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John Williamson Australia's Songwriter Career Overview 2008

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'True Blue', 'Cootamundra Wattle', 'Bill the Cat', 'Raining on the Rock', 'Mallee Boy', 'Rip Rip Woodchip', 'Three Sons', 'Galleries of Pink Galahs', 'I'll Sing You the Outback'. These songs are part of the Australian experience. And they are just a part of the mighty canon of John Williamson songs that began with 'Old Man Emu'.

Born in Quambatook in Victoria's Mallee country before television, computer games and the internet, John was part of a small community that entertained themselves and each other. He learned the ukulele at seven and graduated to guitar at twelve.

The family moved to Croppa Creek, Northern NSW, in 1965 and soon he was performing in a local restaurant just for the heck of it. This wasn't all that different to his father playing banjo in the local dance band or his mum joining them for the occasional song.

But his parents didn't write. One day John came up with this line: "run the pants off a kangaroo" and before he knew it he had a song. Then he'd won television's New Faces. Then 'Old Man Emu' was the number one song in the country. Then the hard work began.

It could quite easily have finished there in 1970. One memorable hit single and back to the bush. But John thought he'd give music a few years before returning to the farm.

He was offered a part in Travlin' Out West, a country music television show and touring group featuring a few country music singers. This experience taught him a lot about entertaining an audience but left little space for writing, which after all, was what really got him started in the first place.

So after a few years of this and a few more in the clubs singing popular American songs, he determined to make it using his own dinkum material. Or not.

Fortunately for all of us, his perceptive view of Australia in song eventually caught on. It was a slow build from 'The Breaker' but when he caught on with his breakthrough album Mallee Boy, it went triple platinum.

'True Blue' became an anthem following its use in the Australian Made advertising campaign in 1986. Over three consecutive years 1988, 1989 and 1990 John Williamson had the best selling country album each year - a feat he achieved four more times in the following decade and then again in 2005 with Chandelier of Stars.

In a career approaching 40 years, John has sold 3.5 million albums, a feat achieved by only a handful of entertainers in this country.

Despite his popularity among record and CD buyers, John's forthright views on Australia have not always been popular. 'The Vasectomy Song' raised a few eyebrows; 'Rip, Rip Woodchip' angered loggers who didn't quite understand where he was coming from; and 'A Flag of Our Own' got him banned from a few royalist RSL clubs. John copped the flak and moved on. He was just voicing his opinion and was comfortable for those who disagreed to voice theirs.

Somewhere along the way, he realised he was never going back to the farm but a little property in South East Queensland became his retreat from the world, inspiring a few songs - including some on his new album, Hillbilly Road.

In early 2008, John saw a long-cherished dream become reality with the world premiere of Quambatook - The Australian Folk Musical. Based on life in the Williamson household when he was growing up, it gives a view to how the child became the man. This is summed up in the one new song in the show, 'The Joy is in the Journey' which is also included, by special request, on Hillbilly Road. For the rest of this very funny musical he was delighted to hear other people interpret his songs, as he was when the best and brightest recording artists came together at Tamworth for a tribute concert of his material.

Along the way, John has picked up a swag of Golden Guitars and numerous other awards. Although he appreciates the recognition, they are just a reflection of what he loves most - entertaining his fans.

John Williamson has redefined what it means to be a country singer - to the point where he calls himself a bush balladeer. For the rest of us, he's a fair dinkum icon. Under Steve Waugh, the Australian Cricket team regularly sang 'True Blue'. Badly, we are told, until John was invited along to give them a few pointers. He led 100,000 rugby fans in 'Waltzing Matilda' at Sydney's Olympic Stadium before a game against the All Blacks. He even sang at Don Bradman's funeral.

He was the voice chosen for the film soundtrack of On Our Selection, even though he didn't write the material. He was the whitefella who wrote and sang the official song, with Jimmy Little, at the Aboriginal Reconciliation event, Corroboree 2000. And his friendship with Warren H Williams has deepened his understanding of indigenous Australians.

He was there at the 1st Bali Anniversary Memorial Service in 2003, with 'Waltzing Matilda' and recently spent five days with troops on the Solomon Islands.

John Williamson is the bloke we all choose first to remind us of our identity as Australians.

That's the impact he has had - and continues to have - on our national consciousness. More than any other bush balladeer in 100 years, he has come to articulate and define who we are.

Over a career longer than most, the pace may have slowed, but the enthusiasm has not. His new album, Hillbilly Road, is all you need for proof.

Back to Top

1945
Born November 1st into a musical family, his mother and father sang in local productions including Gilbert and Sullivan. John is the eldest of 5 brothers, and is raised in the Victorian Mallee at Quambatook.

