This is a look at Australian country music, from bush ballads and yodeling oldies to country-rock and outlaw twang, and even some more modern Top Forty artists. This includes artists from both Australian and New Zealand, though there's a separate Kiwi Country section which has a lot of overlap. There's a ton of twang Down Under, and I'm pretty sure I'm only scratching the surface, so I welcome any recommendations, additions or corrections.
This page covers the letter "O."
Ellen Lee Osterfield "Ghost Town Lady" (Hadley Studios, 1979) (LP)
A country music prodigy, Australia's Ellen Lee Osterfield began performing professionally in the mid-1980s and was a protege of Aussie twang elders Smoky Dawson and Buddy Williams. (On the liner notes of her second album, Williams explained that Osterfield's father was one of his old army buddies, and he had known her all her life...) This was her first album, self-released and produced at the Hadley Studios in Tamworth, with backing by steel player Norm Bodkin, Gary Brown on guitar, Bob Clark (guitar), Lawrence Minson (dobro), Eric Newton (guitar), Ken Ramsey (drums), Howard Smith (bass) and Greg Thomas blowing harmonica. The liner notes inform us she was in a country band called Tyre when she cut this album, though it's not clear if these were the same guys backing her on these sessions. (Also mentioned is her work as an oil painter and visual artist, which she turned her full attention towards after she left the music scene in the late '80s...) As on all three of her albums, most of the material is original, including a few songs with regional Australian themes, such as "Kepple Island Dream"; this album was later reissued on Selection Records, where she recorded her next two albums...
Ellen Lee Osterfield "Outlaw" (Selection Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Ross McGregor & Carrl Myriad)
Once again, most of the songs are Osterfield originals, with two other --- by Australian artists, David Allen Caswell's "Poor Side Of Heaven" and "Annie Johnson," penned by Bernie O'Brien, of the band Saltbush. The studio musicians are completely different from her previous album... Here she's backed by Chris Duffy on banjo, dobro and guitar, Bob Howe (lead guitar), John Nadort (drums), album producer Carrl Myriad on guitar, Allan Tomkins (bass) and Mike Tyne on pedal steel. Buddy Williams and Smoky Dawson both contribute glowing liner notes and the album includes a song called including "Thanks To Buddy," which presumably was dedicated to Buddy Williams, who she was touring with at the time.
Ellen Lee Osterfield "Runnin' Free" (Selection Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Norm Bodkin, Craig Thomas & Eric Watson)
The third album by this southern Australian gal is a pretty solid set, packed with original material, including ten songs by Ms. Osterfield along with two others -- Pam Cohen's "Singin' Rodeo Rider" and R. Hyland's "California."
