Johnny Ashcroft
Encyclopedia
Johnny Ashcroft is an Australian country music
entertainer, songwriter, recording artist and musician.
.
In 1814 his great-great-grandfather and namesake, John Ashcroft, arrived in chains aboard the notorious convict ship
Surrey. Therefore, Ashcroft is a descendant of a First Fleeter and a descendant of a convict.
Ashcroft’s showbusiness roots go back to Harry Ashcroft who first appeared with his orchestra early in the 20th century. Ashcroft started his career during World War II
as Harry Ashcroft’s daughter, Gloria, was finishing hers.
There has been an Ashcroft or an Ashcroft descendant in Australian show business for nigh on 100 years.
, he lived in a bag shack with a dirt floor. An interest in indigenous cultures, in particular Australian Aboriginal culture
, was possibly influenced by these humble beginnings.
During World War II, Ashcroft began his career by playing a guitar and singing mainly bush ballads. Back then, bush ballads were often called ‘hillbilly
’ songs. Ashcroft’s first 78rpm, recorded in 1946, featured only one song – When I Waltzed My Matilda Away. It was distributed solely for radio airplay.
In the mid 1940s he traveled with vaudeville
shows. While working in the Great Levante Show, he learned about show business traditions and the psychology of live performing from the Great Levante (Les Cole) and one of Australia’s greatest vaudevillian comics, Bobby Lebrun.
Ashcroft was the first C&W artist to appear on Australian TV. In 1956, when the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Commission) began transmitting from its tiny Arcon Studio at Gore Hill, Sydney
, he wrote and sang the show’s opening theme and performed in the show. Gordon Chater
was its anchorman.
. This 1957 offering is now a collector’s item. Before completely destroying his old image, Ashcroft recorded Gordon Parsons’s, A Pub With No Beer. This 45rpm was also released in the USA and during a beer strike in Canada
. It was not only available on vinyl but anecdotally sold 110 000 copies in Australia, on plastic-coated cardboard records.
They’re A Weird Mob, recorded in late 1958, also included the doyens of Australian jazz: Graeme Bell
, Don Burrows
, John Sangster
, George Thompson, Ron Falson together with Noel Smith from the Royal Ballet Orchestra. This skiffle song became Ashcroft’s first hit single.
, was Australia’s first country-rock song. Again, it was arranged and recorded by jazzmen, including guitarist George Golla
. This song, written by Ashcroft from DJ Tony Withers’s idea, tells the story of Steven Walls
who became lost from his parent’s property at Tubbamurra near Guyra, NSW. Five thousand people, seven aircraft, together with Aboriginal tracker William Stanley, searched the rugged bush country, which was rife with dingo
s and deadly snakes. He was found alive and well four days later. The search for the Little Boy Lost continues to be Australia's biggest.
At the height of Little Boy Lost’s success, Ashcroft withdrew his recording from airplay out of consideration for the family of 8-year old Graham Thorne, the victim of Australia’s first kidnapping. The one single element connecting Little Boy Lost to this tragedy was its title. Johnny Ashcroft thereby became the only singer/songwriter in the world to knobble his own hit. Despite its withdrawal, it topped Top 40 charts longer than the combined total of two other major hits of the same era: A Pub With No Beer–one week and Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport–three weeks (Little Boy Lost–six weeks).
Six-weeks after the Graeme Thorne kidnapping
, the boy was found murdered. And for the first time forensic science was used in a murder investigation in Australia. It led to the conviction of a Hungarian born migrant, Stephen Bradley, who died in gaol.
Camp during WWII, was Ashcroft’s third hit–again supported by a film clip.
The Little Boy Lost (1978 film)
, in which Ashcroft and Gay Kayler recorded the vocal sound track, starred John Hargreaves and Lorna Leslie with Rockhampton
schoolboy Nathan Dawes as Steven Walls.
His album Mostly Folk, recorded in the mid-1960s, served to confirm Ashcroft’s breadth of talent. When this folk LP was later released under its new title, Little Boy Lost, it went gold.
The modern country music album You And I Country Style, which Ashcroft recorded with Kathleen McCormack, went gold in record time. It broke the image that Australian hillbilly/bush balladeers and C&W artists (including Ashcroft) had bestowed upon country music. Importantly, it set modern country music apart and put it on the long road to the success it enjoys today in Australia.
