Judith Durham

Judith Durham

Judith Durham in 1970
Background information
Birth name Judy Mavis Cock
Born (1943-07-03) 3 July 1943
Essendon, Victoria, Australia
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • musician
  • composer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
Years active 1962–present
Associated acts
Website www.judithdurham.com

Judith Mavis Durham AO (born Judith Mavis Cock; 3 July 1943) is an Australian singer and musician who became the lead vocalist for the Australian popular folk music group the Seekers in 1963. The group subsequently became the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States, and as of 2004 had sold over 50 million records. Durham left the group in mid-1968 to pursue her solo career. In 1993, Durham began to make sporadic recordings and performances with the Seekers, though she remains primarily a solo performer. On 1 July 2015, she was named Victorian of the Year for her services to music and a range of charities.

Early life

Durham was born in Essendon, Victoria, to William Alexander Cock DFC, a navigator and World War II pathfinder, and his wife, Hazel (née Durham). From her birth until 1949, Durham spent summer holidays at her family's weatherboard house on the west side of Durham Place in Rosebud, which has been demolished. A myth has circulated that "Morningtown Ride" was prompted by these holidays and the nearby town of Mornington. However, Durham has stated that the song was written by American songwriter Malvina Reynolds and that the lyrics refer to sweet dreams rather than the Mornington Peninsula. Durham lived in Hobart, Tasmania, where she attended the Fahan School before moving back to Melbourne in 1956. In Melbourne, she was educated at Ruyton Girls' School and then enrolled at RMIT.[1]

Durham at first planned to be a pianist and gained the qualification of Associate in Music, Australia (AMusA), in classical piano at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium. She had some professional engagements playing piano and also had classical vocal training and performed blues, gospel and jazz pieces. Her singing career began one night at the age of 18 when she asked Nicholas Ribush, leader of the Melbourne University Jazz Band, at the Memphis Jazz Club in Malvern, whether she could sing with the band. In 1963 she began performing at the same club with Frank Traynor's Jazz Preachers, using her mother's maiden name of Durham. In that year she also recorded her first EP, Judy Durham with Frank Traynor's Jazz Preachers, for W&G Records.[2]

Durham was working as a secretary at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency where she met account executive Athol Guy. Guy was in a folk group called the Seekers which sang on Monday nights at the Treble Clef, a coffee lounge on Toorak Road in Melbourne.

The Seekers

Further information: The Seekers

The Seekers consisted of Durham, Athol Guy, Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger, the last being an ABC radio producer. It was through Potger's position that the three were able to make a demo tape in their spare time. This was given to W&G Records, which wanted another sample of Durham's voice before agreeing to record a Jazz Preachers' album. W&G instead signed the Seekers for an album, Introducing the Seekers, in 1963. (Potger does not appear on the album cover because he was not allowed to have a second job.) Durham, however, recorded two other songs with the Jazz Preachers, "Muddy Water" (which appeared on their album Jazz From the Pulpit) and "Trombone Frankie" (an adapted version of Bessie Smith's "Trombie Cholly").

In early 1964 the Seekers sailed to the United Kingdom on the S.S. Fairsky on which the group provided the musical entertainment. Originally they had planned to return after ten weeks, but they received a steady stream of bookings through the Grade Agency because they had sent the agency a copy of their first album. In November 1964 the Seekers released "I'll Never Find Another You" composed by Tom Springfield. In February 1965 the record reached number one in the UK and Australia, while their 1966 recording of Springfield and Jim Dale's "Georgy Girl" (from the film of the same name) reached number two (Billboard chart) and number one (Cashbox chart) in the United States.

In 1967, the Seekers set an official all-time record when more than 200,000 people (nearly one tenth of the city’s entire population at that time!) flocked to their performance at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. Their TV special ‘The Seekers Down Under scored the biggest TV audience ever (with a 67 rating), and early in 1968 they were all awarded the nation’s top honour as “Australians Of The Year 1967”.[3] The group split in in July 1968.[4]

Solo career

Judith Durham (1970), photograph by Allan Warren

Durham returned to Australia in August 1968 and her first solo television special screened on the Nine Network in September. During her solo career she has released albums titled For Christmas with Love, Gift of Song and Climb Ev'ry Mountain. In 1970 she made the television special Meet Judith Durham in London, ending with her rendition of "When You Come to the End of a Perfect Day" by Carrie Jacobs-Bond (1862–1946).[5] In the 1970s she returned to traditional jazz and recorded Judith Durham and The Hottest Band in Town and Judith Durham and The Hottest Band in Town Volume 2 and in 1978, The Hot Jazz Duo. She then moved to Queensland and focused on her songwriting.

In 1994, Durham began recording albums again. Her 1994 album, Let Me Find Love peaked at number 8 in Australia. In 1996, she released a covers album titled, Mona Lisas under the direction of producer Gus Dudgeon. This was re-released as Always There in 1997 with the addition of Durham's solo recording of fellow Seeker Bruce Woodley's "I am Australian" (with Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply and Mandawuy Yunupingu of Yothu Yindi) and the Smith Family theme song of the title. Her recording of "Always There" was first released on the 1997 double CD Anthems, which also featured Bruce Woodley's "Common Ground" and the Seekers' "Advance Australia Fair" arrangement.

