Australian Music Archives

The Patty Markham Story is both a mystery and a tragedy. A mystery because so much of her early life, and her life post-1964, is unknown. A tragedy because here was a young woman with a beautiful voice and the prospect of a long and successful career who it seems just vanished.

Patty Markham had three 45 singles on the Rex label, followed by four on the Festival label, in the years 1960 to 1962. There was also an EP which comprised two of her Festival label 45s, including her biggest hit, “Blue Star”.  Media references, particularly the Teenager’s Weekly (a supplement of The Australian Women’s Weekly), detail that Patty was in high demand for Club and TV appearances. One column in December of 1962, reports that Patty was to marry a Sydney singer, Len Taylor in February of 1963. Both planned to continue their singing careers. I like several others, have no idea as to what happened post-1964.

Except for “Blue Star”, I’ve used my copies of the original 45s. There will be some ‘crackling’.

In this episode, we focus on the first phase of Diana Trask’s career; the years 1958-1965. In this episode, all tracks have been taken from my original vinyl copies. Hence, you will hear more ‘crackle’ than usual.

And what a momentous period this was for Diana Trask! The story begins in Melbourne, shifts to New York, and includes numerous trips back-and-forth to/from USA-Australia. From a recording viewpoint, this wasn’t a particularly fruitful time for Diana, bar the success of her biggest Australian hit, “Long Ago Last Summer”.

Along the journey of the first phase of Diana’s career, we’ll come across Lee Gordon, Frank Sinatra, Mitch Miller and others. There are even versions of “Waltzing Matilda” and “The Road to Gundagai”!

As I mention in the Podcast, I’ve used Diana’s semi-autobiography, “What Ever Happened to Diana Trask?” to flesh out details of her career. It’s a great read!

Enjoy: Diana Trask’s Career, Phase One

In the title of a Bruce Springsteen song, this episode has been “A Long Time Comin’”! About five weeks ago, I acquired a virus with sore throat, coughing, fatigue etc. Whatever it is, I’ve still got about 15% left. So in a real sense this episode has been a “labour of love”.

The episode features the work of a truly wonderful Australian singer, JUDY JACQUES. As you will discover, Judy Jacques is much more than “the singer who turned down The Seekers”. Judy’s recording career spans the years 1962-2012, across many musical styles, ranging from Gospel to Avant Garde.

Detailed information in this podcast has come from a published Journal article by Robyn Ryan, “‘You’re Messin’ Up My Mind’: Why Judy Jacques Avoided the Path of the Pop Diva”. It’s freely available on the internet. I encourage you to search it out.

After a fairly lengthy absence due to voice issues, I’ve returned to the original Podcast series. Whilst the music is still paramount, the narrative is extended to more fully tell the story. Thanks to Katie and the good people at Hastings-Macleay Speech Therapy, I’ve managed to again find resonance in the voice, despite the ongoing Parkinson’s issues.

We recommence with the story of Robyn Alvarez, a highly-talented and popular vocalist of the 60s, who became a Bandstand regular. Robyn recorded five 45s between 1962-1965 but never had a hit. However, she did win a Logie and was a consummate TV performer. As well as playing the 45s, I’ve included several TV performances, most of which can be found on YouTube.

Along the journey of this Podcast, I’ll reference Duke Ellington, The Beatles, Herb Alpert and locally, Joe Halford and Jay Justin!

Enjoy the Robyn Alvarez Story!

"MIDNIGHT" is a very evocative theme; the bewitching hour! We've searched far and wide to find songs/instrumentals that in some way speak to the theme of "Midnight", and have "Midnight" in the title. We move from an early 60s instrumental by The Phantoms, through a Ray Brown & The Whispers cover (You can probably guess that one!), then onto a brilliant cover by Renee Geyer and, from the end of the last century, a wonderful piece by two legends of Australian Music, Mike Rudd and Bill Putt. And much, much more....Enjoy the "MIDNIGHT" theme in Australian Music!

In this episode, we start in the 60s and move into the 70s, searching for Australian Music with “Rock” or “Rockin” in the title. We’ll hear from the likes of AC/DC, Lobby Loyde & The Coloured Balls, Daddy Cool and, Kevin Johnson. Australian listeners could probably name the songs from that list of artists. Of course, there is one song from an artist in that list that has “Rock” in the title but is not Rock ‘n’ Roll. Enjoy the journey through the 60s and 70s of Australian Rock.

Going in search of Australian Big Ones with either ‘Rock’, ‘Rockin’’ or ‘Rocker’ proved to be a tough one. I’ve only come up with seven. We’ll hear tracks from some of the big names in the early days of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Australia; Johnny O’Keefe & The Dee Jays, Johnny Rebb & His Rebels, and Col Joye & The Joy Boys. Ironically, once we move into the mid-60s and beyond there is no shortage of candidates! Enjoy the next 20 minutes of early Australian Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Episode One of ROCK in Australian music is an exploration of the Obscurities. We’ll hear tracks from artists such as The Stoneagers, Joan Bilceaux and, The Henri Bource Allstars. There’ll also be obscure tracks from artists as diverse as Slim Dusty, Johnny Rebb and, Alan Dale & The Houserockers. For the most part, this episode Rocks but there are a couple of tracks with ROCK in the title, that stretch the definition. Enjoy rockin’ with these Australian Obscurities!

A very eclectic mix in Episode Two of the WILD theme in Australian Music. We range from an Old Time Dance number to the contemporary sounds of the Birds of Tokyo. In between we’ll hear Johnny Devlin singing a Calypso version of a song that was to become Johnny O’Keefe’s signature tune! A truly beautiful WILD song rounds out the set from the duo of Kate Ceberano and Paul Grabowsky. Enjoy Episode Two of the WILD theme in Australian Music.

WILD in Australian Music, Episode One, spans the years 1949 to 1993. From 1949 we hear from one of Australia’s most prolific recording artists, the ubiquitous Les Welch. Jumping to 1993, we’ll hear from the brilliant singer/songwriter, Graeme Connors. In between, we’ll hear a lot of tunes from the 60s and, of course, one from the 50s with a WILD song that defined an artist: Johnny O”Keefe. Going Wildddd.....