Tex Morton "The Versatile Tex Morton" (Festival Records, 1962) (LP)
Like many country music pioneers, Tex Morton's career began back in the era of radio and 78rpm singles, will full albums coming only decades later. As implied by the title, this disc has a variety of material... perhaps not as broad a spectrum as one might imagine, but it does embrace Depression-era American oldies like "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight" as well as several Australian bush ballads and novelty numbers.
Tex Morton "Tex Morton Reads Banjo Paterson" (Festival Records, 1962) (LP)
A full two-disc homage to Australian journalist, poet and composer Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson (1864-1941), a national icon best known for penning the hobo anthem, "Waltzing Matilda," considered by many to be the unofficial national anthem of Australia. A prodigious author, Paterson is a towering figure in the bush ballad genre, writing much of his defining work well before the Australian recording industry emerged. Tex Morton can be considered one of his greatest champions and most devoted adherents, peppering innumerable Paterson songs and recitations into his albums, as well as recording this spoken word tribute, which was reissued in 1982 as The Man From Snowy River And Other Poems (below).
Tex Morton "Tex Morton Today" (EMI Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Nick Armstrong & Jim Nicholls)
Resolutely behind the times, Tex Morton keeps banging out bush ballads such as "The Shicer" and "The Good Old Droving Days," but also tackles the hippie-era generation gap in songs like "The Transport Man," in which some shaggy, longhaired bikers taunt an old trucker at a roadside diner... only to have him calmly pay his bill, climb into his rig, and run over their parked bikes on his way to Billabong. Morton shows a surprising level of emotional venon towards these young hoodlums, but presents a more positive side of the fray on his patriotic recitation-song "Australia (So Wide And So Grand)" an anthemic number which starts out with a historical prelude addressing Australia's racial past which may cause a few non-Aussies to scratch their heads a bit. He also covers Banjo Patterson's ribald tall tale, "A Bush Christening," as well as a Carson Robison oldie, "There's A Bridle Hanging On The Wall," just for good measure. The only other cover is one by Hugh Cross called "Don't Make Me Go To Bed (And I'll Be Good)," though all the others are credited to Morton. This also came out under the title The Travelling Showman, which is the version I picked up, though sadly, it did not include the names of any of the musicians backing him up.
Tex Morton "Tex Morton's Australia" (Picture Records, 1973) (LP)
Tex Morton "Tex Morton Looks Back" (Festival Records, 1973) (LP)
Tex Morton "Hallelujah I'm A Bum" (Festival Records, 1973) (LP)
Tex Morton "Laugh And Sing With Tex Morton" (Universal Summit Records, 1974) (LP)
Tex Morton "The Goondiwindi Grey" (Festival Records, 1977) (LP)
Tex Morton "Songs Of The Outback" (Columbia Records, 1978) (LP)
Tex Morton "The Black Sheep" (Axis Records, 1982) (LP)
Tex Morton "The Man From Snowy River And Other Poems" (Festival Records, 1982) (LP)
A straight reissue of the double LP collection from 1962, Tex Morton Reads Banjo Paterson (above).
Tex Morton & Sister Dorrie "I'll Be Hanged If They're Gonna Hang Me!" (Larrikin Records, 1997)
One of a small band of trailblazing Australian country gals from the Great Depression, singer-accordionist Dorothy May Ricketts (aka Sister Dorrie, 1910-1992) was born into a vaudeville family troupe and had years of onstage experience before she teamed up with country star Tex Morton. She is credited as the first female country singer in Australia to make a studio recording, cutting a handful of duet singles with Morton back in 1941; she had been part of his road show for several years before then. The act broke up in the 1950s when Morton went abroad to seek a wider audience, although they briefly toured together for a while in in 'Seventies. This disc is part of an archival series curated by Larrikin label founder Warren Fahey, drawing on numerous radio transcription recordings made during the duo's 1940's heyday -- fun stuff, though sometimes the sound quality is a bit rough. Sister Dorrie sings on nearly half the tracks; she's also featured on another Larrikin collection, but only credited on a couple of tracks.
Tex Morton "Australia's Yodelling Boundary Rider" (Larrikin Records, 1997)
More broadcast transcriptions of WWII vintage, documenting radio performances from 1939-45. This is primarily billed as a Tex Morton record, although it also includes a couple of tracks with Sister Dorrie.
Sister Dorrie & Tex Morton "You And My Old Guitar: The Original Tasman/Rodeo Recordings, New Zealand 1949" (Rodeo Records, 1981) (LP)
An earlier archival set, this originally came out as a double-LP in 1981 and was later released on CD. This set was recorded towards the end of their partnership, apparently during a stint working in New Zealand, which shared a pretty similar country scene to that of Australia. The later date provides some distance from the regional parochialism that dominated early Aussie twang, with covers of many postwar American country hits, including heartsongs and honkytonkers such as "Slippin' Around," "Just Because," "This Cold War With You," and "Treasures Untold." Dorrie is credited on ten of the tracks, though apparently never as a solo vocalist.
Tex Morton "The Essential Tex Morton" (Sony-Australia, 2010)
A 2-CD set...
Tex Morton "The Regal Zonophone Collection, v.1: 1936-1938" (EMI-Australia, 1993)
Tex Morton "The Regal Zonophone Collection, v.2: 1938-1943" (EMI-Australia, 1993)
Tex Morton "Across The Great Divide" (BACM, 2004)
Tex Morton "Singing Cowboy Sensation" (2012)
Tex Morton "The Original" (Lucky Country, 2015)
A jaunty, jovial performer, Tex Morton (ne Robert William Lane, 1916-1983) was born in New Zealand but emigrated to Australia after his musical career took off... One of the founding figures of country music Down Under, Morton toured relentlessly on the rodeo and vaudeville circuits, before starting his own road show. He cut dozens of 78s for the Regal Zonophone label, dating back to the 1930s, and several albums when long-play discs became more common. Tex Morton was a resolutely archaic artist, keeping alive the old-fashioned bush ballad style, also singing Depression-era American oldies from the likes of Carson Robison, as well as humorous ditties and recitations delivered in a salty style not unlike that of Will Rogers. Here's a quick look at his work...
