DOWNLOAD NO.117 - SLIM NEWTON AND TEX MORTON

Unlike some D.J.s who stick to one music preference I have always enjoyed a wide variety of Oz music (as you can tell if you have ventured into this blog). The country is where I was born, in a little town near Mudgee, NSW. As a small child dad's job took us to a town not far from Tamworth - the country capital of NSW.

Now, when you work as a mobile D. J. you get asked to do parties in odd places...once, I had 400 people squeezed in a shearing shed /wool shed, in the upper Hunter Valley for a surprise 50th birthday party for a farmer's wife...and of course I had to have a repertoire of country tracks for the celebration which went to almost dawn...

Two really big Oz country hits were "A Redback On The Toilet Seat" and "Goondiwindi Grey". They both ran less than 3 minutes in length, so of course I had to remedy that and make some longer versions...for dance purposes...as you do!

Here is a little info about the two artists responsible, Slim Newton and Tex Morton:

Tex Morton (born Robert William Lane in Nelson, New Zealand, August 30, 1916; died July 23, 1983) was a pioneer of Australian country music. At just 14 years of age, the young Robert Lane ran away from home, beginning an adventurous life which would take him to all parts of the world. In the early '30s, Tex recorded a number of tracks on custom made, 7 inch aluminium discs in Wellington N.Z. Two are now in the National Film & Sound Archive in Canberra and another in Country Music Capital's Walk A Country Mile. Tex moved to Australia in 1932 (age 16) and took to carrying his swag and working wherever jobs were offering on outback stations where he first began to get his performing name. He participated regularly in the Australasian Country Music Awards as a special guest and his recording of "The Goondiwindi Grey" won the Golden Guitar for APRA Song of the Year in 1974.

FROM TOP 100 AUSSIE RECORDS for 1973 – Country Singles

1. HEAVEN IS MY WOMAN'S LOVE Col Joye

3. THE WORLD'S GREATEST MUM Johnny Chester

11. GOONDIWINDI GREY Tex Morton

18. PLAYGROUND IN MY MIND Johnny Ashcroft

Slim Newton was a native of Perth, Western Australia, (real name Ralph Ernest Newton), he came from a family of three boys. His first record, "Redback on the Toilet Seat" made history, and has earned Slim three gold records. Slim sang the song on the live "Big 'T' Jubilee" radio show (2TM, 3MA, 4CA, 7LA) with a huge and immediate response. An instant blackout was placed on the song until the disc was released in March 1972. Late in April "Redback" was showing the first signs of being a gigantic hit. The E.P. broke via 2CH and 2UE and started to appear on prediction charts around Australia soon after. Within the first 12 months of the release of "Redback on the Toilet Seat" there were recorded four cover versions of the song: three in Australasia and one in the USA (by a New York rock group!). Slim's recording had also been issued in New Zealand, and Australasian sales of that original E.P. record (it was never a single) passed the 100,000 sales before being deleted on 8th June 1978.

Enjoy two extended 12" Tom Mix versions for the price of one:

http://rapidshare.com/files/180889595/extended_country_tom_mix.rar