1965
Family moves to Croppa Creek, near Moree, NSW. Begins performing at a local restaurant and when he includes Old Man Emu, the first song he has written, it is an instant favourite, with John having to perform it some two or three times a night.

1970
John sings Old Man Emu on 'New Faces' which he wins. Part of his prize is a recording contract with Fable Records. Old Man Emu is released as a single and goes to No 1 nationally and achieves Gold...the first of many Gold awards.

1971 - 81
After ten years performing all around Australia and John is asked to host 'Travlin' Out West' which emanates from NBN 3 in Newcastle and is shown on all regional TV stations across Australia for some two years.

1981
John is signed to Festival Records. His song, The Breaker helps him realise his dream that audiences are prepared to hear indigenous stories sung with real Aussie accents.

True Blue is released and becomes his first defining song and sits in Australian music history as one of our truly instantly recognizable songs. Starts working his one-man show and releases two albums: True Blue and Fair Dinkum JW.

1983
Releases live album: Singin' In The Suburbs.

1984
Following on the success of Singin' In The Suburbs another live album The Smell of Gum Leaves is released.

1985
On a tour through Central Australia and the Northern Territory, John begins compiling impressions of inland Australia resulting in the album Road Thru the Heart. Awarded a Golden Guitar at the Australasian Country Music Awards for APRA Song of the Year: Queen in the Sport of Kings - his first Golden Guitar award.

1986
Golden Guitars for Album of the Year for Road Thru The Heart and Male Vocalist of the Year - You and My Guitar are awarded. A compilation album, All the Best, is released, along with his first longform video, Live at the Longyard. The Federal Government requests the use of the song, True Blue as the theme for its Australian Made campaign. A re-recording of this is included on the album, Mallee Boy.

1987
Mallee Boy reaches triple platinum and earns the Golden Guitar Award for Album of the Year & also Male Vocalist of the Year. True Blue is APRA's Most Performed Country Work.

1988
John is invited to perform at the opening of Australia's new Parliament House in Canberra. Releases Boomerang Café, featuring songs from the previous year's tour of Western Australia. Mallee Boy awarded Best Selling Album at Country Music Awards.

1989
Boomerang Café is awarded Golden Guitar for Album of the Year and Best Selling Album. His new album Warragul is released and reaches No 1 on the National Charts and surpasses triple platinum sales.

1990
John collects three more Golden Guitar Awards for Album of the Year and Best Selling Album for Warragul and Heritage Award for Drover's Boy. JW's Family Album, featuring a combination of his best-loved kids' songs together with some new fun material, is released.

1991
John's new album Waratah St is released and passes Gold sales before it reaches the shops. Platinum award for video of Welcome to My Campfire.

1992
John moves his recording contract to EMI Music Australia. Australia Calling - All the Best, Vol 2, is released. Royalties from the single, I'll Be Gone are directed to the Salvation Army, to help homeless kids around Australia. John is also awarded an AM (Order of Australia) for services to Australian Country Music and conservation awareness. JW'S Family Album awarded Golden Guitar for Best Selling Album.

John, along with Slim Dusty, is a founding member of the Country Music Association of Australia.

1993
Love is a Good Woman, an album that's draws all his love songs onto one album, is released.

1994
Mulga to Mangoes, John's first new studio album in nearly 4 years is released & reflects the fact that John has been touring with a band for some time. The Australia Calling album goes platinum as does the video.

John links up with Landcare; a government sponsored organisation seeking to help groups of people in tackling environmental problems in their local area.

1995
Records two songs, On Our Selection and Will You Vote For Me for the soundtrack of a new film version of the classic Aussie tale On Our Selection. Releases a two CD compilation, True Blue, of best tracks to date along with a book of the same name featuring John's lyrics together with yarns about how they came to be written. Is ambushed at the book launch by the Nine Network to have his achievements recognized on the TV show, 'This is Your Life'. Awarded Golden Guitar for Video Track of the Year - Tropical Fever (directed by Mark Jago).

1996
The True Blue compilation goes triple platinum and lends its name to a TV series John does for Foxtel, interviewing prominent Australians. Visits London and Dublin for performances. Mulga to Mangoes awarded Golden Guitar for Best Selling Album of the Year.

Releases second Family album.

1997
Inducted into the Roll of Renown (Country Music Hall Of Fame) at the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth, NSW.

Is one of three presenters on 'Bush Telegraph', a TV show about unique inland Australians which airs nationally on Channel Seven. He discovers a song by the same name while judging a bush band competition. It becomes the theme for the TV series and is included among a batch of originals on the platinum album, Pipe Dream.

1998
A concert for the Queensland Olympic Council leads to more Olympic fund-raisers for other states. Begins writing an article for each issue of the quarterly magazine, the Weekly Times Country. Golden Guitar for Pipe Dream for Best Selling Album of the Year.

