Diana Trask
Encyclopedia
Diana Trask is an Australian and American country and pop singer born in Melbourne
, Australia. She was a popular country
singer during the 1970s in the United States and also was a popular star in her native Australia. In the U.S., she charted eighteen singles on the country charts, of which the highest was the #13 "Lean It All on Me" in 1974.
and Sammy Davis Jr. that were touring Australia. It was Frank and Sammy that wanted Trask to move to America to further her solo career there. She started out becoming a regular on Don McNeill
's Breakfast Club TV Show and appeared as a dancer and singer on the Jack Benny
TV show. She soon was noticed by conductor Mitch Miller
who in 1960 decided to give her a recording contract with Columbia Records
and also as a regular on his show Sing Along with Mitch. Trask released two albums in 1961 and 1962 geared at the pop market but none of these were successful. After Miller's show was cancelled in 1964, she and her new husband Thom McEwen decided to move back to Australia so she could restart her career there.
so that she could become a country
singer. She signed with Dial Records
that year, and in early 1968 had her first country chart single with "Lock, Stock, and Teardrops" which was a minor hit only reaching the top 70. It was enough to garner her a major record deal with Dot Records
that same year and she released an album which would become her nickname "Miss Country Soul", later released in the UK on Ember Records. The album featured versions of R & B hits like "Hold On To What You Got", "Show Me", and others and also displayed her soulful voice as well. The album drew critical acclaim but the single released "Hold On To What You Got" only reached the top 60. It wasn't until 1970 when Diana first reached the Top 40 on the country charts with her version of Patsy Cline
's "I Fall to Pieces
" and "Beneath Still Waters
" (a decade later a Number 1 hit for Emmylou Harris
). Starting in 1972, she started a string of major hits with songs like "We've Got To Work It Out Between Us" (1972), "It Meant Nothing To Me" (1972), and 4 straight Top 20 hits with "Say When" (1973), "It's A Man's World (When You Have A Man Like Mine)" (1973), "When I Get My Hands On You" (1974), and "Lean It All On Me" (1974), which would become her biggest hit reaching #13 on the country charts and a minor pop hit as well nearly breaking into the Top 100.
with two more hits, "If You Wanna Hold On (Hold On To Your Man)" (1974) and "Oh Boy
" (1975). These hits would become her last major hits. She continued releasing albums and singles with the label until 1977. She made a brief comeback on the Kari label in 1981 with two minor hits, "This Must Be My Ship" and "Stirrin' Up Feelin's". After this, she and her husband moved back to Australia where she resumed her career.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia. She was a popular country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer during the 1970s in the United States and also was a popular star in her native Australia. In the U.S., she charted eighteen singles on the country charts, of which the highest was the #13 "Lean It All on Me" in 1974.
Early career
Born in a lumber camp town near Melbourne, Trask learned to sing at an early age singing at school functions and for her family. At age 16, she became a part of a singing group and she soon opened for top stars like Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Sammy Davis Jr. that were touring Australia. It was Frank and Sammy that wanted Trask to move to America to further her solo career there. She started out becoming a regular on Don McNeill
Don McNeill (performer)
Don McNeill was an American radio personality, best known as the creator and host of The Breakfast Club, which ran for more than 30 years.-Early career:...
's Breakfast Club TV Show and appeared as a dancer and singer on the Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
TV show. She soon was noticed by conductor Mitch Miller
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller was an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive...
who in 1960 decided to give her a recording contract with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and also as a regular on his show Sing Along with Mitch. Trask released two albums in 1961 and 1962 geared at the pop market but none of these were successful. After Miller's show was cancelled in 1964, she and her new husband Thom McEwen decided to move back to Australia so she could restart her career there.
Country career
In 1967, Trask and her husband moved back to the United States and settled in NashvilleNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
so that she could become a country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer. She signed with Dial Records
Dial Records
Dial Records has been the name of at least four different record labels in the 20th century:* Dial Records – a US based company.* Dial Records – a US based company.* Dial Records – a US based company....
that year, and in early 1968 had her first country chart single with "Lock, Stock, and Teardrops" which was a minor hit only reaching the top 70. It was enough to garner her a major record deal with Dot Records
Dot Records
Dot Records was an American record label and company that was active between 1950 and 1977. It was founded by Randy Wood. In Gallatin, Tennessee, Wood had earlier started a mail order record shop, known for its radio ads on WLAC in Nashville and its R&B air personality Bill "Hoss" Allen...
that same year and she released an album which would become her nickname "Miss Country Soul", later released in the UK on Ember Records. The album featured versions of R & B hits like "Hold On To What You Got", "Show Me", and others and also displayed her soulful voice as well. The album drew critical acclaim but the single released "Hold On To What You Got" only reached the top 60. It wasn't until 1970 when Diana first reached the Top 40 on the country charts with her version of Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
's "I Fall to Pieces
I Fall to Pieces
"I Fall to Pieces" is a single released by Patsy Cline in 1961, and was featured on her 1961 studio album, Patsy Cline Showcase. "I Fall to Pieces" was Cline's first #1 hit on the Country charts, and her second hit single to cross over onto the Pop charts...
