Australian Music Stars of the 60's (1/4)

In the mid 1950s American rockabilly and rock and roll music was taken up by local musicians and it soon caught on with Australian teens, through movies, records and from 1956, television. EMI had dominated the Australasian record market since the end of WWII, and they made British music a powerful force in the late Fifties and Sixties with signings like Cliff Richard & The Shadows, The Beatles, The Hollies and Cilla Black. EMI (Australia) also locally distributed Decca (The Rolling Stones' label) as well as the American Capitol label (The Beach Boys). During this period, however, a number of local companies in Australia expanded into the growing Australian music market, which grew considerably after the emergence of the first wave of American rock'n'roll.
In 1951 merchant bank, Mainguard took over a struggling Sydney engineering firm, retooled and relaunched it as Festival Records. Its main local competition was ARC (the Australian Record Company), a former radio production and disc transcription service that established the successful Pacific, Rodeo and Coronet labels and competed with Festival as a manufacturer/distributor in NSW.
Several major events took place in 1960. In January Festival Records was purchased by rising young media magnate Rupert Murdoch, and a few weeks later, in April, ARC was taken over by the American CBS company, who closed the Coronet label and replaced the Australian CBS label.
Although most of the major labels were based in Sydney, Melbourne's vibrant dance and concert scene powered a local boom in rock'n'roll and pop music and it became Australia's pop capital in the 1960s. During the Fifties luthier Bill May expanded his Maton guitar company, becoming one of the first local manufacturers of the new electric guitars and amplifiers. In 1953 precision engineering company White & Gillespie established a custom recording division, which their company history claims was the first in Australia to press records in the new vinyl microgroove format. The new division soon included the W&G label and studio. In 1960 Melbourne consumer electronics company Astor Electronics created its own record division, Astor Records, which established the Astor label and also became a leading distributor.
All through this period Australia was experiencing the effects of a rising tide of migration, as thousands fled the wreckage of postwar Europe. The majority of migrants were from the UK, and many were "Ten Pound Poms" who were able to take advantage of the Australian government's generous £10 assisted-passage fare. Also, for the first time since the Gold Rush large numbers of "non-Anglo" migrants came to Australia from places like Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain, Portugal and eastern European nations like Yugoslavia, Hungary and Poland. These immigrants exerted a powerful influence on all aspects of Australian society and notably in popular music-many major Australia pop performers of the Sixties were the children of migrants from Europe and the UK.

(extract from Wikipedia 2011)

[@glennystt918]

Thanks for taking me back to a wonderful time in my life. We had it good

[@amygillespie9992]

granddaughter of one of the original delltones here and so goddamn proud! :D

[@kerryhead9418]

What would we have done without the 60's? Music wouldn't be what it is today!!!

[@brunogow4665]

Oh to be in the 60s fantastic

[@laminage]

Also there was a R & B Group called The Whispers whose song And The Beat Goes On Will Smith sampled for welcome to miami. Then there was the detroit spinners not to be confused with the uk group of the same name.

[@69Alter]

Those were the years.

[@laryrobert2158]

Hello how are you doing?

[@carolynh8866]

John Farnham has literally been there for every single decade of my life with hits in each on of those decades...no one else pn this list has had such a long successful career

[@toothpick4649]

Best time to live in Australia I reckon

[@nicbing2598]

It was REAl without too much yankie influence ... and wogs introduced ozzies to a better eating experience ....plus lots of other Things .... What do todays wogs introduce ? islamic sharia and Black africans creating total havoc ........ Yep it was a great time .... !!

[@paullewis2413]

Sure was! Australia in the 60's was amazing but I guess I'm saying that because I was young and remember some of the greatest years of my life.

[@TheReevessss]

I had pink bermudas. And a cookie dress. Loved them. I had to have what my big sisters were wearing.

[@ALITISA78]

Love to see what my parents witnessed when they first came to Australia in 62. I wish I was around then.

[@collocke9427]

Nikoletta, it was truly a great time to live in.

