John Williamson (singer)
Encyclopedia
John Robert Williamson AM (born 10 November 1945 in Quambatook
, Victoria
) is an Australia
n country music
singer-songwriter
. Williamson has released over thirty-two album
s, ten videos
, five DVDs, and two lyric books. He has received more than twenty-three Golden Guitar
Awards at the Country Music Awards of Australia
and has won two ARIA Music Awards
for Best Australian Country Record.
Williamson has also featured in a number of television series as well as This is Your Life
. Many of his albums have gone gold and platinum and continue to do so. He has sold more than 2,000,000 albums in Australia
alone. In 1970 Williamson's first song, Old Man Emu, went to No.1 and became gold. Another one of his classics, Mallee Boy, became triple-platinum and won him an ARIA Award.
district of northwestern Victoria
. His parents were both performing artists. Williamson is the oldest of five brothers. His influence on country music came from his 'farmland, not city bitumen' lifestyle, therefore he is often referred to by his nickname 'The Mallee Boy'. Williamson's musical influences were Roger Miller
and Rolf Harris
, such artists becoming essential elements for his first hit. He learned to play the ukulele
at age 7 and at 12 years of age graduated to guitar
. Williamson was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne
. In 1965, the family moved to Croppa Creek, near Moree, New South Wales
, where Williamson began performing at a local restaurant.
In 1973 he took part in his first television series Travellin' Out West which ran for two years. He performed with two other acts, Ricky & Tammy and Emma Hannah. In 1978, Williamson formed his first band Crow. They performed at various clubs and hotels across Australia until 1980 when the band became a rock band with a reggae influence changing the name to Sydney Radio. The players used face paint and Williamson performed in the band disguised as a clown named Ludwig Leichhardt. Williamson penned rock and reggae numbers for the band some of which were recorded but never released. In 1981, Sydney Radio disbanded and rather than return to club shows Williamson decided to try playing solo in the pubs. His new songs and personable approach struck a chord with pub crowds and with regular gigs in a circuit of pubs he soon built a strong following. This began a second and sustained wave of popularity for Williamson that has continued to this day. He then released his second album 'The Comic Strip Cowboy' and album sales began skyrocketing from then on.
Since 1970 when Old Man Emu was first released, Williamson has been close mates with Sydney
radioman John Laws
, who calls Williamson his 'little brother'. In 1977, Williamson recorded and released the single It's A Grab It While It's Goin' Kind Of Life, which is his musical tribute to Laws. Up until Laws retired on 25 June 2007, Williamson wrote and performed a series of jingles for Laws' radio morning show on 2UE
. Williamson's last radio jingle for Laws was Hey good on ya Lawsie, you pulled the plug at last.
In early 1978, Williamson released his first compilation album under the Country Greats series. This was followed later in the year by his third album Road To Town, with contributions by a handful of other musicians including Tommy Emmanuel
.
. The song that resulted was called The Breaker, featuring narration vocals by Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. In 1982, Williamson produced a demo version to one of his songs, "True Blue", and included it on a new compilation album under the same name, adding The Best Of John Williamson.
Later in the year, he did another album Fair Dinkum J.W., featuring old Aussie ballads such as With My Swag Upon My Shoulder, Botany Bay and Brisbane Ladies, as well as Williamson's own songs, including Country Football, Kill The Night and (You've Gotta Be) Fair Dinkum, a duet with Karen Johns. One classic song from the Fair Dinkum J.W. album is "Wrinkles".
In 1983 Williamson released his first live album "Singing In The Suburbs." It was from then until 2000 that he performed some of his comical songs impersonating Chad Morgan
and Merv Currawong. Following on the success of "Singing In The Suburbs" another live album titled "The Smell Of Gum Leaves" was released the next year. It featured another one of Williamson's comic classics I'm Fair Dinkum. Since the song came out Williamson launched his merchandise company The Fair Dinkum Road Co. in Sydney
. The album also included Williamson's solo cover version of the Spectrum
classic "I'll Be Gone
", played only on guitar and harmonica
.
At the start of 1985 Williamson created his own record label Gum Leaf Recordings. That year he issued a new compilation titled Humble Beginnings featuring songs from his first three albums. He eventually released another new studio album that year named Road Thru The Heart which sold well as did the first single You And My Guitar.
In early 1986, Williamson released another compilation album called All The Best, Vol. 1. The album contained eighteen of his most-requested songs both in the studio and live. As a bonus, Williamson collaborated with daughters Ami and Georgie and Australian folk group Bullamakanka and together made the song Goodbye Blinky Bill
. The song was released on the All The Best album as well as a single. Respectively, record shop customers who bought the single made a $1.00 donation to the Koala Preservation Society in Port Macquarie.
Later on Williamson recorded the breakthrough album Mallee Boy that reached triple platinum. Many songs from it have since been deemed classics, including the title track, Galleries Of Pink Galahs, Raining On The Rock and Cootamundra Wattle. The album had a new version of "True Blue" and was released as a single. The song was one of many career highlights for Williamson and has long since become the anthem
for the Australia national cricket team. Ever since the Mallee Boy album was produced, Williamson has performed his concerts in a campfire
setting. He commences many of his shows performing the album's title track.
In 1988 Williamson made his next album Boomerang Cafe. Fans claim it as one of his best works. The title track has been since its release, called a classic. Despite the song's lyrics, Williamson has comically confessed to concert audiences that he didn't actually meet his wife Mary-Kay in The Boomerang Cafe but actually by a water tank
. He was soon invited to perform at the opening of the New Parliament House
. In 1989, Williamson put out another album titled Warragul which means 'dingo
'. That same year the Variety Club named him 'Entertainer of the Year' and Warragul was named Best Australian Country Record at the ARIA Awards in 1990.
The next year the album, Waratah St., went gold before it even got to the shops. Later Williamson put out the sequel to All The Best, front-headed with Australia Calling, released also as a single. Another exclusive new track was the first time appearance of Williamson's studio recording of "I'll Be Gone
", to raise awareness for homeless youth.
At the beginning of 1993, Williamson issued Love Is A Good Woman, a compilation of his classic love songs in one album, featuring new tracks Good Woman and Misty Blue.