In 2001, she did another Australian tour and in 2003 she toured the UK to celebrate her 60th birthday. Her birthday concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London was filmed and released on DVD in late 2004. The album was released on CD and download in 2014, titled Live in London.

In 2006, the Seekers were awarded the "Key to the City" of Melbourne by Lord Mayor John So. As part of the ceremony, Durham sang part of her song "Seldom Melbourne Leaves My Mind" and was later invited by the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund to record the song, as a fund-raiser, with Orchestra Victoria. The decision was then made to record The Australian Cities Suite with all proceeds from the sale of the CD to go to the charitable sector. The album was released in October 2008. The project was to benefit charities such as the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Australia (Durham is national patron) and Orchestra Victoria, in addition to other charities which benefit from the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund or its national affiliated network United Way.

On 13 February 2009, Durham made a surprise return to the Myer Music Bowl when she performed the closing number at the RocKwiz Salutes the Bowl – Sidney Myer Music Bowl 50th Anniversary with "The Carnival is Over".

In 2006, Durham commenced contemporising the music and phrases in the Australian National Anthem, "Advance Australia Fair". She first performed this in May 2009 at Federation Hall, St Kilda Road.[6][7] It was released on CD single

On 23 May 2009, Durham performed a one-hour a cappella concert in Melbourne as a launch for her album Up Close and Personal.[8]

In October 2011, it was announced Durham has signed an exclusive international deal with Decca Records. George Ash, President of Universal Music Australasia said “It is an honour to have Judith Durham join Decca’s wonderful roster of artists. When you think of the legends that have graced the Decca Records catalogue it is the perfect home to welcome Judith to, and we couldn’t be more excited to work with Judith on not only her new recordings but her incredible catalogue as well.”[9] Between 2011-2016, Decca Records re-released Gift of Song and Climb Ev'ry Mountain, The Australian Cities Suite and Up Close and Personal (as An A Capella Experience) as well as two compilations and a new studio album, Epiphany.

Personal life

On 21 November 1969, she married her musical director, British pianist Ron Edgeworth,[10] in Melbourne. They lived in the UK and Switzerland until the mid-1980s when they bought property in Nambour, Queensland.

In 1990 Durham, Edgeworth and their tour manager, Peter Summers, were involved in a car accident on the Calder Freeway. The driver of the other car died at the scene and Durham sustained a fractured wrist and leg. The response from her fans made Durham consider getting back together with the other members of the Seekers for a silver jubilee show. This reunion, however, was cut short when Edgeworth was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. He died on 10 December 1994 with Durham by his side.[11]

In the late 1990s Durham was stalked by her former personal assistant, a woman who sent her dozens of doormats through the post. The woman was subsequently prosecuted.[12]

In May 2013 Durham suffered a brain hemorrhage which diminished her ability to read and write not only visual language but also musical scores. During her convalescence she made progress to rebuild those skills. Her singing ability was never affected.[13]

Solo releases

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

Honours and awards

References

  1. ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (17 November 2006). "Durham Judith Mavis". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
  2. ↑ Judith Durham official website
  3. ↑ "About Judith Durham". Judith Du rham. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Judith Durham Story". Judith Durham. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  5. ↑ Durham, Judith (1970). "When you come to the end of a perfect day". Meet Judith Durham [television special]. London. Retrieved 3 April 2011. Song starts at 44 seconds into the video.
  6. ↑ "Advance Australian Fair new lyrics" (PDF). Shoalhaven. May 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Judith Durham's national anthem". ABC. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  8. ↑ A Global First? A Cappella Solo Recitals – Judith's First Melbourne Concerts In 8 Years
    http://www.judithdurham.com/news/120344_01.html
  9. ↑ "JUDITH SIGNED TO EXCLUSIVE INTERNATIONAL DEAL". Judith Durham. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "Body". Telinco.com. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  11. ↑ In 1994 her authorised biography Colours of My Life: The Judith Durham Story by Graham Simpson was first published by Random House Australia. The book was updated and reprinted in 1998 and 2000; in 2003 it was again updated when published by Virgin Books.
  12. ↑ Cauchi, Stephen (12 September 1998). "Durham's stalker loses appeal", The Age, p. 7.
  13. ↑ "Seekers singer Judith Durham learns to read and write after brain hemorrhage". ABC News. Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Company. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  14. 1 2 "Chartifacts – Week Commencing: 28th November 2011". ARIA. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  15. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 173. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  16. ↑ http://judithdurham.com/about/judith-durham/
  17. ↑ "australian-charts.com Discography Judith Durham". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Official Charts Judith Durham". Official Charts. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  19. ↑ "It's an Honour - Honours - Search Australian Honours". itsanhonour.gov.au. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  20. ↑ "It's an Honour - Honours - Search Australian Honours". itsanhonour.gov.au. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Queen's Birthday honours: Australians recognised for services to community. ABC News 9 June 2014. retrieved 9 June 2014.

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.