News about Slim Dusty

Mark Moffatt has died at the age of 74.  Dubbed 'an unsung hero of Australian music' the Queensland-born producer passed away on Friday, in Nashville, Tennessee, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Well known in the music industry as a skilled guitarist and producer, Moffatt worked with some of Australia's biggest pop and rock stars. 

He was the first Australian music star to score an international hit record and went on to sell 7million albums in a career that spanned five decades. And twenty years after the death of Slim Dusty, the empire built by the music icon is said to be worth an estimated $5million. The boy from Kempsey on the New South Wales mid coast, who died at age 76 in 2003, set up a company called The Slim Dusty Group in 1973. 

Fraser is one of fewer than 2,000 Indigenous land owners to have held freehold over ten thousand square kilometres of Central Australia for the past 42 years. He does not claim himself the king of land rights in South Australia's remote north west, but that is what he is. Fraser was one of the main catalysts behind the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Land Rights Act, but he regrets some of the things that have happened since. ' The young people aren't concerned with land rights,' he says. They just care about the Centrelink.' Fraser is shown left at Kenmore Park Anangu School and right as a child on the nearby Ernabella mission.

The Wallabies. The Kangaroos are a gang of dogs. The Socceroos are on the soccer team. It is likely that if a name can be traced to the marsupial that adorns the Australian coat of arms, it will be used by one of Australia's national teams. The Matildas, on the other hand, defythe trend. The women's football team is one of Australia's most popular teams, though most believe the moniker is a nod to one of the country's most recognizable songs.

In a statement released on Friday, EMI Records announced that the singer had died. The message read: We recommend the death of Joy McKean OAM with heavy and sad hearts.' After a long battle with cancer, 'Joy died peacefully last night with her family by her side.' She will be remembered as a "pioneer" in Australian music.' McKean (left, and right with Dusty) was a multi-award winning songwriter and singer who wrote many of her husband's most popular songs, including Lights on the Hill. Dusty was her boss until his death in 2003.

On Monday, leading Universal Music Australia executive George Ash announced his resignation. Ash served in the role for almost a decade, leading the company's activities throughout the Asia Pacific region. I feel secure with the outstanding leadership group we now have, and the company will continue to grow and flourish,' he said in a tweet.