, NSW, in 1971. During the ceremony, Ashcroft suggested that Tamworth might consider annual country music record-award presentations in that city.
Consequently, two years later, in 1973, Tamworth began promoting itself as Australia’s Country Music Capital. With Golden Guitars designed by John Minson
, Tamworth had started its journey to eventually become recognised as one of the world’s top ten music festivals (2002).
. Al Caiola
, famed guitarist of The Magnificent Seven
and Bonanza
, recorded Thunderbolt’s Lament (sub-titled Yellilong, I Love You) in the USA, for the giant worldwide music company, Muzak
.
In 1973, Ashcroft and Gay Kayler
(Kahler) became country music’s most unusual solo/duo artists. After working solo on stage to demonstrate and maintain their individuality, they then came together in duets. This format was extremely successful at the Sydney Opera House
when, four months after its opening, Ashcroft and Kayler topped the bill in a country music show presented by the Australian Festival Of Performing Arts. Eight-weeks later they again starred in the Australian Variety Show in the main Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. Both shows were markedly different. They appeared eight times in this venue.
And 1973 was the year Ashcroft and Gay Kayler recorded their Faces Of Love album. Each featured in solo performances and duets.
That same year, Ashcroft recorded his fourth hit–an American pop song, Clint Holmes
’s Playground In My Mind, which went to Number One on the charts. Ashcroft’s fifth hit, Holy Joe The Salvo, was written on the back of an airline sick-bag. It became the Salvation Army
’s 1975 Red Shield Appeal Song. The ‘Sallys’ then became widely known as the ‘Salvos’.
No other Australian country artist appeared on Top 40 Charts as frequently as Ashcroft.
LP, included a faithful cover-reproduction of Fredrick McCubbin’s 1889 painting, Down On His Luck.
In another departure from modern country music, Ashcroft appeared on the album, A Time For Change, as his disco-singing alter ego, the Baron. The LP also featured Gay Kayler, Ashcroft’s partner (and wife), as Lady Finflingkington, the Baron’s jazz-scatting eccentric consort. From this LP, the Baron released Sixteen Tons Of Hit The Road Jack–a 45rpm, 12-inch, disco single.
It’s more than a probability that no recording artist in the world and certainly in Australia, has stepped outside his or her safety zone of musical activity to record as many musical forms as did Ashcroft.
In summary, aside from country, this artist’s repertoire included big ballads with big orchestrations, pop, rock, skiffle, modern and trad jazz
, R&B, folk
and disco
. These breakaways were recorded over a period of more than two decades. It conflicted with opinions that those working in this genre are so low in musical ability and talent that they can only sing and play country music.
In 1989, the milestone historical album, The Cross Of The Five Silver Stars, featured Ashcroft, Gay Kayler, Bettybo and their musical director, Rob (Shep) Davis. Coupled with They All Died Game and four bonus tracks, this LP was released on a Rajon Music 28-track double CD set, Johnny Ashcroft, Here’s To You, Australia! on 4 August 2007.
in the ‘old tin shed’–Sydney Stadium
at Rushcutters Bay
; heading up shows with world stars on the giant NSW Registered Club Circuit, claimed by some as the world’s biggest entertainment circuit during the 1960s and 1970s; working with his show from a pontoon on Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson
) to an estimated audience of around 110 000 people looking on from the harbour foreshores and the Sydney Harbour Bridge
; many whistle-stop and repeated major city tours throughout Australia
and New Zealand
and an Air Niugini
tour throughout Papua New Guinea
with Gay Kayler.
Ashcroft and Gay Kayler’s original concept, The Imagine That! Australiana Show series and its offshoots, entertained over half a million adults and children during a 12-year run of live performances. Additionally this show featured on the ABC TV 7:30 Report and SBS (Special Television Service).
, Ashcroft received the first Male Country Entertainer Mo award–a performance award voted for by his peers. This was followed by a National Award For Service To Australian country music
. He is to be found in Tamworth’s Australasian Country Music Hands of Fame and Tamworth’s Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown.
Johnny Ashcroft was awarded the Medal of the Order Of Australia
(OAM) in 1990 and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of History and Arts (FAIHA).
