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Features July 16, 2018

The continued appeal of Slim Dusty: “most artists would be pleased to get a career out of 1,000 weeks, much less one album!”

The continued appeal of Slim Dusty: “most artists would be pleased to get a career out of 1,000 weeks, much less one album!”

The continued appeal of, and fan loyalty for, Australian country music pioneer Slim Dusty AO MBE was verified this morning when the new ARIA country charts showed that The Very Best Of Slim Dusty hit 1000 consecutive weeks.

He is the first artist to achieve this milestone in Australia – and, most likely, will hold that record for decades.

The album, which still ranks at #8 today, spent 72 weeks in the Top 100 of the ARIA album chart and was certified 5 x platinum for sales of 350,000.

“It’s gobsmacking,” David Kirkpatrick, Dusty’s son and a country music performer in his own right, tells TMN.

“A thousand consecutive weeks, it’s hard to get your head around it. The longevity of it is outstanding.

“Most artists would be happy to get a career of a thousand weeks, much less one album!”

Kirkpatrick attributes the record’s long run to the hard touring that Dusty and Joy McKean – his wife, manager and co-writer – put in over 70 years and the engagement they had with their fans, especially in the remote areas.

“His music keeps getting passed down from generation to generation,” he explains.

“I meet people all the time who say they grew up on Slim Dusty, listening to his music on their road trips with their fathers, and now their children are listening to him as well.

“They genuinely did become part of their families. They’d always meet them after the show.

“People would ask them to drop by their homes the next day to see someone who couldn’t make it to the show, or if they would visit someone in hospital, and of course they always would.

“Because Slim and Joy always appreciated the support people gave them when they were starting out and struggling.”

 John O’Donnell, managing director of EMI Music Australia, points out, “Slim is a national hero and the rock upon which we built EMI Australia.

“Our relationship spans 70-plus years and over 100 albums.

“We will forever be indebted to Slim for his music, his mateship, and the way he took his music and his storytelling to every corner of this nation.

“For all of us at EMI, it is a privilege and honour to represent Slim’s great body of work.”

Dan Rosen, ARIA chief executive, added. “To see an artist reach this milestone is a testament to the King Of Country’s enduring appeal and incredible artistry.

“He is, and always will be, an Australian icon and clearly his music will continue to be loved by generations of fans.”

To mark the chart achievement, EMI released Dusty’s final record from 2004, Columbia Lane: The Last Sessions on vinyl.

The celebrations extend to streaming where Spotify has launched a Dusty playlist: Best Of, Complete, Drinkin’ Songs, Truckin’ Songs and People & Places.

Born David Gordon Kirkpatrick, Dusty grew up on a cattle farm in Kempsey, NSW, and adopted his stage name when he was just 11.

In 1946, at 19, he signed his first record deal and was recording right until his death in September 2003, aged 76.

He notched up total sales of 7 million from 100 album releases.

The 25-track The Very Best Of has all the hits – A Pub With No Beer from 1957 which was the first Australian recording to crack an overseas chart (Ireland), Duncan, Walk a Country Mile, The Lights on the Hill, We’ve Done Us Proud (written by Graeme Connor for the Bicentennial) and Cunnamulla Fella.

But for David Kirkpatrick, two songs stand out.

“They book-ended his carer: Rain Tumbled Down in July was an amazing achievement for a young country kid (aged 18) to write those lyrics.

Looking Forward and Looking Back, from near the end of his career, is a song that is played at weddings, funerals, and it’s a song that I always sing at my own concerts.”

And his old man’s most memorable concert?

“At five or six I’d be sitting side stage listening to Slim, Joy and (guitarist) Barry Thornton performing some of my favourite songs.

“But seeing Slim walking out at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics singing Waltzing Matilda to the world was pretty special.”

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