1927: |
Born Kempsey, 13th June. Named David Gordon
Kirkpatrick. Brought up nearby at a Nulla Nulla Creek dairy farm. |
1937: |
Aged 10, writes first song, The Way The Cowboy Dies. |
1938: |
Calls himself Slim Dusty. |
1942: |
Gate-crashes Radio 2KM Kempsey.
Makes his first recording at own expense... Song For The Aussies and My Final Song. |
1945: |
Still living at Nulla Nulla
Creek, writes his first country music classic When The Rain
Tumbles Down In July. |
1946: |
Signs first recording contract
with the Columbia Graphophone Co. for the Regal Zonophone label.
Records six titles including When The Rain Tumbles Down In
July. |
|
Part-time show business career.
Intermittent radio, hall show and tent show appearances. |
1951: |
Marries country singer-songwriter
Joy McKean. |
1952: |
Daughter Anne Kirkpatrick born. |
1954: |
Commences full-time show business
career. Launches first travelling Slim Dusty Show. |
1956: |
Establishes partnership with
showman Frankie Foster, which established the Slim Dusty Show
as a large tent show on the showground circuit. |
1957: |
Records A Pub With No Beer -- at that time the biggest selling record ever by an Australian. |
1958: |
Son David Kirkpatrick born. Received Australia's
first Gold record, for A Pub With No Beer. |
1960: |
Releases first LP album Slim
Dusty Sings. |
1963: |
Ends showground partnership
with Frankie Foster. |
1964 |
Establishes
annual round Australia Slim Dusty tour - a 30,000 mile, 10 month
journey. |
1969: |
First tour outside Australia, in New Zealand,
with New Zealand's Hamilton County Bluegrass Band. Also tours
Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. |
1970: |
Awarded an MBE for services
to music. |
1973: |
Tamworth's first Australasian
Country Music Awards. Awarded Best LP for Me And My Guitar,
Best EP or single for Lights On The Hill. Joy wins Song
of the Year, also for Lights On The Hill. |
1978: |
First Sydney Opera House performance
(live recording of The Entertainer). |
1979: |
Daughter Anne wins Best Female
Vocalist at Tamworth; Joy wins Song of the Year for Beat Of
The Government Stroke with Tom Oliver. Slim elevated to the
Roll of Renown. |
1979: |
Publishes best selling autobiography Walk
a Country Mile. Identically titled album has achieved Platinum
status in sales. |
1980: |
Records super hit Duncan,
achieving Gold status. |
1981: |
Releases 50th album, The
Golden Anniversary Album, reaching multi Platinum status
in Australia. |
1984: |
Release of feature film, The
Slim Dusty Movie. A video also released. |
1985: |
Trucks on the Track album achieves double award at Tamworth, Album of the Year and
Top Selling Album. |
1986: |
In November, celebrates 40 years commercial
recording with the one company, EMI Australia. Honoured at a
350 guest dinner attended by music industry figures and artists.
EMI announces that Slim's latest album, Beer Drinking Songs
Of Australia, had gone Gold in the first three weeks of release. |
1987: |
At Tamworth (Country Music Awards),
truck album Neon City wins Album of the Year. |
1988: |
In Australia's Bicentennial
Year, travels right round Australia at the head of the biggest
country music show to tour the nation. Mt Bukaroo wins
Heritage Award. |
1989: |
Heritage Award for We've
Done Us Proud. Album G'day, G'day goes Gold. Records
first duo album with daughter Anne. |
1990: |
Appears in Papua New Guinea
as Australia's representative at the Southern Highlands Province's
Independence Celebrations. Takes show right around Australia. |
1990: |
Releases double album Coming
Home. Presented with special award acknowledging Slim as
the "Artist of the Decade". Named an "Achiever
of the Year" by the Australia Day Council. |
1991: |
Two Singers, One Song duo album awarded Top Selling at Tamworth; Coming Home takes out Album of the Year. November 19 marks
the 45th anniversary of Slim's first commercial recording When
The Rain Tumbles Down In July (1946). |
1992: |
Involved in the formation of
the Country Music Association of Australia holding the position
of Chairman since its inception. Recorded top selling video Live
Into The Nineties. |
1993: |
Celebrates 50th anniversary
of continuous recording in Australia. As guest of Aboriginal
band, Yothu Yindi, Slim and his band tour the Northern Territory
and Bathurst Island. |
1994: |
Marks 40 years since Slim Dusty and Joy McKean established their
touring Slim Dusty Show. Wins Golden Guitar with Lee Kernaghan
for Vocal Group or Duo of the Year with Leave Him In The Longyard.
Tours New Zealand extensively for the first time in many years.
