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Rock music was born in the 1950’s and
has proliferated fast throughout the world since then.
Australia was one of the many countries that adapted and
embraced its rather interesting culture.
Rock music started
gaining popularity in Australia during the mid 50’s and
60’s. By 1970’s Australia already has its own rock bands,
which have strong American and British influence.
It wasn’t until the 80’s when
Australian rock, also known as Oz Rock, started to develop
its own rock sound that is distinctively Australian.
It is
also during this decade when Australian rock bands broke
through the international music scene. |
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American rock music was brought to Australia by Lee Gordon,
when he arrived in the country in 1953. Gordon is the
American entrepreneur who made Johnnie Ray known in the
Australian music scene. |
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Other music influences brought by
this music mogul are Artie Shaw, Bill Haley and the Comets,
Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Chuck Berry, Frank Sinatra,
Nat King Cole, and a lot more.
Mr. Gordon not only brought
on influence to Australia but also helped in the development
of Australian local talents. Although he’s an American, Mr.
Gordon didn’t ignore local talents.
He cultivated and
motivated them by giving them a chance to shine on the stage
as support performers in the many concerts he organized in
Australia.
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One beneficiary of Lee Gordon’s local
talent promotion was Johnny O’Keefe. O’Keefe started to get
noticed by the public after several appearances in Mr.
Gordon’s Bill Haley Tour. Johnny O’Keefe soon after became
one of Australia’s rock icons.
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He was the first Australian
artist to be included in the Australian Top 40, with his
single, Wild One.
He was also the first Australian to get a
contract with an international label, the US Liberty.
Another first for him is being the first rock and roll star
who hosted a radio program—the Rockville Junction aired on
ABC Radio.
Other Australian rockers who gained more or less the same
popularity are Alan Dale and the Houserockers, Col Joye and
The Joy Boys, Dig Richards and the R’Jays, Digger Revell and
the Denvermen, and Ray Hoff and The Offbeats, just to name a
few.
The biggest British influence on Australian rock music scene
was the world-famous Beatles. The Beatles always got wild
and worshipping receptions in every tour they had in
Australia, as well as in New Zealand, during the 60’s.
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The Australian tour of the famous band in
1964 gathered around 300,000 fans in the city of Adelaide.
The audience size is more than a quarter of the city’s
population during that time!
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