*Little Boy Lost hit song in National Film & Sound Archives
Australian country music
Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodelling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, by the traditions of Australian bush balladeers, as well as by popular American...
entertainer, songwriter, recording artist and musician.
Early roots
In 1788, Ashcroft’s great-great-great-grandfather, Marine Corporal John Gowan, arrived in Australia aboard the First Fleet’s Flagship, HMS SiriusHMS Sirius
Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Sirius after the brightest star in the nighttime sky.*HMS Sirius of 1786 was a ship of the First Fleet to Australia....
.
In 1814 his great-great-grandfather and namesake, John Ashcroft, arrived in chains aboard the notorious convict ship
Convict ship
The term convict ship is a colloquial term used to describe any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.-Colonial practice:...
Surrey. Therefore, Ashcroft is a descendant of a First Fleeter and a descendant of a convict.
Ashcroft’s showbusiness roots go back to Harry Ashcroft who first appeared with his orchestra early in the 20th century. Ashcroft started his career during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as Harry Ashcroft’s daughter, Gloria, was finishing hers.
There has been an Ashcroft or an Ashcroft descendant in Australian show business for nigh on 100 years.
Early personal and show business background
Ashcroft was raised under extremely poor circumstances. As a child growing up during the Great Depression in AustraliaGreat Depression in Australia
Australia suffered badly during the period of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. As in other nations, Australia suffered years of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging incomes, and...
, he lived in a bag shack with a dirt floor. An interest in indigenous cultures, in particular Australian Aboriginal culture
Australian Aboriginal culture
Aboriginal Australia comprises hundreds of tribal divisions and language groups, with a diverse range of cultural practices.-Practices and ceremonies:*A Bora is an initiation ceremony in which young boys become men....
, was possibly influenced by these humble beginnings.
During World War II, Ashcroft began his career by playing a guitar and singing mainly bush ballads. Back then, bush ballads were often called ‘hillbilly
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
’ songs. Ashcroft’s first 78rpm, recorded in 1946, featured only one song – When I Waltzed My Matilda Away. It was distributed solely for radio airplay.
In the mid 1940s he traveled with vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
shows. While working in the Great Levante Show, he learned about show business traditions and the psychology of live performing from the Great Levante (Les Cole) and one of Australia’s greatest vaudevillian comics, Bobby Lebrun.
Early recordings and a television first
In 1954, Ashcroft laid down his first commercial recordings–six sides (three 78rpms) for Rodeo Records. These were recorded live. His mid-1950s Phillips ‘microgroove’ vinyl album, Songs Of The Western Trail, also recorded live with the Gaby Rogers orchestra, was Australia’s first vinyl C&W ‘Long Play’ (LP) record. Four years later the next Australian C&W vinyl LP made its appearance. Songs Of The Western Trail is ensconced in Australia’s recording history. And Australia’s very first trucking song, Highway 31, written by Ashcroft, enhanced its uniqueness. Eight sides (four 78rpms) were eventually released from this album.Ashcroft was the first C&W artist to appear on Australian TV. In 1956, when the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Commission) began transmitting from its tiny Arcon Studio at Gore Hill, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, he wrote and sang the show’s opening theme and performed in the show. Gordon Chater
Gordon Chater
Gordon Chater was a comedian and actor.Chater attended Cambridge University to study to become a doctor but did not finish his degree. While at Cambridge he took part in many student revues.He arrived in Australia following World War II...
was its anchorman.
Country, skiffle and all that jazz
In a career about-face, Ashcroft recorded a 4-track, traditional jazz, 45rpm extended play (EP), Dig That Dixie, with Graeme BellGraeme Bell
Graeme Emerson Bell AO MBE is an Australian Dixieland and classical jazz pianist, composer and band leader...
. This 1957 offering is now a collector’s item. Before completely destroying his old image, Ashcroft recorded Gordon Parsons’s, A Pub With No Beer. This 45rpm was also released in the USA and during a beer strike in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was not only available on vinyl but anecdotally sold 110 000 copies in Australia, on plastic-coated cardboard records.
They’re A Weird Mob, recorded in late 1958, also included the doyens of Australian jazz: Graeme Bell
Graeme Bell
Graeme Emerson Bell AO MBE is an Australian Dixieland and classical jazz pianist, composer and band leader...
, Don Burrows
Don Burrows
Donald Vernon Burrows, AO, MBE is an Australian jazz and swing musician, playing the clarinet, saxophone, and flute....
, John Sangster
John Sangster
John Sangster was an Australian jazz composer, arranger, drummer, cornettist and Vibraphonist born in Melbourne, most well known as a composer though also a gifted multi-instrumentalist...
, George Thompson, Ron Falson together with Noel Smith from the Royal Ballet Orchestra. This skiffle song became Ashcroft’s first hit single.
Little Boy Lost – Australia’s first country-rock song
Although the term had not yet been coined, Ashcroft’s 1960 smash hit, Little Boy LostLittle Boy Lost (song)
Little Boy Lost, was an Australian hit song, recorded by Johnny Ashcroft. He composed this song from a lyric idea put forward by DJ, Tony Withers.-Historic event:The song accurately relates the saga of Australia’s greatest land and air search...
, was Australia’s first country-rock song. Again, it was arranged and recorded by jazzmen, including guitarist George Golla
George Golla
George Golla AM is an Australian jazz guitarist. In 1959 he commenced a long-term working musical partnership with clarinetist/flautist/saxophonist Don Burrows that continued for almost forty years. On 10 June 1985, Golla was made a Member of the Order of Australia with the citation, For service...
. This song, written by Ashcroft from DJ Tony Withers’s idea, tells the story of Steven Walls
Little Boy Lost (song)
Little Boy Lost, was an Australian hit song, recorded by Johnny Ashcroft. He composed this song from a lyric idea put forward by DJ, Tony Withers.-Historic event:The song accurately relates the saga of Australia’s greatest land and air search...
who became lost from his parent’s property at Tubbamurra near Guyra, NSW. Five thousand people, seven aircraft, together with Aboriginal tracker William Stanley, searched the rugged bush country, which was rife with dingo
Dingo
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming wild dog unique to the continent of Australia, mainly found in the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to...
s and deadly snakes. He was found alive and well four days later. The search for the Little Boy Lost continues to be Australia's biggest.
At the height of Little Boy Lost’s success, Ashcroft withdrew his recording from airplay out of consideration for the family of 8-year old Graham Thorne, the victim of Australia’s first kidnapping. The one single element connecting Little Boy Lost to this tragedy was its title. Johnny Ashcroft thereby became the only singer/songwriter in the world to knobble his own hit. Despite its withdrawal, it topped Top 40 charts longer than the combined total of two other major hits of the same era: A Pub With No Beer–one week and Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport–three weeks (Little Boy Lost–six weeks).
Six-weeks after the Graeme Thorne kidnapping
Graeme Thorne kidnapping
The Graeme Thorne kidnapping is the name given to the 1960 kidnapping and murder of Graeme Thorne for money that his father, Bazil Thorne, had won in a lottery. A crime which caused massive shock at the time and gathered huge publicity, it was the first known kidnapping for ransom in Australian...
, the boy was found murdered. And for the first time forensic science was used in a murder investigation in Australia. It led to the conviction of a Hungarian born migrant, Stephen Bradley, who died in gaol.
Film clips, a movie, modern country music duos and more hits
In the absence of videos and DVDs, a film clip of Ashcroft singing Little Boy Lost on B&W TV was distributed worldwide by EMI. This was a first for Australia. In the early 1960s, a march-tempo song, The Girl Behind The Bar, written by Slim DeGrey in the infamous Japanese Changi PrisonChangi Prison
Changi Prison is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.-First prison and POW camp:...
Camp during WWII, was Ashcroft’s third hit–again supported by a film clip.
The Little Boy Lost (1978 film)
Little Boy Lost (1978 film)
Little Boy Lost is a 1978 Australian drama film starring Nathan Dawes as Stephen Walls, John Hargreaves as Jacko Walls, Lorna Lesley as Dorrie Walls, Tony Barry as Constable O'Dea and Steve Dodd as William Stanley, the Aboriginal tracker....
, in which Ashcroft and Gay Kayler recorded the vocal sound track, starred John Hargreaves and Lorna Leslie with Rockhampton
Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....
schoolboy Nathan Dawes as Steven Walls.