After watching the official announcement that Sydney was to host the Olympic Games in 2000, Williamson wrote Sydney 2000. He was then requested to perform it early one morning on the steps of the Sydney Opera House
. A year later in 1994, the song was recorded on Williamson's next album Mulga To Mangoes. Subsequent singles from the album were Seven Year Itch, River Crying Out and Tropical Fever.
1995 saw Williamson celebrating his twenty-fifth year in the Australian music industry. To commemorate the occasion he released a new compilation with all his hits up to that time and two new songs Bush Town (The Lawnmower Song) and No-one Loves Brisbane Like Jesus. At the same time, fans saw the release of his first book True Blue, containing the lyrics to all his songs and explanations of how they came to be written. Williamson was surprised at the book's launch party when visited by Mike Munro
and invited to become guest of honour on the television show This is Your Life
. Williamson appeared on the show again in 2000 when Slim Dusty
was given the honouary treatment. Williamson released his second family album in time for Christmas in 1996.
In January 1997 Williamson was inducted to the Roll of Renown. His next album Pipe Dream followed a little later. Sir Don, Williamson's tribute song to Sir Donald Bradman is found on this work and the album went on to win the award for Biggest Selling Album at the Country Music Awards of Australia
at Tamworth
. Respectively since they first met that year, Williamson has performed Raining On The Rock as a duet with his Aborigine friend Warren H. Williams. The following year at the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth, they won the award for "Collaboration Of The Year" at the same event. Williamson soon took part in his television series on the Seven Network
called The Bush Telegraph. The show unfortunately was short-lived. Following this for a moderate period, Williamson continued touring Australia and was also releasing a series of compilations.
The 1999 album The Way It Is went gold after eight weeks. The album received another three Golden Guitar
Awards- Bush Ballad of The Year: Three Sons, Heritage Song of The Year: Campfire on the Road and Best Selling Album of The Year: The Way It Is. By this period Williamson started receiving new fans from the United States
, United Kingdom
and New Zealand
.
for Corroboree
that year. The album also featured the more recent recordings before that time, the Wallaby Anthem A Number On My Back and The Baggy Green with vocals by cricket
legend Steve Waugh
. Another two highlights on the album is Waltzing Matilda 2000 and the appearance of Williamson's studio recording of the Australian National Anthem for the first time. He was soon invited to perform at the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Other invited performers were Nikki Webster
, Yothu Yindi
, Human Nature
, Julie Anthony, John Farnham
, Olivia Newton-John
, Vanessa Amorosi
, Tina Arena
and many others.
Williamson was honoured to be asked to perform Sir Don at Sir Donald Bradman's
Memorial Service in Adelaide
in 2001. The original scraps of paper this song was scribbled on have been framed and now hang in the Bradman Museum, Bowral, New South Wales
. He also represented Australia when performing at the Opening Ceremony of Winterlude
in Ottawa, Canada. The following year Williamson put out his next new album Gunyah which in the traditional Aborigine language means 'home'. The opening track Sing You The Outback revealed how important the Australian outback
has been in the past and how invaluable it will be into the future. The next two songs Frangipani Bay and Cape York Peninsula were written during a road trip to Australia's most northern point which was so named. The lyrics in The Devil's Boots were for bushranger Ned Kelly
.
Buried In Her Bedclothes came to be written after Williamson and Mary-Kay got home after a return trip on the Indian Pacific where they met an elderly lady whose husband died six months before. The lady was so devastated that she refused to get out of bed for three months. Her family had suggested that she'd take a trip on the Indian Pacific as a remedy in bringing her back to life. As the train had travelled past the Nullarbor Plain
s, Williamson and Mary-Kay met the lady over breakfast and she shared her memories with them. Williamson claimed the train 'had done the job'.
2003 was known by Williamson as his 'most True Blue year ever'. He was elected President of the Country Music Association of Australia
(CMAA) after Slim Dusty
retired. He soon released the sequel to the 1995 album True Blue - The Very Best Of 25 Years, respectively True Blue Two which sold brilliantly. As with the original release, the album featured all his hit songs up to the Gunyah album and exclusively including five new tracks. Williamson recorded a twenty-first anniversary version of "True Blue" with an orchestra and chorale, as well as one line of the original chorus being changed from "or just Vegemite" to "or will she be right" (because Vegemite
was never Australian-owned). Other new songs were You Are Very Welcome, Keep Australia Beautiful, The Easter Bilby
(only available on the accompanying DVD) and a duet with Sara Storer
, Raining on the Plains. On 12 October that year Williamson was asked by Prime Minister John Howard
to perform Waltzing Matilda
at the Memorial Service for the first Anniversary of the 2002 Bali bombings.
In 2004 Williamson and Storer won 2 Golden Guitar Awards each for Vocal Collaboration of The Year and Single of The Year on behalf of Raining On The Plains. The track is also found on Storer's 2002 album "Beautiful Circle
". Having recorded "Wobbly Boot Hotel" on Waratah St., he also re-recorded it as a duet with Stan Coster
's daughter Tracy
.
The year that followed Williamson re-recorded Wrinkles as a duet with John Stephan. Shortly after, Williamson released the album Chandelier of Stars which was an instant hit with fans. The opening track Little Girl From The Dryland, tells the story of where Williamson's wife Mary-Kay spent her childhood in Tulloona Bore, south of Boggabilla, north-west New South Wales, from her point of view. The title track came from the description of the stars in the sky shortly before sunrise. Bells In A Bushman's Ear acts as a tribute to Australia's country music forefathers and The Camel Boy was about the life of Albert Namatjira
. He was Warren H. Williams' great nephew.
Keeper Of The Stones which previously appeared on Williamson's live album Mates On The Road was dedicated to the thousands of indigenous Australians
who went through the struggles of The Stolen Generation. Desert Child, another duet between Williamson and Williams is respectfully considered a bush lullaby for Aborigine children. Also on the album is A Country Balladeer done as a duet with Chad Morgan
and Flower On The Water was a moving tribute to the victims of the Bali bombings
.
The first four lines in Flower On The Water were inspired for by Williamson after seeing the words written alongside a photo of one of the perished victims. The lines were as follows: To hear your voice, to see you smile / To sit and talk to you awhile / To be together the same old way / That would be our greatest wish today. Williamson had long since found the lines' author and started a friendship.
