AUNTY DAWN SMITH – VERANDAH MUSIC BOURKE STYLE

Here’s a taste of how they sing and play around Bourke, NSW.  Aunty Dawn plays guitar and sings in the Australian country style. One the first video she performs ‘Tall Dark Man in the Saddle’ and on the second, with the vocal contribution of Chris Woodland, ‘Annabelle’.

 

Aunty Dawn is a long-standing friend of Chris Woodland who many years ago worked on stations in the Bourke area and formed firm friendships with many of the local Indigenous people. He met Aunty Dawn in the early days and they have remained in touch ever since. Aunty taught Chris the song, Annabelle.

 

These field recordings were made by Rob Willis, John Harpley and Chris Woodland in October, 2017. Enjoy.

 

Tall Dark Man in the Saddle https://youtu.be/l_yyRUnK0N0

 

Annabelle https://youtu.be/_Ie4u2LVsMk 

TEX MORTON BIOGRAPHY

Tex c 1940 Photo by photographer Lyle Fowler (1891-1969) Sourced via Wikipedia from State Library Victoria (CC)

Andrew K Smith has just published the first full-length biography of Tex Morton (University of Tennessee Press), Tex Morton: From Australian Yodeler to International Showman by Andrew K Smith.

 

An important contribution to music history scholarship, this volume not only establishes Morton’s significance in the history of Australian country music, but it also draws deep connections between Morton’s Australasian influence and country music in the United States, exploring Morton’s legacy in the wider context of the genre worldwide. Complete with a comprehensive discography of Tex Morton’s works, Smith’s in-depth biography claims for Morton his rightful place as a major founding figure in the history of Australian country music.

 

https://utpress.org/title/tex-morton/  Also available on Amazon.