[Powderworks] PG on Slim Dusty
Jeff Bond
Jeff Bond" <jeffbond@mindspring.com
Sat, 20 Sep 2003 23:22:36 -0400
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Tom, thanks for the post. By pure coincidence my son and I were =
visiting a street painting festival here in Raleigh, NC. We watched the =
featured artist, Ngaire Wills, of Sydney for some time this afternoon. =
By the way, the featured artist at the Manly Chalkfest this weekend is =
from Raleigh.
Anyway, my son and I were talking to Ngaire about her craft and many =
other things, and I mentioned I had five Midnight Oils CD's on my =
turntable right now, and she yells out "OOOIIILLLLSSSSS". She mentioned =
that she thought Peter would eventually be a Green Party politician, but =
hadn't heard anything about him recently. I mentioned that I had just =
read his tribute to Slim Dusty's memory, and she seemed very sad. She =
has been in the States for about a week (and experienced Hurricane =
Isabel, which roared through the mid-Atlantic states this week), and was =
unaware that Slim had passed away. I gather that Slim was venerated in =
Australia in much the same way as Johnny Cash was here. Ngaire said she =
knew both Slim and Joy, and produced artwork for some of his albums. =
Small world.
seeya. Jeff
----- Original Message -----=20
From: giffey=20
To: powderworks@cs.colorado.edu=20
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2003 11:07 PM
Subject: [Powderworks] PG on Slim Dusty
Hi all,
I don't believe anyone has sent a link to the following column, =
written by Peter Garrett, which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald.
-- Tom
Slim, the man with no peer=20
September 20, 2003=20
Slim Dusty, who died yesterday at 76, was Australia's great =
communicator, and not simply because he had 1000 songs to sing, writes =
Peter Garrett, ex-Midnight Oil.
Slim Dusty transversed generations. He crossed over musical genres =
with his distinctive and authentically Australian voice. In pioneering =
terms, first he made country a musical form that was viable in Australia =
- it WAS Australian country music - and second, he laid some of the =
foundations of building and sustaining a career for all who followed, by =
heading out and playing to people all over the country.
Slim's secret was that he was more than a singer, he was yarning to =
the audience as well. His was an unaffected Australian voice that =
brought real intimacy to the performance. That he was talking to you as =
much as singing to you, I think, makes him a giant among performers in =
our history so far.
What is absolutely unique about Slim is that he made it happen for =
himself and his music right from the start. He withstood the ravages of =
time; he was almost the perpetual fountain of youth, the constant voice =
of Australian country music. Slim Dusty was an extremely accomplished =
performer as well as being a strong writer of songs, partly because he =
was able to always rise to the occasion.
He'd done it in so many dusty showgrounds, raw rodeos, remote towns, =
cities, clubs, creek beds, on flat-top trucks, in school-of-arts halls. =
>From the Opera House down, is there one place Slim has missed on his =
Australian odyssey? I remember when Midnight Oil first toured in the =
desert in the '80s and we thought we were true pioneers. On more than =
one occasion someone came up to say, "Slim was here five years ago . . . =
or Slim was here 10 years ago."
Importantly, Slim played to Aboriginal and European audiences alike =
throughout his long career and he was quite clear he wanted everyone to =
come and share in the performance.=20
In terms of the number of shows he has done, the number of recordings =
made, the number of times he geared himself up for the whole business of =
releasing another album, going out on the road again . . . Slim has run =
the marathon of music 1000 times over.=20
At the end, Slim Dusty was as good if not better than the day he =
started. That's the phenomenal thing about it. His career did not go up =
and down like most of ours go up and down. His career went up, found its =
rightful place - the Slim Place - in the galaxy of Australian country =
and stayed there.
There's the country music industry place and there's the Slim Dusty =
Place.
Any understanding of the Slim phenomenon has to include the remarkable =
contribution of his wife, Joy McKean, as a business strategist and =
quasi-manager and also as an outstanding performer and extremely =
accomplished song writer. She brought a unique set of skills and =
abilities to the partnership. It made them truly invincible in some =
respects.
They were going to endure, they were going to survive, they were going =
to succeed. And what they delivered was going to have great value.=20
It is worth remembering that Slim Dusty did not come from the wrong =
side of the tracks. Where Slim came from, there were no tracks at all.