The following November Williamson released the new song We Love This Country on a compilation of the same name with his favourite holiday songs to promote Australian tourism with caravans
. We Love This Country became a jingle
for Jayco
commercials.
On 4 September 2006, Williamson was devastated after hearing that Steve Irwin
had been killed by a stingray
barb. Williamson wrote Irwin's tribute song Wildlife Warriors: It's Time. Fans regard it as the 'angriest' song he had ever written. He was then honoured to perform both Home Among The Gum Trees and True Blue at Irwin's memorial service in the Australia Zoo
Crocoseum. The service was later released on DVD. Wildlife Warriors: It's Time was eventually released on a new compilation album of the same name. In addition the album included Williamson's favourite conservation awareness tracks as well as both performances from Irwin's memorial service.
At the beginning of 2008 Williamson decided to put together a musical. Based on his music and lyrics, the book by Simon Heath and directed by Bernie Zelvis
, Williamson named it Quambatook - The Musical. Produced by the Fair Dinkum Road Co., the cast included Darren Coggan, Belinda Wollaston
, Josh Russell, Shardyn Fahey-Leigh, Benson Anthony, Makirum Fahey-Leigh, Reg Poole
, Nicole Nicholas, Angelika Purves, Katie Ditchburn, Jennifer Reed, Alistair Toogood, Warren H. Williams, Williamson's daughter Ami and Williamson himself. On 7 February 2008, the musical was premiered at the EVAN Theater in Penrith
to positive reviews, making it a major highlight in the history of Australian musical theatre
.
The album Hillbilly Road was released in mid-August 2008. The lyrics for the album were inspired by his home in Springbrook
. Subsequent singles that followed were "Cydi", "Drink A Little Love", "Australia Is Another Word For Free" as a trio with Warren H. Williams and Amos Morris
, and "Better Than A Picture". "The Joy Is In The Journey" was a special bonus addition to finish the album, previously appearing on the Quambatook Musical soundtrack. The Hillbilly Road album was promoted everywhere around Australia until early the next year when Warren decided to move on and pursue other musical projects, leaving Williamson to perform the rest of the tour solo. They remain mates.
By late 2009 Williamson got together with fellow country star Adam Harvey
and recorded their cover to Roger Miller's "King of the Road
", issued both as a single and on Harvey's duets album "Both Sides Now". Williamson then made his Carols By Candlelight
debut at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
.
On 26 January (Australia Day
) 2010 Williamson released a new Australian anthem called "Island of Oceans" as a duet with Shannon Noll
.
2010 also marks Williamson's fortieth year in the Australian music industry. A new compilation album The Absolute Best of John Williamson: 40 Years True Blue commemorating this milestone was released on 19 March. "Island of Oceans" is the only new track available on this set.
In addition to this, the second disc of the album features covers of Williamson's songs from thirteen Australian singers including Wendy Matthews
, Troy Cassar-Daley
and The Ordinary Fear of God.
at the Opera House
.
At the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth that same month John presented Jimmy Little
with the Lifetime Achievement
Award.
In recent times due to ever increasing requests the Anthems album was back in production.
A new studio album called "The Big Red" is currently in pre-production and will be released in 2012.
(AM) for his services to Australian Country Music and conservation issues.
On 27 October 2010 he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
.
John has recently become a Protect Our Coral Sea Ambassador.
Shortly after Old Man Emu was released in 1970, Williamson married Mary-Kay Price. They have two daughters, Ami and Georgie.
On 23 April 2007, it was announced that after 35 years of marriage, Williamson and Mary-Kay had divorced.
A couple of years before the marriage ended, Mary-Kay accused Williamson of not spending enough time with her at home in Sydney
when not on tour. Williamson has privately admitted that instead he likes to head up to Springbrook
in southeast Queensland to unwind and get inspiration for future songs.
Following his marriage break-up, Williamson got together with his new partner Meg Doyle, who is one of the main organisers of Williamson's activities. They live together at his mountain home in Springbrook.
John's middle brother Robin died of cancer in 1999. Williamson's 2002 album "Gunyah", in particular the track Salisbury Street, was dedicated to Robin. Salisbury Street was the location of their second home in Quambatook.
At the peak of Williamson's career in 1983, The Vasectomy Song was banned from radio airplay because radio stations regarded its lyrics as too risqué, but despite this it was popular. The fictional song deals with Williamson having a vasectomy
and then subsequently being arrested for obscene behaviour after being stopped by the police for speeding and asked to submit to a breath test. The song's humour is based on use of the term "blow into the bag" to refer to both the supply of a sample to test the success of the vasectomy and the use of the breathalyser.
One song on the Warragul album Rip Rip Woodchip helped raise awareness and money to provide protection for Australia's forestland but it raised a controversy with loggers and lumberjacks, causing threats to sue Williamson and cut his career short. The situation came to a climax when Williamson was asked to perform the song for the Rugby League
Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground
. He however protected his right to voice his opinion politically, and was quoted as saying on the back cover of the song's 7" single, "Yesterday was the right time to stop the wholesale slaughter of our forests, flora and fauna. Every load of woodchip from our ancient and rare forests is stained with the blood of unique parrot
s and of marsupials such as koalas and rare possums. We are rapidly losing the very thing that makes me feel very fortunate to live in Australia."
A Flag Of Our Own from the Waratah St. album sparked a controversy with a few country RSL
clubs. Since the early 80's Williamson wanted to express in song that Australia needed its own flag minus the Royal Union Flag
. He received support from many people about the matter including ANZAC diggers who said they fought for Australia, not the flag. Regardless, Williamson was banned from a string of RSL clubs upon performing the song.
Fans who bought Hillbilly Road criticised two songs on the album titled Beach Of Love and Tomorrow's Worries both in which the word sexy appeared but Williamson defended his right for freedom of creative speech. The album however regardless was still well received and hit No.1 on the Australian country charts.
While Rip Rip Woodchip and A Flag Of Our Own upset a few people, both songs were causes that Williamson felt passionate about and today he continues to promote them with the issues and benefits involved.
Quambatook, Victoria
Quambatook is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Avoca River in the Shire of Gannawarra Local Government Area, from the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Quambatook had a population of 253....
