Joy McKean
Encyclopedia
Joy McKean OAM
, born 1930, is an Australia
n country music
singer-songwriter and wife of the late Slim Dusty
. Known as the "grand lady" of Australian country music
, McKean is recognised as one of Australia's leading song writers and bush ballad
eers and wrote several of Dusty's most popular songs.
in the Hunter Valley
, New South Wales
on January 14, 1930. As an infant, McKean lived on the dairy farm belonging to her mother's family. Her father was a country school teacher and the family moved around to several regional centres during her youth. Her mother and their father, who was a steel guitar player, encouraged an interest in different types of music, including country performers Jimmie Rogers and the Carter Family
. Joy learned the accordion, piano and steel guitar, while younger sister Heather McKean learned the ukulele and both took up yodeling. McKean also contracted polio as a child and was treated in Sydney by the famous Sister Kenny
.
McKean first performed on the radio for the first time around the age of 10 on Sydney's 2GB
radio station. Later McKean and her sister sang for the Sydney University Revue, while a student at the university. By the age of 18 in the 1940s she was performing live with her sister Heather on their own half hour saturday radio show on 2KY
as the McKean Sisters, noted for their yodelling harmonies. The Melody Trail starring the two sisters ran from 1949 until 1956. The McKeans began recording, and from 1951 with Rodeo Label they cut such trademark hits as "Gymkhana Yodel" and "Yodel Down The Valley". During this time, Joy McKean first met Slim Dusty
(real name David Kirkpatrick) whom she married in 1951 (becoming Mrs Kirkpatrick, but retaining Joy McKean as her stage name). Heather met Reg Lindsay
, whom she married in 1954 and the sisters began solo careers and partnerships with two of Australia's leading male country music singers.
by radio DJ Tim McNamara
in Sydney. McKean married Dusty in 1951. The couple became a highly successful musical pairing. In 1954, the couple commenced their first Australian tour to limited success, Dusty attained international success with his 1957 hit "A Pub With No Beer", and remained at the forefront of Australian country music
from that time until his death in 2003. McKean was Dusty's wife and manager for over 50 years. Together the couple had two children: Anne Kirkpatrick
and David Kirkpatrick
who are also accomplished singer-songwriters. The family began annual round Australia tours in 1964 - encompassing a 30,000 mile, 10 month journey which was the subject of a feature film, The Slim Dusty Movie
in 1984.
McKean won the first ever Golden Guitar
award in 1973, for writing "Lights on the Hill
", performed by Slim Dusty. Other popular songs written by McKean for her husband include: "Walk A Country Mile", "Indian Pacific", "Kelly's Offsider", "The Angel Of Goulburn Hill" and "The Biggest Disappointment".
In 1993 the McKean Sisters reunited to record a CD, "The McKeans On Stage" and continued to perform together on stage various times with the Slim Dusty Show over the subsequent decade leading up to Slim's death in 2003 and Tamworth's tribute "Concert for Slim" in 2004. This tribute concert brought together over 30 Australian music artists and featured an historic duet performance by McKean and Paul Kelly
of "Sunlander" and a cover of McKean's Lights on the Hill
performed by Keith Urban
.
McKean received her 6th Golden Guitar
award in 2007 with Peppimenarti Cradle winning the Award for Bush Ballad of the Year. McKean celebrated her 80th birthday in 2010 with the Happy Birthday Joy concert at Capitol Theatre in Tamworth during the Country Music Festival in January 2010.
McKean is one of the founders of the Tamworth Country Music Festival
and the Country Music Association of Australia
, and is also a biographer ("Slim Dusty: Another Day, Another Town"). Mckean is Chair of the Slim Dusty Foundation Ltd, the organisation established to build and operate the Slim Dusty Centre in Slim’s home town of Kempsey, NSW.
Order 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"...
, born 1930, 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 and wife of the late 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...
. Known as the "grand lady" of Australian country music
Australian country music
Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodelling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, by the traditions of Australian bush balladeers, as well as by popular American...
, McKean is recognised as one of Australia's leading song writers and bush ballad
Bush ballad
Bush songs or bush ballads are a folk music and poetry tradition in Australia's outback. The rhyming songs, poems and tales often relate to the itinerant and rebellious spirit of Australia, a young country. The lyrical tradition of bush songs was born of settlers and influenced by Aboriginal...
eers and wrote several of Dusty's most popular songs.
Early Life and career
Joy McKean was born in SingletonSingleton, New South Wales
-Industry & Commerce:Major industries near Singleton include coal mining, energy generation, light industry, vineyards, horse breeding and cattle production. Dairying was once a mainstay in the area, but has declined....
in the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on January 14, 1930. As an infant, McKean lived on the dairy farm belonging to her mother's family. Her father was a country school teacher and the family moved around to several regional centres during her youth. Her mother and their father, who was a steel guitar player, encouraged an interest in different types of music, including country performers Jimmie Rogers and the Carter Family
Carter Family
The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...
. Joy learned the accordion, piano and steel guitar, while younger sister Heather McKean learned the ukulele and both took up yodeling. McKean also contracted polio as a child and was treated in Sydney by the famous Sister Kenny
Sister Kenny
Sister Kenny is a 1946 biographical film about Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an Australian bush nurse, who fought to help people who suffered from polio, despite opposition from the medical establishment...
