Australian Music Archives

Episode 8 is Episode 3 of The Australian Groups Series and the focus is on Billy Thorpe and The (Original) Aztecs' first self-titled LP, 1965. The LP is quite unique in that no tracks appeared on a 45 and only three on an EP. The aim of the LP, as described in the liner notes, is to capture the excitement of a 'live' performance (although, the LP was not recorded 'live'). The (Original) Aztecs, on this recording, were; Col Baigent, John "Bluey" Watson, Vince Melouney and Tony Barber. It should be noted that The Aztecs who performed on their first 45, without Billy Thorpe, included Valentine Jones, who was replaced by Tony Barber shortly after Billy Thorpe joined the band.

Episode 7 brings us to Part 2 of The Easybeats as Songwriters. The epic achievement of Friday on My Mind hits in this episode as songwriting responsibility shifts to Vanda-Young.

In Episode 6, we shift to the first of our Australian Groups Series; no better place to start than with The Easybeats! The episode is titled "The Easybeats as Songwriters". This, and subsequent episodes, will trace the shifting sands of songwriting duties. We'll trace this evolution by focussing on The Easybeats' Australian 45 releases, with reference to the disparate nature of releases in other countries.

Episode 5 introduces the first of our Australian Singers Series. This episode was created for a good friend of Bobbie Thomas, after his sad passing on 6 December 2020. It showcases Bobbie's - or Rob's (as he was later-known) career that began in 1962 as a pop/rock singer before a shift into stage musicals, then a club performer and finally, a much-loved radio announcer on Eastside FM. It was quite a career!

The final three months of 1959 are covered in Episode 4. We'll hear a huge hit for Johnny O'Keefe and The Dee Jays that was kept from the No.1 spot by an American rocker, the first chart entry for an Australian female singer who moved from pop singer to 'torch' singer, before achieving her greatest success as a country singer, and the first chart entry for an original rocker who is still performing to this day in 2021! And there is much more, including the first chart entry for Les Morrison who was to become a "Starr".

Episode 3 covers the period July to September, 1959. We'll find the first chart entries for; one of Australia's most enduring vocal groups, a New Zealander who became a fixture on the Australian music scene, a hit for a Quartet with a song written for a Royal visit and a big hit for an Australian music legend with percussion featuring a typewriter! And there's more......

Episode 2 covers the first six months of 1959, with diversity of styles being the over-arching theme. We'll hear a first chart entry for an Australian radio legend, a first chart entry for the "Golden Boy", a hymn recorded in St John's Church, Camberwell in Melbourne and a song that appears to be a tourism promo for Queensland, and, of course, more Johnny O'Keefe and The Dee Jays.

In this very first episode, tracing the chart success of Australian artists, we cover the period 1957-8 at the birth of what became known as the Top 40 era. The reality of this two-year period is that the volume of success was limited. As a comparison, the year of 1959 will be covered in three episodes and subsequent years in four. We do, however, meet the first national No. 1 which lasted in the charts for a staggering 55 weeks. Of course, there is the very early work of Johnny O'Keefe and the show kicks off with a surprising entry from a future star of Australian TV. All episodes are based on the work of David Kent's Australian Chart Chronicles 1940-2008.