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 country music. Themes include: outback life, the lives of stockmen, truckers and outlaws, songs of romance and of political protest; and songs about the "beauty and the terror" of the Australian bush.
Notable musicians include: Steve Eales, Adam Brand, Adam Harvey, McAlister Kemp, Jasmine Rae, Troy Cassar-Daley, Davidson Brothers, Slim Dusty, Steve Forde, Joy McKean, Olivia Newton-John, John Williamson, Chad Morgan, Keith Urban, Lee Kernaghan, Peter McWhirter, Forever Road and Kasey Chambers. Others influenced by the genre include Nick Cave and Paul Kelly. Popular songs include Waltzing Matilda (1895), Pub With No Beer (1957), Lights on the Hill (1973), I Honestly Love You (1974), True Blue (1981), Boys From the Bush (1992), Not Pretty Enough (2002) and Drive It Till The Wheels Fall Off (2006).
Read more about Australian Country Music: Overview, Awards and Festivals
Famous quotes containing the words australian, country and/or music:
“The Australian mind, I can state with authority, is easily boggled.”
—Charles Osborne (b. 1927)
“One of the most singular facts about the unwritten history of this country is the consummate ability with which Southern influence, Southern ideas and Southern ideals, have from the very beginning even up to the present day, dictated to and domineered over the brain and sinew of this nation.”
—Anna Julia Cooper (18591964)
“A man in all the worlds new fashion planted,
That hath a mint of phrases in his brain.
One who the music of his own vain tongue
Doth ravish like enchanting harmony.”
—William Shakespeare (15641616)