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. Williamson has released over thirty-two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, ten videos
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, five DVDs, and two lyric books. He has received more than twenty-three Golden Guitar
Golden Guitar
The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England New South Wales...
Awards at the Country Music Awards of Australia
Country Music Awards of Australia
The CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They are wholly owned and staged by the Country Music...
and has won two ARIA Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
for Best Australian Country Record.
Williamson has also featured in a number of television series as well as This is Your Life
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
. Many of his albums have gone gold and platinum and continue to do so. He has sold more than 2,000,000 albums in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
alone. In 1970 Williamson's first song, Old Man Emu, went to No.1 and became gold. Another one of his classics, Mallee Boy, became triple-platinum and won him an ARIA Award.
Early life
Williamson was born and raised in the MalleeThe Mallee
The Mallee is the most northwesterly district in the state of Victoria, and also encompasses the agricultural district of South Australia. Definitions vary, however all are based on the Victorian distribution of mallee eucalypts...
district of northwestern Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. His parents were both performing artists. Williamson is the oldest of five brothers. His influence on country music came from his 'farmland, not city bitumen' lifestyle, therefore he is often referred to by his nickname 'The Mallee Boy'. Williamson's musical influences were Roger Miller
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
and Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
, such artists becoming essential elements for his first hit. He learned to play the ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
at age 7 and at 12 years of age graduated to guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. Williamson was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. In 1965, the family moved to Croppa Creek, near Moree, New South Wales
Moree, New South Wales
Moree is a large town in Moree Plains Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Mehi River in the centre of the rich black-soil plains....
, where Williamson began performing at a local restaurant.
Early career
Williamson performed his first song Old Man Emu in 1970 on New Faces, winning first place. With the prize was a recording contract with Fable Records. Old Man Emu was soon released on that label and it quickly hit No.1 on the Australian music charts. His self-titled debut album followed shortly after. Although it featured Old Man Emu it met with limited success. Since Old Man Emu was the only hit he had at the time, he had to perform it two or three times per show. Later, after the album's release, Williamson's follow-up single was Under The Bridge backed with The Unexplored Shadows Of Mine. This single was pressed with its A and B sides reversed. By 1971 a third single from the self-titled debut album was yielded called "Beautiful Sydney" backed with "Melbourne Blue - Melbourne Green". A string of other non-album singles followed including Misery Farm with Lumpy Pumpkin in July 1972.In 1973 he took part in his first television series Travellin' Out West which ran for two years. He performed with two other acts, Ricky & Tammy and Emma Hannah. In 1978, Williamson formed his first band Crow. They performed at various clubs and hotels across Australia until 1980 when the band became a rock band with a reggae influence changing the name to Sydney Radio. The players used face paint and Williamson performed in the band disguised as a clown named Ludwig Leichhardt. Williamson penned rock and reggae numbers for the band some of which were recorded but never released. In 1981, Sydney Radio disbanded and rather than return to club shows Williamson decided to try playing solo in the pubs. His new songs and personable approach struck a chord with pub crowds and with regular gigs in a circuit of pubs he soon built a strong following. This began a second and sustained wave of popularity for Williamson that has continued to this day. He then released his second album 'The Comic Strip Cowboy' and album sales began skyrocketing from then on.
Since 1970 when Old Man Emu was first released, Williamson has been close mates with Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
radioman John Laws
John Laws
Richard John Sinclair "John" Laws, CBE , an Australian radio presenter, sometimes known as Lawsie, was from the 1970s until his retirement in 2007, the host of a hugely successful morning radio program, which mixed music with interviews, opinion, live advertising readings and listener talkback...
, who calls Williamson his 'little brother'. In 1977, Williamson recorded and released the single It's A Grab It While It's Goin' Kind Of Life, which is his musical tribute to Laws. Up until Laws retired on 25 June 2007, Williamson wrote and performed a series of jingles for Laws' radio morning show on 2UE
2UE
2UE is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by Fairfax Media. It is Sydney's and Australia's oldest commercial radio station, first broadcasting on 26 January 1925 on 1025 kHz AM before moving to 950 kHz in 1935 when virtually all Australian radio stations were assigned new...
. Williamson's last radio jingle for Laws was Hey good on ya Lawsie, you pulled the plug at last.
In early 1978, Williamson released his first compilation album under the Country Greats series. This was followed later in the year by his third album Road To Town, with contributions by a handful of other musicians including Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...
.
Career in the 1980s
Williamson's rock band Sydney Radio disbanded in early 1981 and his new approach, playing solo in the pubs, attracted a large following of new fans. He recorded a tribute song for the ANZAC called Diggers Of The ANZAC (This Is Gallipoli) which was well received and issued as a single backed with Hawkesbury River Lovin. Before both songs were produced Williamson was introduced to Pixie Jenkins, a talented Australian fiddle player. The two became mates and toured together for several years. Williamson was then invited to write a song for the 1980 movie Breaker MorantBreaker Morant
Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, poet, soldier and convicted war criminal whose skill with horses earned him the nickname "The Breaker"...
. The song that resulted was called The Breaker, featuring narration vocals by Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. In 1982, Williamson produced a demo version to one of his songs, "True Blue", and included it on a new compilation album under the same name, adding The Best Of John Williamson.
Later in the year, he did another album Fair Dinkum J.W., featuring old Aussie ballads such as With My Swag Upon My Shoulder, Botany Bay and Brisbane Ladies, as well as Williamson's own songs, including Country Football, Kill The Night and (You've Gotta Be) Fair Dinkum, a duet with Karen Johns. One classic song from the Fair Dinkum J.W. album is "Wrinkles".