[@HELLENICPRIDE100]

Arrived in Melbourne by boat in 1961 as a young teenager, just in time to assimilate with the local" natives" and enjoy the music, life and opportunities this wonderful country offered. I can honestly say they were the best years of my life and i must add, that some of the newcomers of today will do well not to just take, but to give as i have way back then by voluntarily joining the Military.I haven't forgotten my origins but Australia is in my heart and will remain there forever.

[@HELLENICPRIDE100]

I agree wholeheartedly.......

[@scann13]

What a beautiful attitude. You're a credit to the human race:)

[@ALITISA78]

Australia where if you worked hard you could pay off your own home within 20 years and possibly be able to own a 2nd in a lifetime. :( I was born in the wrong era.

[@warialdasue]

yep me too, Surf City every week, those were the best days

[@marshawaggoner9913]

Good times!

[@laryrobert2158]

Hello how are you doing?

[@leonstone4738]

Billy Thorpe was a great talent, who should have stayed in Aussie. The Del-tones very entertaining, Little did we appreciate the talent of John Farnham, who blew them all away 20 Years after Sadie ad thanks to Glen who made it possible.

[@laminage]

I loved the part at 4:10. It looked like it was an Australian Version of "Where The Action Is" where the Kids would see their favorite Artist singing their Latest Hit whether it was an Amusement Park, Mountain, Ski Resort or even a Marina. It was like an Outdoor Version of American Bandstand I loved seeing The Kids Dancing on the Beach it looked like it was from a lost Surfing Movie from the 1960's. Shake Rattle & Roll was originally done by Big Joe Turner then Bill Haley & The Comets which was a Follow Up to Rock Around The Clock.

[@laminage]

Actually Johnny O'Keefe acquired the Australian Rights to Where The Action Is that was a Dick Clark Show. Then Olivia Newton-John appears on various Dick Clark Shows like The American Music Awards, American Bandstand and he even appeared on her 1980 Special Hollywood Nights (1980). RIP Olivia.

[@patrickbryant5224]

Narrated by radio legend Ken Sparkes.

[@bigglesflysagain1749]

I saw JO'K (Johnny O'Keefe)live at Campsie, Sydney suburb...I even formed a slap up school group called The DILLtones....but my biggest claim to fame is seeing Bill Haley & his Comets, live, at The Stadium in Sydney, 1956 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@derekkelly8672]

You really had to know how to play your instrument of choice back then not like today where you have all these special effects

[@russellcampbell9198]

More original Oz music took off around 65 with bands like The Easybeats and The Loved Ones but there were some top performers like JOK. Some kiwis added to the mix. PS. Great vocal - "Hangin' Five" - by Noel Widerberg who was sadly taken in a car accident.

[@chiquitafeldberg8512]

My mum used to date Gerry Humphries.

[@rogerioraimundo2773]

VALEU AUSTRALIA!!! POR PRESENTEAR O MUNDO COM SEUS EXTRAORDINÁRIOS ARTISTAS. THANK YOU!!!!

[@goodiesguy]

it's nice to see this back!!! without this video, i would never know "Hangin' Five" by The Delltones.

[@timothysparks3062]

Written by the late Bernard (Ben) Acton. He was a clarinet player in the NSW Police Band and a great guy.

[@david-lt9wj]

Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs would have been enormous had they been managed properly..first time I've seen them today...2021.....with a Yorkshire name like that how could they go wrong ! Maybe it was the name ? Billy Thorpe and Hull might have secured their worldwide stardom.

[@shawnmalone9711]

Sorry ,I left out I was clueless about the rock scene down under. I knew about Inxs and a.c./dc Little River Band , and Men at Work. I'm a yank with an interest in history.

[@johnd8892]

More significant than most of these was the Loved Ones : kzbin.info/www/bejne/haeaXnl5ZbB7h6M Also the Atlantics Bombora: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p56wlqSfmcSZo7c Very early surf genre band that had some US success. Lots of these just what was acceptable to the Bandstand local TV network tastes and have survived on tape or film and they have rights to.

[@carolynh8866]

Check out John Farnham. The most successful solo artist this countries ever had. Hits in every decade from 1967 right up till last year. Also had a stint as the lead singer of the Little River Band from 82 to 85

[@crocodilepeter]

Australian Rock N Roll of the 1960's ---- Ya gotta walk the plank , ride the hoof !

[@anEyePhil]

Ride the hook!

[@neilforbes416]

9:25 "When A Man Loves A Woman" was a huge international hit for the late Percy Sledge, but it just sounds wrong coming from sandy Scott.

[@cathycastleton]

8.22 Jackie chucks the proverbial dinner at the human headline ( Derryn) .. . Bert at10:20 very reticent introducing some never again known guy ( always trust your gut , Bert )

[@laryrobert2158]

Hello how are you doing?

[@shawnmalone9711]

You know Little Richard and Buddy Holly,and Frankie Lymon and the teenagers toured in Australia in the late 1950s. I can see their influence on the Australian music scene. I've also noticed that Bill Haley and the Comets and Elvis had a great impact too. Let me see there were strains of American doowop. There was a group channeling the Marcels song Blue Moon. I heard a group singing a song by the American girl group the Dixiebelles. Down at Papa Joe's 1963. I also heard surf music I guess the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean influenced a world wide surf culture, lol. But the BeeGees were originals. They had a great impact on the music scene in the 1970s. This a fascinating piece of youth culture . I read about the American music scene and the British invasion. Thank you for posting this video mate !

[@laryrobert2158]

Hello how are you doing?

[@shawnmalone9711]

@@laryrobert2158 👍

[@laryrobert2158]

@@shawnmalone9711 I’m glad to hear from you,what’s your name?

[@georgebarnes8163]

The Bee Gees were British (Manx)

[@stevebyrne9212]

@@georgebarnes8163 Yes that is very true, but their musical/ entertaining careers started in Brisbane Australia and they have always claimed to be an Australian band. It's the same for the Easybeats, AC/DC, Olivia Newton John, John Farnham and the list goes on. Basically they all have love and respect for the Australian fans that supporting them early and throughout their brilliant careers 🙌🙌😉

[@bedpanner]

Older the better - Jack Lumsdaine and Reginald Stoneham are great Australians !

[@TheCovemangreg]

I still sing Hangin 5 at every gig.

[@crocodilepeter]

Part 4 1960's Aussie Rock

[@laminage]

Blue Moon was actually done by The Marcels in terms of a R & B Version.

[@Bruno47602]

Cool!

[@yurilemming4130]

this was mostly Sydney stuff, we had different scene in Melbourne, Sydney had surf & sunny crappy stuff, very juvenile, and little Patty kindy stuff. EMI asked me to produce John Farnhams 21st gold key in 1970, also have stood beside Johnny OKeefe, my claim to fame.

[@kareyriggs1018]

So other countries had beaches too ?!#&? Who would have thunk it !

[@laryrobert2158]

Hello how are you doing?

[@neilforbes416]

7:00 "I've Been Everywhere" by Lucky Starr was NEVER sung in Japanese! It was song in English with a rapid rhythm as Starr rattled off all the place names in the song. There were four versions done, for Australia, New Zealand, Britain and America. They were issued on an EP called "Lucky's Been Everywhere" (Festival FX-10485) issued 8th July, 1962 on Red-Label design.

[@johnd8892]

In this interview the composer Geoff Mack mentions seven versions he wrote. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZCze2B6q7etadk The Japanese version is the hard one to track down. Amazing that he was fluent enough to write a Japanese version from his service in Japan post war. Neil Forbes famous for getting things wrong.

[@masonliam983]

Hello Neil. How are you doing today. Hope all is going well over there?

[@laminage]

Zip A Dee Do Dah was also sung by Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans who was part of Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound in the 1960's and The Jackson Five's Debut Album "Diana Ross Presents The Jackson Five". It also created a lot of controversy because it was from Song Of The South and to this day it is considered to be next to "Dumbo" one of the most racially offensive Cartoons in terms of how African Americans were portrayed.