His album Mostly Folk, recorded in the mid-1960s, served to confirm Ashcroft’s breadth of talent. When this folk LP was later released under its new title, Little Boy Lost, it went gold.
The modern country music album You And I Country Style, which Ashcroft recorded with Kathleen McCormack, went gold in record time. It broke the image that Australian hillbilly/bush balladeers and C&W artists (including Ashcroft) had bestowed upon country music. Importantly, it set modern country music apart and put it on the long road to the success it enjoys today in Australia.
Australia’s first on-stage gold record presentation
Ashcroft was the first country artist in Australia to have gold records presented on stage, when three were bestowed simultaneously before a live audience in TamworthTamworth, New South Wales
Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...
, NSW, in 1971. During the ceremony, Ashcroft suggested that Tamworth might consider annual country music record-award presentations in that city.
Consequently, two years later, in 1973, Tamworth began promoting itself as Australia’s Country Music Capital. With Golden Guitars designed by John Minson
Golden Guitar
The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England New South Wales...
, Tamworth had started its journey to eventually become recognised as one of the world’s top ten music festivals (2002).
Bushrangers and Salvos
A bushranger album, They All Died Game, written by Ashcroft and Joe Halford in 1971, became an Australian record industry icon. Based on sound historical fact, it was fully researched and recorded with mostly jazz musicians, giving this unique album a unique sound. The melodies of four songs from They All Died Game were recorded and released in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Al Caiola
Al Caiola
Al Caiola is a guitarist who plays jazz, country, rock, western, and pop music. He has been both a studio musician and stage performer...
, famed guitarist of The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven is an American Western film directed by John Sturges, and released in 1960. It is a fictional tale of a group of seven American gunmen who are hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding Mexican bandits...
and Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, recorded Thunderbolt’s Lament (sub-titled Yellilong, I Love You) in the USA, for the giant worldwide music company, Muzak
Muzak
Muzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1934, Muzak Holdings is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....
.
In 1973, Ashcroft and Gay Kayler
Gay Kayler
Gay Kayler is an Australian country music entertainer and recording artist. Gay used her maiden name in her professional career until 1978, when she changed the spelling to Kayler to maintain a consistency of pronunciation.- A blossoming career :Gay comes from a musical family...
(Kahler) became country music’s most unusual solo/duo artists. After working solo on stage to demonstrate and maintain their individuality, they then came together in duets. This format was extremely successful at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
when, four months after its opening, Ashcroft and Kayler topped the bill in a country music show presented by the Australian Festival Of Performing Arts. Eight-weeks later they again starred in the Australian Variety Show in the main Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. Both shows were markedly different. They appeared eight times in this venue.
And 1973 was the year Ashcroft and Gay Kayler recorded their Faces Of Love album. Each featured in solo performances and duets.
That same year, Ashcroft recorded his fourth hit–an American pop song, Clint Holmes
Clint Holmes
Clint Holmes , is a singer-songwriter and Las Vegas entertainer. He was born in Bournemouth, Hampshire , England, the son of an African-American jazz musician and a white English opera singer...
’s Playground In My Mind, which went to Number One on the charts. Ashcroft’s fifth hit, Holy Joe The Salvo, was written on the back of an airline sick-bag. It became the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
’s 1975 Red Shield Appeal Song. The ‘Sallys’ then became widely known as the ‘Salvos’.
No other Australian country artist appeared on Top 40 Charts as frequently as Ashcroft.
Breaking more new ground
Ashcroft also wrote Australia’s first female trucking song, My Home-Coming Trucker’s Coming Home, recorded by Gay Kayler. It became a country hit, which was also programmed into general airplay. His 1978 And The Band Played Waltzing MatildaAnd The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes war as futile and gruesome, while criticising those who seek to glorify it...
LP, included a faithful cover-reproduction of Fredrick McCubbin’s 1889 painting, Down On His Luck.
In another departure from modern country music, Ashcroft appeared on the album, A Time For Change, as his disco-singing alter ego, the Baron. The LP also featured Gay Kayler, Ashcroft’s partner (and wife), as Lady Finflingkington, the Baron’s jazz-scatting eccentric consort. From this LP, the Baron released Sixteen Tons Of Hit The Road Jack–a 45rpm, 12-inch, disco single.