In 1983 Williamson released his first live album "Singing In The Suburbs." It was from then until 2000 that he performed some of his comical songs impersonating Chad Morgan
Chad Morgan
Chadwick William "Chad" Morgan is an Australian singer and guitarist known for his vaudeville style of comic country and western songs, his prominent teeth and goofy stage persona. In reference to his first recording he is known as The Sheik of Scrubby Creek.- Biography :Morgan was born in...
and Merv Currawong. Following on the success of "Singing In The Suburbs" another live album titled "The Smell Of Gum Leaves" was released the next year. It featured another one of Williamson's comic classics I'm Fair Dinkum. Since the song came out Williamson launched his merchandise company The Fair Dinkum Road Co. in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The album also included Williamson's solo cover version of the Spectrum
Spectrum (band)
Spectrum is an Australian progressive rock band that formed in Melbourne in 1969 and, in its original period, remained in existence until 1973. Its members also performed under the alter-ego Indelible Murtceps...
classic "I'll Be Gone
I'll Be Gone
"I'll Be Gone" or "Some Day I'll Have Money" is a song by Australian progressive rock group Spectrum released as their debut single by EMI on Harvest Records in January 1971. It peaked at #1 on the national singles chart, while it reached Top 5 in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The song was...
", played only on guitar and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
.
At the start of 1985 Williamson created his own record label Gum Leaf Recordings. That year he issued a new compilation titled Humble Beginnings featuring songs from his first three albums. He eventually released another new studio album that year named Road Thru The Heart which sold well as did the first single You And My Guitar.
In early 1986, Williamson released another compilation album called All The Best, Vol. 1. The album contained eighteen of his most-requested songs both in the studio and live. As a bonus, Williamson collaborated with daughters Ami and Georgie and Australian folk group Bullamakanka and together made the song Goodbye Blinky Bill
Blinky Bill
Blinky Bill is an anthropomorphic koala and children's fictional character created by New Zealand-born Australian author Dorothy Wall. The character of Blinky first appeared in Brooke Nicholls' 1933 book, Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra, which was illustrated by Wall...
. The song was released on the All The Best album as well as a single. Respectively, record shop customers who bought the single made a $1.00 donation to the Koala Preservation Society in Port Macquarie.
Later on Williamson recorded the breakthrough album Mallee Boy that reached triple platinum. Many songs from it have since been deemed classics, including the title track, Galleries Of Pink Galahs, Raining On The Rock and Cootamundra Wattle. The album had a new version of "True Blue" and was released as a single. The song was one of many career highlights for Williamson and has long since become the anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
for the Australia national cricket team. Ever since the Mallee Boy album was produced, Williamson has performed his concerts in a campfire
Campfire
A campfire is a fire lit at a campsite, to serve the following functions: light, warmth, a beacon, a bug and/or apex predator deterrent, to cook, and for a psychological sense of security. In established campgrounds they are usually in a fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of...
setting. He commences many of his shows performing the album's title track.
In 1988 Williamson made his next album Boomerang Cafe. Fans claim it as one of his best works. The title track has been since its release, called a classic. Despite the song's lyrics, Williamson has comically confessed to concert audiences that he didn't actually meet his wife Mary-Kay in The Boomerang Cafe but actually by a water tank
Water tank
A Water tank is a container for storing water. The need for a water tank is as old as civilized man, providing storage of water for drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemical manufacturing, food preparation as well as many...
. He was soon invited to perform at the opening of the New Parliament House
Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia...
. In 1989, Williamson put out another album titled Warragul which means 'dingo
Dingo
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming wild dog unique to the continent of Australia, mainly found in the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to...
'. That same year the Variety Club named him 'Entertainer of the Year' and Warragul was named Best Australian Country Record at the ARIA Awards in 1990.
Career in the 1990s
In 1990, Williamson released his first family album for Australian families which was very well received, earning him another Award for Best Selling Album. An entirely new version of Old Man Emu was yielded as a single with an instrumental piece called "The Flight Of The Blowfly". Where the dingo was concerned a new verse was added to this version: "He can run the pants off a dingo too".The next year the album, Waratah St., went gold before it even got to the shops. Later Williamson put out the sequel to All The Best, front-headed with Australia Calling, released also as a single. Another exclusive new track was the first time appearance of Williamson's studio recording of "I'll Be Gone
I'll Be Gone
"I'll Be Gone" or "Some Day I'll Have Money" is a song by Australian progressive rock group Spectrum released as their debut single by EMI on Harvest Records in January 1971. It peaked at #1 on the national singles chart, while it reached Top 5 in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The song was...
", to raise awareness for homeless youth.
At the beginning of 1993, Williamson issued Love Is A Good Woman, a compilation of his classic love songs in one album, featuring new tracks Good Woman and Misty Blue.
After watching the official announcement that Sydney was to host the Olympic Games in 2000, Williamson wrote Sydney 2000. He was then requested to perform it early one morning on the steps of the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
. A year later in 1994, the song was recorded on Williamson's next album Mulga To Mangoes. Subsequent singles from the album were Seven Year Itch, River Crying Out and Tropical Fever.
1995 saw Williamson celebrating his twenty-fifth year in the Australian music industry. To commemorate the occasion he released a new compilation with all his hits up to that time and two new songs Bush Town (The Lawnmower Song) and No-one Loves Brisbane Like Jesus. At the same time, fans saw the release of his first book True Blue, containing the lyrics to all his songs and explanations of how they came to be written. Williamson was surprised at the book's launch party when visited by Mike Munro
Mike Munro
Michael Munro is an Australian television presenter.- Early life :Munro cites a tough childhood with an abusive and alcoholic mother, as one of the main reasons behind his motivation to succeed. Munro attended Sacred Heart Primary School in Mosman, New South Wales and Marist College North Shore in...
and invited to become guest of honour on the television show This is Your Life
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
. Williamson appeared on the show again in 2000 when Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty
David Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning nearly eight decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson that represented the Australian Bush...
was given the honouary treatment. Williamson released his second family album in time for Christmas in 1996.
In January 1997 Williamson was inducted to the Roll of Renown. His next album Pipe Dream followed a little later. Sir Don, Williamson's tribute song to Sir Donald Bradman is found on this work and the album went on to win the award for Biggest Selling Album at the Country Music Awards of Australia
Tamworth Country Music Festival
The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia and is a celebration of Australian country music culture and heritage. The festival lasts for two weeks during late January and during this period the city of Tamworth comes alive, with...
at Tamworth
Tamworth, New South Wales
Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...
. Respectively since they first met that year, Williamson has performed Raining On The Rock as a duet with his Aborigine friend Warren H. Williams. The following year at the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth, they won the award for "Collaboration Of The Year" at the same event. Williamson soon took part in his television series on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
called The Bush Telegraph. The show unfortunately was short-lived. Following this for a moderate period, Williamson continued touring Australia and was also releasing a series of compilations.
