Friday, May 3, 2019

Johnny O'Keefe: A Tribute to Johnny O'Keefe - 22 Golden Greats (1978)

(Australian 1953 - 1978)
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This compilation album of Johnny O'Keefe hits was released the same year that that the great JO'K left us, dying from a drug overdose induced heart attack in October of 1978.  It is my suspicion that this album was rush released by his record company 'Festival' in tribute to one of the greatest vocalist and showman that has come out of Australia music.

The following article was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald on October 7, 1978.
Flashback: Johnny O'Keefe, Australia's original rock star, dies
40 years ago Australian rock and roll pioneer Johnny O'Keefe died of a drug overdose, aged 43, ending a career spanning over 25 years.

Johnny O'Keefe, Australia's first and most enduring rock star, died in St Vincent's Hospital (Sydney) last night. O'Keefe, aged 43, collapsed after a heart attack on Thursday night at his home at Double Bay. He suffered brain damage after the heart attack. His condition remained critical during the day and deteriorated late in the afternoon. His wife,  Maureen, and his parents, were at his bedside.


Brian Henderson, who was host to Johnny O'Keefe on many bandstand programs, said last night: "John was a pioneer and also a very determined man. Had it not been for O'Keefe it might have taken much longer for Australian talent to be recognised. He was a man of tremendous energy."
He was often described as Australia's answer to Bill Haley or Elvis Presley.

O'Keefe's single, "The Wild One", was the country's first truly Indigenous rock record, milking the charts in March, 1958. His career was marked with No.1 single records, including Sing, I'm Counting on You, Move Baby Move, and She's My Baby. But he also suffered a series of nervous breakdowns.

He had a bad car accident on the Gold Coast in 1960, which seemed to throw the increasingly popular  young singer off his mark. His face was brutally scarred, but he continued with his television show, Six O'clock Rock.

Midway through 1962, O'Keefe had the first of his breakdowns. He left the Johnny O'Keefe Show for  treatment, then recovered to compere a show named 'Sing Sing Sing'.

In 1974, O'Keefe recorded his last hit record, Mockingbird, with Margaret McLaren. It was in the charts  for 12 weeks. His last television appearance was shown on Friday last in TEN, Channel 10's 22 years of television, on which he sang one of his hits, "Sing". [taken from www.smh.com.au]

Since his death, O'Keefe's stature has continued to grow, and he has been posthumously accorded the recognition he did not receive in his lifetime. The first major biography on O'Keefe was published in 1982, and several others have been written since including 'The Wild One' by Damian Johnstone and Johnny O'Keefe - The Facts written in 2008 by Lonnie Lee and released by Starlite Records.

Besides being a great showman himself, he is also credited for nurturing other Australian talent, like Barry Stanton and Lonnie Lee.

In 2002, Brendan Hancock published an article in the Music Magazine  'Big Beat of The 50's' that lists and discussed all of the JO'K releases that have been released posthumously, up until 2002. Interestingly enough it doesn't list this release, which is a bit strange.


You can find the article at shamanalternative.com

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my recently acquired CD release (I own the vinyl but unfortunately it isn't in the greatest condition) and thus the decision to rip from CD.
Full album artwork for both CD and LP releases are included along with label scans.
This album is jammed packed full of JO'K hits covering a time span of 1958 -1978 - not to be missed.

Tracklist 
01   High Rollin' Man   
02   Mockingbird (with Margaret McLaren on vocals)
03   So Tough   
04   Right Now   
05   Move Baby Move   
06   Come On And Take My Hand   
07   She's My Baby   
08   Shout   
09   The Suns Gonna Shine Tomorrow   
10   One Of Those Nights   
11   Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow   
12   I'm Counting On You   
13   Shake Baby Shake   
14   Ooh Poo Pah Doo   
15   Six O'Clock Rock   
16   Sing (And Tell The Blues So Long)   
17   Wild One   
18   She Wears My Ring   
18   Rock 'N' Roll Boogie   
20   Good Luck Charm   
21   Don't Be Cruel   
22   I Thank You

Tribute To Johnny O'Keefe 22 FLAC Link (301Mb)


1 comment:

  1. Thanks greatly for this. I remember watching Sing, Sing, Sing at a young age on Saturday evenings. John

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