This story was found at: =
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/19/1063625214240.html=20
_______________________________________________
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<DIV>Tom, thanks for the post. By pure coincidence my son and I =
were=20
visiting a street painting festival here in Raleigh, NC. We =
watched the=20
featured artist, Ngaire Wills, of Sydney for some time this =
afternoon. By=20
the way, the featured artist at the Manly Chalkfest this weekend is from =
Raleigh.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Anyway, my son and I were talking to Ngaire about her craft and =
many other=20
things, and I mentioned I had five Midnight Oils CD's on my =
turntable right=20
now, and she yells out "OOOIIILLLLSSSSS". She mentioned =
that she=20
thought Peter would eventually be a Green Party politician, =
but hadn't=20
heard anything about him recently. I mentioned that I had just =
read his=20
tribute to Slim Dusty's memory, and she seemed very sad. She =
has been=20
in the States for about a week (and experienced Hurricane Isabel, =
which=20
roared through the mid-Atlantic states this week), and was unaware=20
that Slim had passed away. I gather that Slim was =
venerated=20
in Australia in much the same way as Johnny Cash was here. =20
Ngaire said she knew both Slim and Joy, and produced artwork for =
some of=20
his albums. Small world.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>seeya. Jeff</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A title=3Dgiffey@mail.cvol.net =
href=3D"mailto:giffey@mail.cvol.net">giffey</A>=20
</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3Dpowderworks@cs.colorado.edu=20
=
href=3D"mailto:powderworks@cs.colorado.edu">powderworks@cs.colorado.edu</=
A>=20
</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, September 19, =
2003 11:07=20
PM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Powderworks] PG on =
Slim=20
Dusty</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Hi all,<BR><BR>I don't believe anyone has sent a link =
to the=20
following column, written by Peter Garrett, which appeared in the =
Sydney=20
Morning Herald.<BR><BR>-- Tom<BR><BR>Slim, the man with no peer =
<BR>September=20
20, 2003 <BR><BR>Slim Dusty, who died yesterday at 76, was Australia's =
great=20
communicator, and not simply because he had 1000 songs to sing, writes =
Peter=20
Garrett, ex-Midnight Oil.<BR><BR>Slim Dusty transversed generations. =
He=20
crossed over musical genres with his distinctive and authentically =
Australian=20
voice. In pioneering terms, first he made country a musical form that =
was=20
viable in Australia - it WAS Australian country music - and second, he =
laid=20
some of the foundations of building and sustaining a career for all =
who=20
followed, by heading out and playing to people all over the=20
country.<BR><BR>Slim's secret was that he was more than a singer, he =
was=20
yarning to the audience as well. His was an unaffected Australian =
voice that=20
brought real intimacy to the performance. That he was talking to you =
as much=20
as singing to you, I think, makes him a giant among performers in our =
history=20
so far.<BR><BR>What is absolutely unique about Slim is that he made it =
happen=20
for himself and his music right from the start. He withstood the =
ravages of=20
time; he was almost the perpetual fountain of youth, the constant =
voice of=20
Australian country music. Slim Dusty was an extremely accomplished =
performer=20
as well as being a strong writer of songs, partly because he was able =
to=20
always rise to the occasion.<BR><BR>He'd done it in so many dusty =
showgrounds,=20
raw rodeos, remote towns, cities, clubs, creek beds, on flat-top =
trucks, in=20
school-of-arts halls. From the Opera House down, is there one place =
Slim has=20
missed on his Australian odyssey? I remember when Midnight Oil first =
toured in=20
the desert in the '80s and we thought we were true pioneers. On more =
than one=20
occasion someone came up to say, "Slim was here five years ago . . . =
or Slim=20
was here 10 years ago."<BR><BR>Importantly, Slim played to Aboriginal =
and=20
European audiences alike throughout his long career and he was quite =
clear he=20
wanted everyone to come and share in the performance. <BR><BR>In terms =
of the=20
number of shows he has done, the number of recordings made, the number =
of=20
times he geared himself up for the whole business of releasing another =
album,=20
going out on the road again . . . Slim has run the marathon of music =
1000=20
times over. <BR><BR>At the end, Slim Dusty was as good if not better =
than the=20
day he started. That's the phenomenal thing about it. His career did =
not go up=20
and down like most of ours go up and down. His career went up, found =
its=20
rightful place - the Slim Place - in the galaxy of Australian country =
and=20
stayed there.<BR><BR>There's the country music industry place and =
there's the=20
Slim Dusty Place.<BR><BR>Any understanding of the Slim phenomenon has =
to=20
include the remarkable contribution of his wife, Joy McKean, as a =
business=20
strategist and quasi-manager and also as an outstanding performer and=20
extremely accomplished song writer. She brought a unique set of skills =
and=20
abilities to the partnership. It made them truly invincible in some=20
respects.<BR><BR>They were going to endure, they were going to =
survive, they=20
were going to succeed. And what they delivered was going to have great =
value.=20
<BR><BR>It is worth remembering that Slim Dusty did not come from the =
wrong=20
side of the tracks. Where Slim came from, there were no tracks at=20
all.<BR><BR>This story was found at: <A=20
=
href=3D"http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/19/1063625214240.html">htt=
p://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/19/1063625214240.html</A>=20
=
<BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Powderwork=
s=20
mailing list<BR><A=20
=
href=3D"mailto:Powderworks@cs.colorado.edu">Powderworks@cs.colorado.edu</=
A><BR><A=20
=
href=3D"http://www.cs.colorado.edu/mailman/listinfo/powderworks">http://w=
ww.cs.colorado.edu/mailman/listinfo/powderworks</A></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></=
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