.
McKean first performed on the radio for the first time around the age of 10 on Sydney's 2GB
2GB
2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia broadcasting on 873 kHz, AM. It is one of Australia's most popular talk-back radio stations, and is the number one station in Sydney.-History:The station commenced broadcasting in August 1926...
radio station. Later McKean and her sister sang for the Sydney University Revue, while a student at the university. By the age of 18 in the 1940s she was performing live with her sister Heather on their own half hour saturday radio show on 2KY
2KY
2KY is a commercial radio station based in Sydney, broadcasting throughout New South Wales and Canberra on a network of over 140 narrowcast transmitters as well as the main 1017 AM frequency in Sydney. 2KY broadcasts live commentary of thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing...
as the McKean Sisters, noted for their yodelling harmonies. The Melody Trail starring the two sisters ran from 1949 until 1956. The McKeans began recording, and from 1951 with Rodeo Label they cut such trademark hits as "Gymkhana Yodel" and "Yodel Down The Valley". During this time, Joy McKean first met 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...
(real name David Kirkpatrick) whom she married in 1951 (becoming Mrs Kirkpatrick, but retaining Joy McKean as her stage name). Heather met Reg Lindsay
Reg Lindsay
Reginald John Lindsay OAM was an Australian country music singer who won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than five hundred songs in his fifty-year music career....
, whom she married in 1954 and the sisters began solo careers and partnerships with two of Australia's leading male country music singers.
Marriage and later career
McKean developed a flair for melody and musical storytelling with vivid evocative imagery. McKean was introduced to Slim DustySlim 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...
by radio DJ Tim McNamara
Tim McNamara
Timothy Augustine McNamara , was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues in -. He played for the Boston Braves and New York Giants.-External links:...
in Sydney. McKean married Dusty in 1951. The couple became a highly successful musical pairing. In 1954, the couple commenced their first Australian tour to limited success, Dusty attained international success with his 1957 hit "A Pub With No Beer", and remained at the forefront of Australian country music
Australian country music
Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodelling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, by the traditions of Australian bush balladeers, as well as by popular American...
from that time until his death in 2003. McKean was Dusty's wife and manager for over 50 years. Together the couple had two children: Anne Kirkpatrick
Anne Kirkpatrick
Anne Kirkpatrick is an Australian country music singer. She is the daughter of country singers Slim Dusty and Joy McKean.Kirkpatrick has released thirteen albums. She won Golden Guitar Awards at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 1979, 1991, and twice in 1992. She also won an ARIA Award for...
and David Kirkpatrick
David Kirkpatrick
David Kirkpatrick may refer to:*David Kirkpatrick , author of The Facebook Effect *David Kirkpatrick , American film producer, studio executive and screenwriter...
who are also accomplished singer-songwriters. The family began annual round Australia tours in 1964 - encompassing a 30,000 mile, 10 month journey which was the subject of a feature film, The Slim Dusty Movie
The Slim Dusty Movie
The Slim Dusty Movie is a 1984 Australian feature film directed by Rob Stewart and starring Slim Dusty, Joy McKean, Jon Blake and Mary Charleston.-The Film:...
in 1984.
McKean won the first ever 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...
award in 1973, for writing "Lights on the Hill
Lights on the Hill
Lights on the Hill is an Australian country music hit song written by Joy McKean and made famous by Slim Dusty and which won the first Golden Guitar Award in 1973...
", performed by Slim Dusty. Other popular songs written by McKean for her husband include: "Walk A Country Mile", "Indian Pacific", "Kelly's Offsider", "The Angel Of Goulburn Hill" and "The Biggest Disappointment".
In 1993 the McKean Sisters reunited to record a CD, "The McKeans On Stage" and continued to perform together on stage various times with the Slim Dusty Show over the subsequent decade leading up to Slim's death in 2003 and Tamworth's tribute "Concert for Slim" in 2004. This tribute concert brought together over 30 Australian music artists and featured an historic duet performance by McKean and Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
of "Sunlander" and a cover of McKean's Lights on the Hill
Lights on the Hill
Lights on the Hill is an Australian country music hit song written by Joy McKean and made famous by Slim Dusty and which won the first Golden Guitar Award in 1973...
performed by Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
.
McKean received her 6th 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...
award in 2007 with Peppimenarti Cradle winning the Award for Bush Ballad of the Year. McKean celebrated her 80th birthday in 2010 with the Happy Birthday Joy concert at Capitol Theatre in Tamworth during the Country Music Festival in January 2010.
McKean is one of the founders of the Tamworth Country Music Festival
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...
and 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...
, and is also a biographer ("Slim Dusty: Another Day, Another Town"). Mckean is Chair of the Slim Dusty Foundation Ltd, the organisation established to build and operate the Slim Dusty Centre in Slim’s home town of Kempsey, NSW.
External links
- Tribute to the McKean Sisters by Kate Nugent and Max Ellis, January 26, 2007.
- ABC Country: Slim Dusty with Joy Mckean
- The Slim Dusty Movie on The Internet Movie Database