Slim Dusty

Slim Dusty
At the Golden Guitar awards in Tamworth
Background information
Birth name	David Gordon Kirkpatrick
Born	(1927-06-13)13 June 1927 Nulla Nulla Creek, New South Wales, Australia
Died	19 September 2003(2003-09-19) (aged 76) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres	Country
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1945–2003
Labels	Regal Zonophone, EMI
Associated acts	Joy McKean Anne Kirkpatrick Smoky Dawson Buddy Williams The Wiggles South Kempsey Boys (SKB) Shorty Ranger
Website	slimdusty.com.au

Slim Dusty AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer, who was an Australian cultural icon and one of the country's most awarded stars, with a career spanning nearly seven decades, the archetypical "Father of Country Music". He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian bush poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson that represented the Australian bush lifestyle, coined the bush ballad, a style first made popular by Buddy Williams, the first artist to perform the genre in Australia, and also for his many trucking songs.

Dusty was the first Australian to have a No. 1 international hit song, with a version of Gordon Parsons' "A Pub with No Beer". He received an unequalled 37 Golden Guitar and two Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and the Country Music Roll of Renown. At the time of his death, at the age of 76, Dusty had been working on his 106th album for EMI Records. In 2007, his domestic record sales in Australia surpassed seven million. During his lifetime, Dusty was considered an Australian National Treasure. He performed "Waltzing Matilda", Australia's national song, at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

David Gordon Kirkpatrick was born on 13 June 1927 in Nulla Nulla Creek near Kempsey, New South Wales, the son of a cattle farmer. He was known by his middle name, Gordon. He wrote his first song "The Way the Cowboy Dies" in 1937 and adopted the stage name "Slim Dusty" in 1938 at 11 years of age. His earliest musical influences included the American Jimmie Rodgers, New Zealander Tex Morton and Australia's own Buddy Williams . In 1945, Dusty wrote "When the Rain Tumbles Down in July" and released his first record that year at the age of 19. In 1946, he signed his first recording contract with Columbia Graphophone for the Regal Zonophone label.