Don Walker (musician)
| Don Walker | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Donald Hugh Walker |
| Born | 29 November 1951 |
| Origin | Ayr, Queensland, Australia |
| Genres | Rock Hard rock Pub rock Blues Alternative country |
| Occupation(s) | Musician songwriter author |
| Instruments | Piano keyboard |
| Years active | 1973 – |
| Labels |
Mushroom Records Universal Music Group |
| Associated acts |
Cold Chisel Tex, Don and Charlie |
| Website | Official Site |
Don Walker (born 29 November 1951) is an Australian musician and songwriter known for writing many of the hits for Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel. He played piano and keyboard with the band from 1973 to 1983, when they disbanded. He has since continued to record and tour, both solo and with Tex, Don and Charlie, and worked as a songwriter for others. In 2009, he released his first book.
Richard Clapton describes Walker as, "the most Australian writer there has ever been. Don just digs being a sort of Beat poet, who goes around observing, especially around the streets of Kings Cross. He soaks it up like a sponge and articulates it so well. Quite frankly, I think he's better than the rest of us."
Walker is considered to be one of Australia's best songwriters. In 2012 he was inducted into the Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
Donald Hugh Walker was born in Ayr North Queensland to a farmer father and schoolteacher mother.
Walker's father was a harmonica player and fan of Larry Adler. He had served in Papua New Guinea and the Middle East in World War II. He owned a cane farm on Rita Island on the Burdekin River, where Walker lived until the age of 4. His family later moved to Grafton, where a local piano teacher taught him, "a little bit of Chopin.....a lot of Fats Waller repertoire, and also Winifred Atwell." Later, he, "got into organ and the main influences were Stevie Winwood's 60s stuff and Ray Manzarek."
Having completed a degree in physics in the 70s, Walker was working for the Weapons Research Establishment, when he helped form Cold Chisel.
Walker moved to Kings Cross in Sydney in 1976, and stayed there for more than three decades. Kings Cross locations (including Springfield Avenue, Forbes Street, Sweethearts and the El Alamein Fountain) are mentioned in many of his songs.
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Wikipedia