Returns to England for a solo tour.

Releases For Aussie Kids album and video, recorded live at Nyngan while travelling on the Variety Club 'Bash'. His duet of Raining on the Rock with Warren H Williams wins best single at the Deadly Sounds Indigenous Awards and they perform it at the ARIA Awards...still one of the most talked about performances in the history of the awards.

1999
The Way It Is is released & passes Platinum sales. An accompanying TV Special and long form video, filmed around a campfire in the Northern Territory, are also released. Presented by EMI with an award acknowledging sales in excess of 2.5 million in Australia. Suggests to Rod Macqueen, the Wallabies Coach, that Waltzing Matilda is the song to inspire the Wallabies against the All Blacks. Performs Waltzing Matilda at Stadium Australia in front of a world record rugby crowd of 107,000. A tradition is commenced.

John is asked to sing True Blue on stage at the welcoming home dinner for the victorious World Cup Cricket Team; sings the Australian National Anthem at the Bledisloe Rugby Test match in Auckland. The True Blue album entered the New Zealand Top 50 'Pop' Chart shortly after.

After being inspired by the Wallabies John writes & records A Number On My Back.

Tours the UK again.

Performs Waltzing Matilda at the Rugby World Cup Final in Cardiff with Rolf Harris. A Number On My Back, is played while they run their victory lap.

2000
Wins 3 Golden Guitars at the 28th Tamworth Country Music Awards: Bush Ballad of the Year - Three Sons, Heritage Song of the Year - Campfire on the Road and Best Selling Album of the Year - The Way It Is.

The album goes platinum and the video of the same name goes gold.

Tours New Zealand for the first time.

Records a duet with Jimmy Little, This Ancient Land which is accepted as the official song for the Aboriginal Reconciliation event Corroboree 2000, which sees a huge crowd walk the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Reconciliation.

Performs Good Tabacci When I Smoke at the Slim Dusty tribute concert celebrating the release of his 100th album

Performs at the Official Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. John performs Waltzing Matilda on the US network NBC's Today Show who are in Sydney covering the 2000 Olympics.

Anthems - A Celebration of Australia CD and video released featuring 20 of John's most patriotic recordings including Waltzing Matilda 2000 with the 107,000 voices from the 1999 Rugby Bledisloe Cup game at Stadium Australia. The CD and video both go gold.

Plays 10 concerts in London, Edinburgh and the Midlands.

2001
Year of celebrations for the Century of Federation commences with John performing at Federation events in all States of Australia. Also represents Australia at the Opening Ceremony of Winterlude in Ottawa, Canada.

Performs Sir Don at Sir Donald Bradman's Memorial Service at St. Peter's Cathedral in Adelaide, a song he had written when requested by Ray Martin for a Nine Network TV Special on Sir Donald.

A month off travelling through Queensland to Cape York sees him gathering material for his new album.

2002
Gunyah released and quickly goes gold. Also I'll Sing You the Outback DVD/Video filmed in the Numinbah Valley, Qld.

2003
Elected President of Country Music Association of Australia.

Awarded Australian Government Centenary Medal for services to Australian society for singing and song writing.

Another compilation album True Blue Two CD/DVD, released along with a new book True Blue Two - More Stories & Songs of Australia.

John is invited by the Prime Minister to travel with him to Bali to perform Waltzing Matilda at the First Anniversary Memorial Service on 12th October, 2003.

John teams up with his musician mates, Pixie Jenkins (on fiddle) and Warren H. Williams (on guitar) and the True Blue Reunion tour gets under way.

2004
Wins 2 Golden Guitar Awards for Vocal Collaboration of the Year and Single of the Year for Raining on the Plains duet with Sara Storer (bringing his total to 20). Receives the Tex Morton Special Award from the Tamworth Songwriters Association Inc.

Invited to take his True Blue Reunion show to the USA.

Releases a live double CD and DVD of the True Blue Reunion show under the title - Mates on the Road.

Tours extensively throughout the Northern Territory, and Northern Western Australia to search for new songs. Tours New Zealand.

2005
Chandelier of Stars, John's 35th album is recorded with Pixie Jenkins, Warren H. Williams and a guest appearance from Chad Morgan.

John is listed No 14th out of 100 of the most trusted people in Australia in an exclusive national survey conducted by Australian Reader's Digest.

2006
John's song Sing You The Outback accepted as the Official Song for YEAR OF THE OUTBACK 2006 - Australia's Youth Infront.

We Love This Country CD released in association with the Caravan, RV & Accommodation Industry. The CD is made up of 15 Travelling Songs to accompany travellers on their holiday trips around this amazing country.

Chandelier of Stars CD goes 'Gold'. Chandelier of Stars DVD released.

John was presented with the following Awards: