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 "T."
Eddie Tapp "I'll Always Love You Butterfly" (Selection Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Norm Bodkin, Bob Clark & Carrl Myriad)
Taylor "Taylor" (Polydor Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Taylor & Frank Douglas)
Shirley Thoms "Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart" (Hadley Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Taylor & Frank Douglas)
Though perhaps more consciously modeled after American cowgals such as Patsy Montana or the Girls Of The Golden West, Queensland's Shirley Thoms (1925-1999) could also be considered as the Australian equivalent of Kitty Wells, in spirit if not in style. In 1941, when she was just sixteen years old, Shirley Thoms became the first female Australian country singer to cut a record, as well as the first country artist from Queensland, which set quite a precedent for a regional that developed a strong tradition of homegrown twang. Thoms toured extensively during World War Two, but later retired from show business to raise a family. This album was one of two that she recorded when she did some shows to commemorate the bicentennial of Captain Cook's 1770 "discovery" of Australia. Along with covers of American country classics by Ted Daffan, Jimmie Davis, Ernest Tubb and others, this includes a fair amount of Australian content, with three originals credited to Ms. Thoms -- "The Faithful Old Dog," "Where The Golden Wattle Blooms," and "Where Is The Kingdom Of Heaven" -- as well as an oldie from one of Brisbane's country pioneers, June Holms. Ms. Thoms was backed here by guitarist Bob Clark and his group, The Oxley Ramblers; Clark also led the band on the subsequent album which came out a few years later, though with a different set of musicians. Both albums were reissued as a single CD in 2005.
Shirley Thoms "Shirley Thoms" (Hadley Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Eric W. Scott)
Shirley Thoms "The Hadley Years: 1970-72" (Bellbird Music, 2005) (LP)
A straight digital-era reissue of Ms. Thoms's two early 'Seventies comeback albums, Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart and Shirley Thoms. This CD was part of a series of archival compilations of material originally released on the Hadley label, which included collections by several other classic Aussie twangsters. (Alas, the earlier singles from Shirley Thoms's teens seem to be missing in action, although it may be they have been collected elsewhere...)
Barry Thornton "The Country Way" (Selection Records, 1981) (LP)
A hotshot guitar picker from Junee, New South Wales, Barry Thornton (1934-2002) was a longtime member of Slim Dusty's road band, touring with Dusty for two decades, through most of the 1950s and '60s. Although he had cut a few earlier singles and EPs, this was Thornton's first full album
Barry Thornton "Something Country" (Selection Records, 1982) (LP)
Barry Thornton "Barry Thornton Plays Slim Dusty" (Selection Records, 1983) (LP)
Barry Thornton "There's A Little Bit Of Irish In All Of Us" (Selection Records, 1985) (LP)
Barry Thornton "Big Heart Of The North" (Selection Records, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Lindsay Butler & Eric Watson)
Barry Thornton "Gospel Guitar" (Selection Records, 1987) (LP)
Barry Thornton "The Other Side Of Barry Thornton" (Selection Records, 1988) (LP)
Barry Thornton "Dinki-Di Aussie Guitar" (Selection Records, 1989) (LP)
Barry Thornton & Lindsay Butler "Buts 'N Bazza" (Selection Records, 1991) (LP)
Barry Thornton "Country In The 90's -- The Thornton Way" (Selection Records, 1994) (LP)
Barry Thornton/Lindsay Butler/Charley Boyter "Legends Of Country Guitar" (Selection Records, 1995) (LP)
Barry Thornton "Barry Thornton's Country Dance, Volume Two" (Selection Records, 1998) (LP)
Barry Thornton "Lest We Forget" (Selection Records, 1999) (LP)
Barry Thornton & Lindsay Butler "Once More For The Road" (LBS Music, 2001) (LP)
Tidewater "Wild Horse Plains" (EMS Sound Industries, 197-?) (LP)
Diana Trask - see artist discography