The 1999 album The Way It Is went gold after eight weeks. The album received another three Golden Guitar
Golden Guitar
The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England New South Wales...
Awards- Bush Ballad of The Year: Three Sons, Heritage Song of The Year: Campfire on the Road and Best Selling Album of The Year: The Way It Is. By this period Williamson started receiving new fans from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Williamson's career from 2000 - 2010
Williamson released his next compilation album of his well-known Australian anthems called "Anthems - A Celebration of Australia" in mid-2000. A new single from the album This Ancient Land was recorded with country music veteran Jimmy LittleJimmy Little
Jimmy Little AO , is an Australian Aboriginal musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose career has spanned six decades. For many years he was the only Aboriginal star on the Australian music scene...
for Corroboree
Corroboree
A corroboree is a ceremonial meeting of Australian Aborigines. The word was coined by the European settlers of Australia in imitation of the Aboriginal word caribberie. At a corroboree Aborigines interact with the Dreamtime through dance, music and costume. Many ceremonies act out events from the...
that year. The album also featured the more recent recordings before that time, the Wallaby Anthem A Number On My Back and The Baggy Green with vocals by cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
legend Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
. Another two highlights on the album is Waltzing Matilda 2000 and the appearance of Williamson's studio recording of the Australian National Anthem for the first time. He was soon invited to perform at the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Other invited performers were Nikki Webster
Nikki Webster
Nikki Webster is an Australian pop performer. She is best known for her starring role in the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony and her single "Strawberry Kisses".-Recording career:...
, Yothu Yindi
Yothu Yindi
Yothu Yindi are an Australian band with Aboriginal and balanda members formed in 1986. Aboriginal members come from Yolngu homelands near Yirrkala on the Gove Peninsula in Northern Territory's Arnhem Land...
, Human Nature
Human Nature (band)
Human Nature are an Australian pop vocal group. The group was originally formed as a doo-wop band in 1989 while the current members were at school together in Sydney. So far, the band has had 17 Top 40 hits and five Top 10 hits in Australia since 1996 when their first album Telling Everybody was...
, Julie Anthony, John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
, Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
, Vanessa Amorosi
Vanessa Amorosi
Vanessa Amorosi is an Australian singer-songwriter and recording artist. Her combined album and single sales have reached over 2 million worldwide.-Early life:...
, Tina Arena
Tina Arena
Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...
and many others.
Williamson was honoured to be asked to perform Sir Don at Sir Donald Bradman's
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
Memorial Service in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in 2001. The original scraps of paper this song was scribbled on have been framed and now hang in the Bradman Museum, Bowral, New South Wales
Bowral, New South Wales
-Attractions:Bowral is perhaps the best known of the towns and villages of the Southern Highlands, and in recent years has become the commercial centre of the Wingecarribee Shire. Bowral is known for its boutiques, antique stores, gourmet restaurants, and rich coffee culture.Bowral is home to the...
. He also represented Australia when performing at the Opening Ceremony of Winterlude
Winterlude
Winterlude is an annual festival in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec that celebrates winter.Winterlude is run by Canada's National Capital Commission and was started in 1979. The event is one of Ottawa's most important tourist draws, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year...
in Ottawa, Canada. The following year Williamson put out his next new album Gunyah which in the traditional Aborigine language means 'home'. The opening track Sing You The Outback revealed how important the Australian outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
has been in the past and how invaluable it will be into the future. The next two songs Frangipani Bay and Cape York Peninsula were written during a road trip to Australia's most northern point which was so named. The lyrics in The Devil's Boots were for bushranger Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
.
Buried In Her Bedclothes came to be written after Williamson and Mary-Kay got home after a return trip on the Indian Pacific where they met an elderly lady whose husband died six months before. The lady was so devastated that she refused to get out of bed for three months. Her family had suggested that she'd take a trip on the Indian Pacific as a remedy in bringing her back to life. As the train had travelled past the Nullarbor Plain
Nullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about...
s, Williamson and Mary-Kay met the lady over breakfast and she shared her memories with them. Williamson claimed the train 'had done the job'.
2003 was known by Williamson as his 'most True Blue year ever'. He was elected President of the Country Music Association of Australia
Country Music Association of Australia
The Country Music Association of Australia is an association formed in 1992 that promotes and represents the Australian country music industry...
(CMAA) after Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty
David Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning nearly eight decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson that represented the Australian Bush...
retired. He soon released the sequel to the 1995 album True Blue - The Very Best Of 25 Years, respectively True Blue Two which sold brilliantly. As with the original release, the album featured all his hit songs up to the Gunyah album and exclusively including five new tracks. Williamson recorded a twenty-first anniversary version of "True Blue" with an orchestra and chorale, as well as one line of the original chorus being changed from "or just Vegemite" to "or will she be right" (because Vegemite
Vegemite
Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries...
was never Australian-owned). Other new songs were You Are Very Welcome, Keep Australia Beautiful, The Easter Bilby
Bilby
Bilbies are desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. Before European colonisation of Australia, there were two species. One became extinct in the 1950s; the other survives but remains endangered....
(only available on the accompanying DVD) and a duet with Sara Storer
Sara Storer
Sara Storer is an Australian country music singer. She won seven Golden Guitars in the Tamworth Country Music Festival 2004 awards in Tamworth, the most awards ever won in one year in the 32-year history of the awards. As of the 2010 Golden Guitar awards, Storer has won a total of eleven...
, Raining on the Plains. On 12 October that year Williamson was asked by Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
to perform Waltzing Matilda
Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
at the Memorial Service for the first Anniversary of the 2002 Bali bombings.
In 2004 Williamson and Storer won 2 Golden Guitar Awards each for Vocal Collaboration of The Year and Single of The Year on behalf of Raining On The Plains. The track is also found on Storer's 2002 album "Beautiful Circle
Beautiful Circle
Beautiful Circle is the second album by Australian country music singer Sara Storer released in November 2002. It won a Golden Guitar award for Album of the Year at the Tamworth Country Music Awards in January 2004.-Making of the album:...
