Johnny Chester
| Johnny Chester | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Howard Chester |
| Born |
26 December 1941 Melbourne, Australia |
| Genres | Rock'n'roll, country |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, TV presenter |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Labels | W&G, Fable, Bullet, RCA, Image, WEA, J&B |
| Associated acts | The Jaywoods, Johnny Chester and The Chessmen, The Thunderbirds, The Johnny Chester Four, Johnny Chester and Jigsaw, Blue Denim Country Band, Johnny Chester and Hotspur |
| Website | johnnychester |
John Howard "Johnny" Chester (born 26 December 1941) is an Australian singer-songwriter, who started his career in October 1959 singing rock'n'roll and in 1969 changed to country music. He has toured nationally with The Beatles, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette and Charley Pride. During his career he has led various groups including Johnny Chester and The Chessmen, Johnny Chester and Jigsaw, Johnny Chester and Hotspur. With Jigsaw he had five top 30 hit singles, "Gwen (Congratulations)" (1971), "Shame and Scandal", "Midnight Bus" (both 1972), "World's Greatest Mum" (No. 9, 1973) and "She's My Kind of Woman" (1974).
Chester has hosted various TV series: Teen Time on Ten (GLV-10, Gippsland, 1963–64), Teen Scene (ABC TV, 1964–65) and Country Road (ABC TV, 1977–78). He has worked as a radio announcer on Melbourne radio station 3UZ and Radio Australia. He wrote a musical comedy, Rebound, that opened in Wagga Wagga. Chester has won Golden Guitars at the Country Music Awards of Australia for best selling track in 1975 and for Male Vocalist of the Year in 1981, 1982 and 1983. In 1994 he was awarded the Songmaker of the Year Award from the Tamworth Songwriters Association. According to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, he is "one of Melbourne's first and best rock'n'roll singers of the early 1960s". Music journalist, Ed Nimmervoll, acknowledges Chester's "essential inclusion on any major national rock package coming into Melbourne" and later he "helped bring Australian country music to pop respectability".
John Howard Chester was born on 26 December 1941 and grew up in Melbourne's suburb of Preston. His father, Jack, was a mechanic with his garage in Carlton, and his mother was Norma. He has a younger sister, Margaret (born ca. 1951). Chester attended Bell Primary and followed with Preston Technical School. At the age of 14, he left school and worked as a brake specialist for his father. He had learned to play the drums, from the age of six, and guitar. In October 1959 Chester formed a band, The Jaywoods, and organised dances at a West Preston church hall, "I could play the guitar ... but I was pretty useless at it. So I started singing – and the kids seemed to like my voice ... We used to get about 200 kids to these dances ... We had an old amplifier that distorted everything, but we thought we were mighty". His idols were Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and Johnny O'Keefe. Music journalist, Ed Nimmervoll, noted "without really trying the Jaywoods' rehearsals were attracting a crowd to St. Cecilia's Hall in West Preston, which turned into regular Saturday night dance". By 1960 The Jaywoods became Johnny Chester and The Chessmen with Chester on lead vocals, Jeff Cason on upright slap bass guitar, Huey Fry on lead guitar, Bert Stacpool on piano, Les Stacpool on saxophone, and Len Woodhouse on drums. The following year the line-up were Bert Stacpool, Les Stacpool (now on guitar), Frank McMahon on bass guitar and Graeme Trottman on drums.
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