Slim Dusty’s Top 100 Songs to be Chosen by Public Vote
Slim Dusty fans can now vote for their top 10 songs, with the 100 most-voted songs to be released as a collection ahead of his 100th birthday.
Slim Dusty fans can now vote for their top 10 songs, with the 100 most-voted songs to be released as a collection ahead of his 100th birthday.
The Slim Dusty 100 is a nationwide fan-led celebration, run by EMI/Universal Music Australia and the Slim Dusty Estate, inviting fans to choose their 10 favourite Slim Dusty songs.
Dusty recorded more than 1000 songs throughout his career, and the 100 tracks with the most votes will be released on multi-vinyl, CD, and digital formats.
Contenders for top spots include "A Pub With No Beer" and "Lights On The Hill", written by his wife, Joy McKean, and which won the first Golden Guitar.
Other songs fans may choose from include "Duncan", "G’Day, G’Day" and "The Biggest Disappointment". Meanwhile, lesser-known options include Dusty’s own "Gumtrees by the Roadway" and "Things Are Not the Same on the Land", the song that started it all for Bill Chambers.
Voting closes Monday, November 16th, 2026, and the final countdown will be revealed on Sunday, June 13th, 2027, the 100th anniversary of Dusty’s birth.
To vote for your top 10 Slim Dusty songs, click here.
Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
Dusty was born David Kirkpatrick in Kempsey, NSW, and raised on his family farm in nearby Nulla Nulla Creek.
He got started in music early and penned his first song, “The Way the Cowboy Dies”, at the age of 10, and the following year, decided on “Slim Dusty," a stage name “much better suited to a singing cowboy,” reads a statement from Google.
His signature song, 1957's "The Pub With No Beer," written by his mate, Gordon Parsons, was a top 10 hit in the U.K., peaking at No. 3 in 1959, and is said to be the first gold-certified record in Australia.
The prolific artist recorded over 100 albums, sold over 7 million albums, and has won 38 Golden Guitar country music awards.
He was inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 1988, during the inaugural ceremony, and had a coin pressed in his honour by the Royal Australian Mint.