". Having recorded "Wobbly Boot Hotel" on Waratah St., he also re-recorded it as a duet with Stan Coster
Stan Coster
Stan Coster OAM was an Australian country music singer-songwriter. His songs were regularly performed by Slim Dusty and other singers. He is the father of country music singer Tracy Coster.-Life and career:...
's daughter Tracy
Tracy Coster
Tracy Coster is an Australian country music singer and songwriter. She was born on 12 April 1966. Her father Stan Coster was an acknowledged songwriter.- Early life :It is hard to determine the time Tracy Coster started her career...
.
The year that followed Williamson re-recorded Wrinkles as a duet with John Stephan. Shortly after, Williamson released the album Chandelier of Stars which was an instant hit with fans. The opening track Little Girl From The Dryland, tells the story of where Williamson's wife Mary-Kay spent her childhood in Tulloona Bore, south of Boggabilla, north-west New South Wales, from her point of view. The title track came from the description of the stars in the sky shortly before sunrise. Bells In A Bushman's Ear acts as a tribute to Australia's country music forefathers and The Camel Boy was about the life of Albert Namatjira
Albert Namatjira
Albert Namatjira , born Elea Namatjira, was an Australian artist. He was a Western Arrernte man, an Indigenous Australian of the Western MacDonnell Ranges area...
. He was Warren H. Williams' great nephew.
Keeper Of The Stones which previously appeared on Williamson's live album Mates On The Road was dedicated to the thousands of indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
who went through the struggles of The Stolen Generation. Desert Child, another duet between Williamson and Williams is respectfully considered a bush lullaby for Aborigine children. Also on the album is A Country Balladeer done as a duet with Chad Morgan
Chad Morgan
Chadwick William "Chad" Morgan is an Australian singer and guitarist known for his vaudeville style of comic country and western songs, his prominent teeth and goofy stage persona. In reference to his first recording he is known as The Sheik of Scrubby Creek.- Biography :Morgan was born in...
and Flower On The Water was a moving tribute to the victims of the Bali bombings
Bali bombings
Bali bombings can refer to either of two separate incidents on the Indonesian island of Bali:* The 2002 Bali bombings, occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali...
.
The first four lines in Flower On The Water were inspired for by Williamson after seeing the words written alongside a photo of one of the perished victims. The lines were as follows: To hear your voice, to see you smile / To sit and talk to you awhile / To be together the same old way / That would be our greatest wish today. Williamson had long since found the lines' author and started a friendship.
The following November Williamson released the new song We Love This Country on a compilation of the same name with his favourite holiday songs to promote Australian tourism with caravans
Travel trailer
A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
. We Love This Country became a jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
for Jayco
Jayco, Inc
Jayco, Inc. is a manufacturer of recreational vehicles. They make fold-down travel trailers, "fifth-wheelers", truck campers and motorhomes.-Corporate history:...
commercials.
On 4 September 2006, Williamson was devastated after hearing that Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
had been killed by a stingray
Stingray
The stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes, and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae , Plesiobatidae , Urolophidae , Urotrygonidae , Dasyatidae , Potamotrygonidae The...
barb. Williamson wrote Irwin's tribute song Wildlife Warriors: It's Time. Fans regard it as the 'angriest' song he had ever written. He was then honoured to perform both Home Among The Gum Trees and True Blue at Irwin's memorial service in the Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo is a zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association , and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter made the...
Crocoseum. The service was later released on DVD. Wildlife Warriors: It's Time was eventually released on a new compilation album of the same name. In addition the album included Williamson's favourite conservation awareness tracks as well as both performances from Irwin's memorial service.
At the beginning of 2008 Williamson decided to put together a musical. Based on his music and lyrics, the book by Simon Heath and directed by Bernie Zelvis
Bernie Zelvis
Bernie Zelvis is an Australian Film and Television Director, best known for his work in youth and music television.-Television:Bernie started his directing career in Perth with Kids Co. & The Buzz, and then moved to Sydney to direct Cheez TV and the Ground Zero for Channel Ten...
, Williamson named it Quambatook - The Musical. Produced by the Fair Dinkum Road Co., the cast included Darren Coggan, Belinda Wollaston
Belinda Wollaston
Belinda Wollaston is an acclaimed Australian musical theatre actor.Wollaston is a graduate of the NIDA Singer, Actor, Dancer and Young Actors Studio; and the prestigious Talent Development Project...
, Josh Russell, Shardyn Fahey-Leigh, Benson Anthony, Makirum Fahey-Leigh, Reg Poole
Reg Poole
Reg Poole is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the VFL during the 1960s.Poole played in the back pocket for Hawthorn and was a premiership player in his debut season with the club. He retired young in 1968, at just 26 years of age.-External links:...
, Nicole Nicholas, Angelika Purves, Katie Ditchburn, Jennifer Reed, Alistair Toogood, Warren H. Williams, Williamson's daughter Ami and Williamson himself. On 7 February 2008, the musical was premiered at the EVAN Theater in Penrith
Penrith, New South Wales
Penrith is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Penrith is located west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Penrith...
to positive reviews, making it a major highlight in the history of Australian musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
.
The album Hillbilly Road was released in mid-August 2008. The lyrics for the album were inspired by his home in Springbrook
Springbrook, Queensland
Springbrook is a suburb, mountain and plateau in the Gold Coast hinterland of South East Queensland. The highest point, known as Springbrook Mountain is high...
. Subsequent singles that followed were "Cydi", "Drink A Little Love", "Australia Is Another Word For Free" as a trio with Warren H. Williams and Amos Morris
Amos Morris
Amos Morris is an Australian country music bush balladeer from Kempsey, New South Wales. He won a Golden Guitar Award in 2008 for Bush Ballad of the Year, becoming the youngest ever winner of the category...
, and "Better Than A Picture". "The Joy Is In The Journey" was a special bonus addition to finish the album, previously appearing on the Quambatook Musical soundtrack. The Hillbilly Road album was promoted everywhere around Australia until early the next year when Warren decided to move on and pursue other musical projects, leaving Williamson to perform the rest of the tour solo. They remain mates.