" and "Beneath Still Waters
Beneath Still Waters (song)
"Beneath Still Waters" is a 1970 single written by Dallas Frazier and recorded by Diana Trask. "Beneath Still Waters" was Diana Trask second hit on the country chart, spending two weeks on the country chart, where it peaked at number thirty-eight ....
" (a decade later a Number 1 hit for Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
). Starting in 1972, she started a string of major hits with songs like "We've Got To Work It Out Between Us" (1972), "It Meant Nothing To Me" (1972), and 4 straight Top 20 hits with "Say When" (1973), "It's A Man's World (When You Have A Man Like Mine)" (1973), "When I Get My Hands On You" (1974), and "Lean It All On Me" (1974), which would become her biggest hit reaching #13 on the country charts and a minor pop hit as well nearly breaking into the Top 100.
Later career and present
Trask continued with Dot RecordsDot Records
Dot Records was an American record label and company that was active between 1950 and 1977. It was founded by Randy Wood. In Gallatin, Tennessee, Wood had earlier started a mail order record shop, known for its radio ads on WLAC in Nashville and its R&B air personality Bill "Hoss" Allen...
with two more hits, "If You Wanna Hold On (Hold On To Your Man)" (1974) and "Oh Boy
Oh Boy (The Mood I'm In)
"Oh Boy " is a popular song written by Tony Romeo. It has been recorded by Diana Trask and Brotherhood of Man, among others.The song was originally recorded by Australian artist Diana Trask in 1975...
" (1975). These hits would become her last major hits. She continued releasing albums and singles with the label until 1977. She made a brief comeback on the Kari label in 1981 with two minor hits, "This Must Be My Ship" and "Stirrin' Up Feelin's". After this, she and her husband moved back to Australia where she resumed her career.
Albums
| Year | Title | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Diana Trask | — | Columbia |
| Diana Trask on TV | — | ||
| 1969 | Miss Country Soul | 34 | Dot |
| From the Heart | 32 | ||
| 1971 | Diana's Country | — | |
| 1972 | Sings About Loving | — | |
| 1973 | It's a Man's World | 25 | |
| 1974 | Lean It All on Me | 34 | ABC/Dot |
| Greatest Hits | 32 | ||
| 1975 | The Mood I'm In | — | |
| 1976 | Believe Me Now or Believe Me Later | — |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1968 | "Lock, Stock, and Teardrops" | 70 | — | — | non-album single |
| "Hold What You've Got" | 59 | — | — | Miss Country Soul | |
| 1969 | "Children" | 58 | — | — | From the Heart |
| 1970 | "I Fall to Pieces I Fall to Pieces "I Fall to Pieces" is a single released by Patsy Cline in 1961, and was featured on her 1961 studio album, Patsy Cline Showcase. "I Fall to Pieces" was Cline's first #1 hit on the Country charts, and her second hit single to cross over onto the Pop charts... " |
37 | 114 | 29 | |
| "Beneath Still Waters Beneath Still Waters (song) "Beneath Still Waters" is a 1970 single written by Dallas Frazier and recorded by Diana Trask. "Beneath Still Waters" was Diana Trask second hit on the country chart, spending two weeks on the country chart, where it peaked at number thirty-eight .... " |
38 | — | 50 | non-album single | |
| 1971 | "The Chokin' Kind" | 59 | — | — | Diana's Country |
| 1972 | "We've Got to Work It Out Between Us" | 30 | — | — | Diana Trask Sings About Loving |
| "It Meant Nothing to Me" | 33 | — | 29 | ||
| 1973 | "Say When" | 15 | — | 8 | It's a Man's World |
| "It's a Man's World (If You Have a Man Like Mine)" | 20 | — | 22 | ||
| 1974 | "When I Get My Hands on You" | 16 | — | 26 | |
| "Lean It All on Me" | 13 | 101 | 12 | Lean It All on Me | |
| "(If You Wanna Hold on) Hold on to Your Man" | 32 | — | — | ||
| 1975 | "Oh Boy Oh Boy (The Mood I'm In) "Oh Boy " is a popular song written by Tony Romeo. It has been recorded by Diana Trask and Brotherhood of Man, among others.The song was originally recorded by Australian artist Diana Trask in 1975... " |
21 | — | 14 | The Mood I'm In |
| "There Has to Be a Loser" | 82 | — | — | ||
| "Cry Cry (Churchill Kohlman song) "Cry" is the title of a 1951 popular song written by Churchill Kohlman. The song was first recorded by Ruth Casey on the Cadillac label. The biggest hit version was recorded in New York City by Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads on October 16, 1951.... " |
99 | — | — | Diana Trask's Greatest Hits | |
| 1981 | "This Must Be My Ship" | 62 | — | — | non-album singles |
| "Stirrin' Up Feelings" | 74 | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||