Shirley Thoms
Encyclopedia
Shirley Thoms-Bystrynski (12 January 1925 - 1 July 1999), was an Australian country music
singer and pioneer of Australia's country music
industry. She was known as Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart.
she became the first female solo act to record country music
in Australia, as well as the first Queensland
er to be featured on disc. This first batch of songs included ""Faithful Old Dog". She went on to tour Australia and New Zealand, entertaining the troops during World War II
and writing songs. Thoms became known by the title of Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart. She later toured with Sole Bros Circus and met her first husband John Sole. The couple had a son, Peter and Thoms stepped away from show business, however John Sole died prematurely. In 1970, Thoms came out of retirement to appear on the Captain Cook Bicentenary Show in the Tamworth Town Hall and briefly revived her career with album releases in 1970 and 1972.
Her most popular and best selling recordings were "The Faithful Old Dog", "Where The Golden Wattle Blooms" and "Yodelling In The Moonlight".
She was elevated to the Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown in 1980 (only the fifth artist to be so honoured and the first woman). She was also inducted into the Country Music Hands of Fame in that same year.
After suffering from Parkinsons Disease and a heart condition, she died in 1999, at Summerland Point, Lake Macquarie
, NSW, aged 74.
There is a collection of bronze busts in Bicentennial Park, Tamworth that includes Shirley Thoms, Stan Coster, Tex Morton, Gordon Parsons, Barry Thornton and Buddy Williams.
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...
singer and pioneer of Australia's 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...
industry. She was known as Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart.
Biography
Thoms was born in 1925, in Toowoomba, Queensland and was raised in a family of seven children. She began her career singing and yodelling songs by Tex Morton and Harry Torrani, and won a Bundaberg talent quest with Torrani's Mockingbird Yodel. In 1941, aged 16, with what is now EMI RecordsEMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
she became the first female solo act to record 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...
in Australia, as well as the first Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
er to be featured on disc. This first batch of songs included ""Faithful Old Dog". She went on to tour Australia and New Zealand, entertaining the troops during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and writing songs. Thoms became known by the title of Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart. She later toured with Sole Bros Circus and met her first husband John Sole. The couple had a son, Peter and Thoms stepped away from show business, however John Sole died prematurely. In 1970, Thoms came out of retirement to appear on the Captain Cook Bicentenary Show in the Tamworth Town Hall and briefly revived her career with album releases in 1970 and 1972.
Her most popular and best selling recordings were "The Faithful Old Dog", "Where The Golden Wattle Blooms" and "Yodelling In The Moonlight".
She was elevated to the Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown in 1980 (only the fifth artist to be so honoured and the first woman). She was also inducted into the Country Music Hands of Fame in that same year.
After suffering from Parkinsons Disease and a heart condition, she died in 1999, at Summerland Point, Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie
The City of Lake Macquarie is a Local Government Area in New South Wales, Australia, approximately north of Sydney. It is immediately adjacent to the city of Newcastle and was proclaimed as a city from 7 September 1984.-The City of Lake Macquarie:...
, NSW, aged 74.
There is a collection of bronze busts in Bicentennial Park, Tamworth that includes Shirley Thoms, Stan Coster, Tex Morton, Gordon Parsons, Barry Thornton and Buddy Williams.
External links
- Tribute to Shirley Thoms and Citation on the Country Music Roll Of Renown.