By late 2009 Williamson got together with fellow country star Adam Harvey
Adam Harvey
Adam Harvey is an Australian country music singer. Harvey has been nominated three times for an ARIA Music Award and is a multiple CMAA Award winner.-Biography:Adam Harvey got his start musically learning country classics on the guitar as a small boy...
and recorded their cover to Roger Miller's "King of the Road
King of the Road (song)
"King of the Road" is a 1964 song written and originally recorded by country singer Roger Miller.The lyrics tell of a hobo who despite being poor revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously as the "king of the road"...
", issued both as a single and on Harvey's duets album "Both Sides Now". Williamson then made his Carols By Candlelight
Carols by Candlelight
Carols by Candlelight is an Australian Christmas tradition that originated in southeastern Australia in the 19th century and was popularised in Melbourne in the 1930s. The tradition has since spread around the world. It involves people gathering, usually outdoors in a park, to sing carols by...
debut at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Sidney Myer Music Bowl
The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain, close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct...
.
On 26 January (Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
) 2010 Williamson released a new Australian anthem called "Island of Oceans" as a duet with Shannon Noll
Shannon Noll
Shannon Noll first came to prominence as runner-up of the first series of Australian Idol which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. Since then he has released five Top 10 albums and ten Top 10 singles. His first two albums That's What I'm Talking About in 2004 and Lift in 2005 debuted at No...
.
2010 also marks Williamson's fortieth year in the Australian music industry. A new compilation album The Absolute Best of John Williamson: 40 Years True Blue commemorating this milestone was released on 19 March. "Island of Oceans" is the only new track available on this set.
In addition to this, the second disc of the album features covers of Williamson's songs from thirteen Australian singers including Wendy Matthews
Wendy Matthews
Wendy Joan Matthews is an Australian adult alternative pop singer originally from Canada who has been a member of Models and Absent Friends and is a solo artist...
, Troy Cassar-Daley
Troy Cassar-Daley
Troy Cassar-Daley is a multi-award-winning country musician from New South Wales, Australia.He released his first EP, "Dream Out Loud", in 1994 and was nominated for his first Golden Guitar for Best Male Vocalist the same year...
and The Ordinary Fear of God.
Williamson's career from 2011 - present
On 28 January 2011 Williamson released a recording of a concert with the Sydney Symphony OrchestraSydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
at the Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
.
At the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth that same month John presented Jimmy Little
Jimmy Little
Jimmy Little AO , is an Australian Aboriginal musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose career has spanned six decades. For many years he was the only Aboriginal star on the Australian music scene...
with the Lifetime Achievement
Award.
In recent times due to ever increasing requests the Anthems album was back in production.
A new studio album called "The Big Red" is currently in pre-production and will be released in 2012.
Honours
In 1993 Williamson became a Member of the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AM) for his services to Australian Country Music and conservation issues.
On 27 October 2010 he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
.
John has recently become a Protect Our Coral Sea Ambassador.
Personal life
Williamson has stated in a small number of interviews that he does not like cats because of their lazy, selfish and sometimes destructive behaviour. Bill The Cat from the Warragul album is a humorous presentation of a serious message that points out the damage feral cats do to wildlife.Shortly after Old Man Emu was released in 1970, Williamson married Mary-Kay Price. They have two daughters, Ami and Georgie.
On 23 April 2007, it was announced that after 35 years of marriage, Williamson and Mary-Kay had divorced.
A couple of years before the marriage ended, Mary-Kay accused Williamson of not spending enough time with her at home in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
when not on tour. Williamson has privately admitted that instead he likes to head up to Springbrook
Springbrook, Queensland
Springbrook is a suburb, mountain and plateau in the Gold Coast hinterland of South East Queensland. The highest point, known as Springbrook Mountain is high...
in southeast Queensland to unwind and get inspiration for future songs.
Following his marriage break-up, Williamson got together with his new partner Meg Doyle, who is one of the main organisers of Williamson's activities. They live together at his mountain home in Springbrook.
John's middle brother Robin died of cancer in 1999. Williamson's 2002 album "Gunyah", in particular the track Salisbury Street, was dedicated to Robin. Salisbury Street was the location of their second home in Quambatook.
Criticism and controversy
Not all of his songs were universally popular, for a variety of reasons.At the peak of Williamson's career in 1983, The Vasectomy Song was banned from radio airplay because radio stations regarded its lyrics as too risqué, but despite this it was popular. The fictional song deals with Williamson having a vasectomy
Vasectomy
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization and/or permanent birth control. During the procedure, the vasa deferentia of a man are severed, and then tied/sealed in a manner such to prevent sperm from entering into the seminal stream...
and then subsequently being arrested for obscene behaviour after being stopped by the police for speeding and asked to submit to a breath test. The song's humour is based on use of the term "blow into the bag" to refer to both the supply of a sample to test the success of the vasectomy and the use of the breathalyser.
One song on the Warragul album Rip Rip Woodchip helped raise awareness and money to provide protection for Australia's forestland but it raised a controversy with loggers and lumberjacks, causing threats to sue Williamson and cut his career short. The situation came to a climax when Williamson was asked to perform the song for the Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. He however protected his right to voice his opinion politically, and was quoted as saying on the back cover of the song's 7" single, "Yesterday was the right time to stop the wholesale slaughter of our forests, flora and fauna. Every load of woodchip from our ancient and rare forests is stained with the blood of unique parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s and of marsupials such as koalas and rare possums. We are rapidly losing the very thing that makes me feel very fortunate to live in Australia."
A Flag Of Our Own from the Waratah St. album sparked a controversy with a few country RSL
Returned and Services League of Australia
The Returned and Services League of Australia is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force ....
clubs. Since the early 80's Williamson wanted to express in song that Australia needed its own flag minus the Royal Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
. He received support from many people about the matter including ANZAC diggers who said they fought for Australia, not the flag. Regardless, Williamson was banned from a string of RSL clubs upon performing the song.
Fans who bought Hillbilly Road criticised two songs on the album titled Beach Of Love and Tomorrow's Worries both in which the word sexy appeared but Williamson defended his right for freedom of creative speech. The album however regardless was still well received and hit No.1 on the Australian country charts.
While Rip Rip Woodchip and A Flag Of Our Own upset a few people, both songs were causes that Williamson felt passionate about and today he continues to promote them with the issues and benefits involved.