[@dianebrewer8730]

Johnny Deviln Max Merritt and Dinah Lee all Kiwis to start

[@ianfinch3127]

Why does that make them different? Apart from the obvious.

[@laryrobert2158]

Hello how are you doing?

[@masonliam983]

Hello Diane. How are you doing today. Hope all is going well over there?

[@aerotuc]

bring back the stomp.

[@Rob-fc9wg]

Type in: The Snowdroppers, Do The Stomp.

[@judyjac100]

sallie keep these on ok judy

[@laryrobert2158]

Hello how are you doing?

[@goodiesguy]

what are the songs at 3:25 (judy stone, with i think cole joy) and the song at 8:41 (bryan davies)

[@whateveritis3103]

There is a meeting here tonight,recorded originally by Joe and Eddie,great song,I have on 45, and love or money is the Bryan Adam's song I think. Great times.

[@chiquitafeldberg8512]

You left out one of Australia's best bands the Loved Ones.

[@Breatherable]

@CenaTv2 Judy Stone & Col Joye sing "There's a meeting here tonight" an old gospel song. Sorry, cant help with Bryan Davies song.

[@beldengi]

The biggest star if international reputation matters was the aboriginal jazz singer Georgia Lee.

[@laminage]

Billy Thorp & The Aztecs remind me of The Yardbirds, they seemed to have been influenced by R & B.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

5:02 LOL!

[@nyosito]

5:00 A good supply of body bags needed.

[@honestjoe7940]

LOL I love how they try and say the Bee Gee's were Australian, the only good thing about that whole mix was them, and they're English hahahaah

[@johnthrussell1377]

what about milky bar kids

[@valdamartin4624]

only bandstand [briean hendersen

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

5:30 "a career that's still alive in the 80's"... try another 35 years hence

[@laryrobert2158]

Hello how are you doing?

[@francesmc2152]

Bloody brilliant thanks what does it say about my education I know all of these songs but school work ha

[@neddyladdy]

You seem to have inherited a proud tradition.

[@terrencewalsh5923]

Yeah but they wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for Australian record company's, who were with festival etc back then

[@terrencewalsh5923]

Greatest country and music in the world

[@terrencewalsh5923]

Jok forever

[@terrencewalsh5923]

Billy Thorpe Aussie forever

[@rockpaintingtutorials2595]

You missed The BeeGees!

[@cherylmantello3693]

+1

[@georgebarnes8163]

The Bee Gees are British not Australian.

[@winnermarcelosc]

Fallout 3: The Capital Wasteland Fallout New Vegas: The Mojave Wasteland Fallout 4: The Commonwealth Fallout 76: Apallachia Fallout 5: (Pleeeeeeease) The Outback

[@judyjac100]

tese are great

[@kyrynyukvaleriy665]

8:00

[@saltifish]

of course that baby wouldn't eat it's food, it was lying on it's back! choking!

[@ausbri2906]

Ha Ha.. Parents & Grand Parents losing the plot

[@ithinkinoahguy1581]

bethesda, please put this in a fallout game

[@laminage]

Little Debbie looked like she was patterned after Little Peggy March (I Will Follow Him). Where did they find these Acts. Did they do Talent Scout Shows.

[@stevebyrne9212]

Little Pattie and was always a spunky little thing😊

[@MrBilgey]

The best artiste to come out of Australia was 'Skippy'.

[@stevebyrne9212]

Skippy's family tree goes back the furthest than one and her tv series is still shown around the world. Come on Skip😉

[@12121149]

Remember those days,when things,and life was simple,the new generation has fucked that up.just sayin'

[@bigglesflysagain1749]

...note to Bill Covington, re "Skippy"....don't forget ...damn...I just forgot...that embarrassing guy from Woop Woop...the only guy doing movies in OZ for years...????

[@yauwingchi7331]

澳大利亞無音樂詛咒

[@HELLENICPRIDE100]

You DO NOT have to listen to it..........it is a DEMOCRACY, and you have a choice..........

[@aminyousuf399]

😂😂 wtf🇬🇧

[@erossinema8797]

Okay. That was weird