Presented with a double Platinum award for sales in excess of
20,000 video cassettes for Slim Dusty - Live Into The Nineties and a Platinum award for sales in excess of 10,000 video cassettes
for Slim Dusty - Across Australia. |
1995: |
On January 20, the Slim Dusty Exhibition opens
at the Australian Country Music Foundation museum in Tamworth.
A professionally designed display of memorabilia collected by
Slim and Joy, a vivid history of country music performing and
recording in Australia over a long span of time. (Exhibition
continues as the centrepiece of the ACMF's Australian Country
Music Hall of Fame.) |
1996: |
Completes his 91st
album and an accompanying long-form Video recording, both aptly
titled 91 Over 50, commemorating Slim's 50th Year with
EMI Australia. Re-records his 1980 #1 Australian hit Duncan with Rolf Harris, the first time the two have recorded together. |
1997:
|
Awarded Golden Guitars for Bush Ballad of the Year
and Heritage Song of the Year. Released album A Time to Remember of war-time favourites, launched at the historic Rocks on Sydney's
waterfront. Part royalties from this album went to Legacy. In
May, crossed the Nullarbor Plain in two Kenworth roadtrains from
Thompson's Transport collecting material for his next truck album.
Opened the Kempsey exhibition "Made on the Macleay"
(his home district). July saw the release of Slim's second autobiography Another Day, Another Town, and the recording of Makin'
A Mile the truck album released in October this year. Appeared
on the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville (15th August) by special invitation
from the Country Music Association of America to mark his 50
years of commercial recording for the one company. On his return
to Australia, received the Special Achievement Award from the
Australasian Record Industry Association at the ARIA Awards. |
1998:
|
Awarded another Golden Guitar, for Bush Ballad
of the Year (Lady is a Truckie). At the Tamworth CM Festival,
made over 50 appearances and interviews in 10 days, and unveiled
the Stan Coster plaque at Manilla. In February, voted a National
Living Treasure by the public, a very special honour. At the
APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) Awards in May,
awarded the Ted Albert Award for Lifetime Achievement. The Not
So Dusty tribute album released in June... recordings of
Slim's songs by his peers in the music industry (including a
number of rock and folk artists and bands). Besides touring during
the year, Slim visited his home town of Kempsey where the Country
Music Heritage Festival committee awarded him the Living Legend
Award and he recorded much video footage around his old home
in Nulla Nulla Creek. In September, Slim, Joy and the Travelling
Country Band travelled to the Solomon Islands to participate
in the opening celebrations of the Gold Ridge gold mine outside
Honiara. The closing open air concert was attended by as many
as 30,000 islanders. Altogether, a varied and satisfying year
for Slim. |
1999: |
For only the second time in the history of the Australasian
Country Music Awards, Slim missed being in Tamworth due to sudden
and urgent cardiac surgery early in January. He made a very good
recovery and was filming in March for the BBC from Wales, working
on two albums and sitting for portrait painter Judy Cassab. Big
surprise to discover that he was working on his 99th album, which
was finally called '99 and released late this year. Named
"Father of the Year" by the NSW Council, and in September,
named the inaugural "Senior Australian of the Year"
by the Commonwealth Government. |
2000: |
After 54 years with EMI Music and with absolutely no sign of slowing down, Slim heads back into his home studio to record his 100th album - Looking Forward, Looking Back. The album is released in July and shoots straight to the top of the ARIA charts debuting at #5 and surpassing gold status in 5 weeks.
"This Is Your Life" honour Slim with with a second 'This is your life' tribute show (this makes Slim the 1st person to be given this honour twice).
In September, Slim stuns everyone at the Sydney Olympic Games Closing Ceremony with his mighty Waltzing Matilda rendition - telecast to millions around the planet.
In October Slim attends the ARIA Awards and, in front of a standing ovation, is presented with that year's Special Achievement Award.
In November Slim also wraps up a national 65 date sold out tour. |
2001: |
January - Looking Forward Looking Back reaches Platinum status and Slim attends the 29th Country Music Awards in Tamworth and comes away with 3 Awards taking his tally to 34 Golden Guitar Awards.
He is also honoured by Australia Post with his own Stamp.
In May Slim returned to the studio to cut 4 new songs with his life long mate Shorty Ranger that will be released on The Men From Nulla Nulla. |
2002: |
In early January Slim heads back into the studio with daughter Anne Kirkpatrick and start what will become Travellin' Still...Always Will.
At Tamworth, Slim's 35th Golden Guitar is announced.
In September Slim is awarded an honourary degree in music from the Perth University.
In November The Very Best of is released on DVD (This is Slim's first ever DVD release).