It’s more than a probability that no recording artist in the world and certainly in Australia, has stepped outside his or her safety zone of musical activity to record as many musical forms as did Ashcroft.
In summary, aside from country, this artist’s repertoire included big ballads with big orchestrations, pop, rock, skiffle, modern and trad jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, R&B, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
. These breakaways were recorded over a period of more than two decades. It conflicted with opinions that those working in this genre are so low in musical ability and talent that they can only sing and play country music.
In 1989, the milestone historical album, The Cross Of The Five Silver Stars, featured Ashcroft, Gay Kayler, Bettybo and their musical director, Rob (Shep) Davis. Coupled with They All Died Game and four bonus tracks, this LP was released on a Rajon Music 28-track double CD set, Johnny Ashcroft, Here’s To You, Australia! on 4 August 2007.
Stage shows
Ashcroft has performed in many diverse stage-show situations including: appearing with Roy AcuffRoy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the King of Country Music, Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful.Acuff...
in the ‘old tin shed’–Sydney Stadium
Sydney Stadium
The Sydney Stadium was a sporting and entertainment venue in Sydney, New South Wales, which formerly stood on the corner of New South Head Road and Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay...
at Rushcutters Bay
Rushcutters Bay, New South Wales
Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rushcutters Bay is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney....
; heading up shows with world stars on the giant NSW Registered Club Circuit, claimed by some as the world’s biggest entertainment circuit during the 1960s and 1970s; working with his show from a pontoon on Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
) to an estimated audience of around 110 000 people looking on from the harbour foreshores and the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
; many whistle-stop and repeated major city tours throughout Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and an Air Niugini
Air Niugini
Air Niugini Limited is the national airline of Papua New Guinea, based in Air Niugini House on the property of Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby. It operates a domestic network from Port Moresby and Lae, as well as international services in Asia, Oceania, and Australia. Its main base is...
tour throughout Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
with Gay Kayler.
Ashcroft and Gay Kayler’s original concept, The Imagine That! Australiana Show series and its offshoots, entertained over half a million adults and children during a 12-year run of live performances. Additionally this show featured on the ABC TV 7:30 Report and SBS (Special Television Service).
50th Anniversary
The immense popularity and resultant longevity of Johnny's song, Little Boy Lost, contributed enormously to the search for Steven Walls becoming part of Australia's folklore. In 2010, the 50th Anniversary of that saga fell on the same days as those in 1960, i.e. Friday, 5 February (when Steven was lost) to Monday, 8 February (when he was found alive and well).Accolades
During the 1980 Australian Variety Artists Mo AwardsMo Awards
The Mo Awards are long running annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia....
, Ashcroft received the first Male Country Entertainer Mo award–a performance award voted for by his peers. This was followed by a National Award For Service To Australian country music
Australian country music
Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodelling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, by the traditions of Australian bush balladeers, as well as by popular American...
. He is to be found in Tamworth’s Australasian Country Music Hands of Fame and Tamworth’s Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown.
Johnny Ashcroft was awarded the Medal of the Order Of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(OAM) in 1990 and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of History and Arts (FAIHA).
External links
- Johnny Ashcroft Official website
- Gay Kayler
- Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown
- Australasian Country Music - Hands of Fame
- Queensland Country Music National Male Award
- Little Boy Lost listing in No.1 Hits of 1960
- Johnny Ashcroft recordings in National Film & Sound Archives
*Little Boy Lost hit song in National Film & Sound Archives
- Johnny's Little Boy Lost song with clips from movie on YouTube
- Tamworth Capital News Editorial
- Interview in Joy's Music World
- Oral History in National Film & Sound Archive
- Johnny Ashcroft’s suggestion gave birth to the Australasian Country Music Awards
- Ray Hadley, 2GB Sydney, interviews Johnny on 50th Anniversary of the Little Boy Lost search 5 Feb 2010
- Kelly Fuller, ABC New England North West, interviews Johnny on 50th Anniversary 7 Feb 2010
- Spencer Howson, ABC Brisbane, interviews Johnny on 50th Anniversary 5 Feb 2010
- Tim Cox, ABC Hobart, blog re Johnny Ashcroft & Gay Kayler and 50th Anniversary 11 Feb 2010