• Slim Dusty was best known overseas for his moving rendition of "Waltzing Matilda" at the end of the Sydney 2000 Olympics Closing Ceremony.^[1]
• His daughter Anne Kirkpatrick is also an award-winning country singer.
• Slim Dusty was the first artist broadcast from space.^[2]
• Slim Dusty was a guest on the Wiggles' children DVD "Wiggly Wiggly World".

Waltzing Matilda is usually sung in informal settings, but it was played with a 90 piece orchestra and the 100 voice Melbourne Chorale at the 2005 Classical Spectacular Waltzing Matilda is Australias most widely known folk song, and one that has been popularly suggested as a potential national anthem. ... Anne Kirkpatrick (born July 4, 1952) is an Australian country music. ... The Wiggles is an Australian band. ...

See also

• Discography of Slim Dusty (incomplete)

Slim Dusty recorded 106 records in his career. ...

Notes

1. ^ ABC News (Sept. 19, 2003) article states:

   "His rendition of Waltzing Matilda, sung during the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games, garnered him new international attention."

2. ^ ABC News (Sept. 19, 2003) article states:

   "...[Slim Dusty] became the first singer to have his voice beamed to earth 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."

   In a NASA transcript from an interview with Space Shuttle Pilot Robert L. Crippen, Crippen mentions:

   "The PR [Public Relations] that followed the [Shuttle] flight I think was somewhat overwhelming.... But we got to go see a lot of places around the world. Did Europe. Got to go to Australia; neat place. In fact, I had sort of cheated on that. I kept a tape of 'Waltzing Matilda' and played it as we were coming over one of the Australian ground stations, just hoping that maybe somebody would give us an invite to go to Australia, since I’d never been there. But that was fun." (Crippen, 2006, p. 34)

This article is about the American space agency. ... This article is about the space vehicle. ... Robert Laurel Crippen (born September 11, 1937 in Beaumont, Texas) (Captain, USN, retired) is a former USAF and NASA astronaut, and flew on four Space Shuttle missions [1], including three as commander. ...

Sources

• ABC News (Sept. 19, 2003). Historian of the Bush: Australian country music icon Slim Dusty has died, aged 76 (Obituary: Slim Dusty dead). Retrieved 2007-06-20 from "ABC News On-Line" at http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/slim.htm.

• Crippen, Robert L. & Rebecca Wright (interviewer) (26 May 2006). NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project: Oral History Transcript. Retrieved 2007-06-20 from "NASA Johnson Space Center" at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/CrippenRL/CrippenRL_5-26-06.pdf .

External links

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