Travellin' Still...Always Will is certified Gold. |
2003: |
As Slim enters 2003 he passes yet another milestone - celebrating 60 years of recording.
A revised edition of "Another Day, Another Town" autobiography is released.
Slim wins yet another Golden Guitar, taking his tally to 36.
June 13th sees Slim celebrate his 76th birthday and the release of a revised version of The Very Best of CD.
Slim commences work on a new album ... sadly due to his failing health Slim is unable to complete it.
On September 19th Slim passes away after a long and private battle with cancer.
September 26th, Slim is honoured with a State Funeral. The service was held at St Andrews Cathedral in Sydney. |
2004: |
January, the revised version of The Very Best of CD & DVD both quickly pass Platinum sales status. This means that Slim has over his career achieved Gold or Platinum sales on all major commercial music formats from 78rpm thru to the DVD formats... the only Australian and probably only one of a handful of artists worldwide to have achieved this !!
Longtime producer Rod Coe completes work on Slim's last studio album.
Slim is remembered by the industry and fans at the Tamworth Country Music Festival with a sell out tribute concert titled 'Concert for Slim' which is filmed.
In March, Columbia Lane - The Last Sessions is released. It contains the last 7 tracks that Slim recorded. It goes Gold within 2 weeks !
In August the 'Concert for Slim' DVD is released and achieves gold sales status in just 2 weeks. |
2005: |
Slim is posthumously nominated for 4 Golden Guitar Awards in Tamworth and the animated video put together by Mark Jago takes the Golden Guitar Award for Video of the Year. This is Slim's 37th Golden Guitar Award.
In June, Slim's very early albums Slim Dusty Sings, Songs For Rolling Stones, Along The Road Of Song, People And Places, Australian Bush Ballads & Old Time Songs and The Nature Of Man are released for the first time on CD.
In July "The Concert for Slim" DVD is certified Double Platinum.
In August, 91 Over 50 is released on DVD and also quickly achieves Gold sales... this footage had already achieved double Gold status previously on VHS. |
2006: |
Slim Dusty LIVE double CD / DVD sets released in March. The Slim Dusty LIVE project achieves Gold status within weeks of release. |
2007: |
To celebrate the historic 50th Anniversary of A Pub With No Beer recording, EMI Australia releases in May the 3 CD / 60 song set Pubs, Trucks & Plains. The set not only commemorates A Pub With No Beer, but also reflects the three key areas of success throughout Slim's career.
Joy McKean wins her 6th Golden Guitar with the Anne Kirkpatrick's recording of her Peppimenarti Cradle song.
Slim Dusty's sales of his EMI recordings surpass the 7 million mark !!
The Very Best Of Slim Dusty version 1 & 2 combined sales achieve triple platinum status.
June 13 was the 80th anniversary of Slim's birth and the Australian NRL generously lend their support to the raising public awareness of the Slim Dusty Foundation and their fundraising for the Slim Dusty Centre in Kempsey.
Adam Harvey, Amos Morris (Nulla Records signing), Anne and David Kirkpatrick perform a special tribute to Slim prior to the 2nd State of Origin game at Sydney Telstra Stadium.
The first series of Slim Dusty Mobile phone Ringtunes are made available... Slim's music stays in touch with the latest digital music format!
Slim's old mate Shorty Ranger sadly passes away... joining Slim, Gordon Parsons and Stan Coster in Balladeer Heaven !...what a reunion that would have been! |
| 2008: |
EMI officially celebrates Slim Dusty's sales achievements by presenting a special 7 MILLION AUSTRALIAN SALES award presented to Joy McKean.
The Slim Dusty Family release their Reunion album (March) followed by a hugely successful 23 date tour of Qld, NSW & Vic (July/August).
The Slim Dusty Family album hits #1 on the ARIA National Country Album Chart (staying #1 for 6 weeks) and #13 on the ARIA National Pop charts.
The final show of their tour (Hellenic Club, Canberra) was filmed with a subsequent "Live in Concert" DVD released in October. The DVD reaches the Top 10 in the ARIA Music Video charts.
"The Concert for Slim" DVD achieves triple Platinum sales status. |
| 2009: |
Slim Dusty's popularity is not wavering in 2009 !!
Since his passing, all three Slim Dusty albums released have achieved Gold Sales Award status. And all five Slim DVDs released) have also all achieved Gold Sales... with two actually achieving Platinum sales staus!
The 1984 "Slim Dusty Movie (Special Edition)" released on DVD. For the fist time (in 2007), the DVD achieves a staggering triple Platinum sales status!
EMI plan a July release for their 110th Slim Dusty album Sittin' on 80. |
| |
The Slim Dusty legend continues... |
