What do a 1990s tune from Aussie rock band Silverchair, the first record to highlight the didgeridoo and Gough Whitlamโs election campaign jingle all have in common?
Theyโve just been announced among 10 new additions to the Sounds of Australia registry, a list of recorded sounds that have played a part in shaping Australian culture and history, maintained by the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA).
A panel of industry experts selected the sounds from submissions from the public, and nominations are now open for 2021.
NFSA curator Thorsten Kaeding said the project receives hundreds of nominations each year.
โMany of the sounds receive multiple nominations over many years before they are included on the Sounds of Australia registry,โ he said.
True Blue is a well-known number featured on the new list, an Australian folk country song by John Williamson AO.
The lyrics are chockablock full of Aussie slang, the title of the song being the first example โ โtrue blueโ means authentically Australian.
This year Mr Williamson released a brand-new lyric video featuring photos submitted by his fans, responding to what โtrue blueโ means to them.
If you voted in the 1972 federal election, you may remember the sound of Itโs Time, a song written for former Prime Minister Gough Whitlamโs successful campaign.
The track was performed by lead singer Alison MacCallum, accompanied by a chorus of beloved Australian entertainment and sport personalities at the time, including Tony Barber, Barry Crocker, Lynette Curran, Chuck Faulkner, Jimmy Hannan, Brian Henderson, ColโฏJoye, Graham Kennedy, Little Pattie, Bert Newton, Maggie Tabberer, Jack Thompson and more.
A compilation album, Arnhem Land Popular Classics, is also highlighted. It was the first record to draw attention to the sound of the didjeridu (didgeridoo), or more specifically, the yidaki, an instrument owned exclusively by the Yolngu people of North East Arnhem Land.
The album was recorded in an improvised studio near Katherine in the early 1960s.
One of the men on the track, David Bylanadii (Blanasi), wasโฏan Aboriginal man of theโฏMialiliโฏlanguage group ofโฏWest Arnhem Land,โฏwho subsequently went on to promote the didjeridu internationally, collaborating and touring withโฏRolf Harris.
He also toured withโฏa traditional dance troupe including songmaster Djoi Laiwanga andโฏdancer/actorโฏDavid Gulpilil.
The full list, in chronological order:
- Starlight by Hamilton Hill – 1907
- Etude de concert in Fโฏminorโฏand Etude de concert in A flat major by Eileen Joyce – 1933
- Olympic Games, Melbourneโฏ1956:โฏOfficial souvenirโฏrecording ofโฏOpeningโฏCeremony andโฏClosing Ceremony – 1956
- Nausicaa: Opera in Three Acts by Peggy Glanville-Hicks – 1961
- Arnhem Land Popular Classics: Aboriginal Dance SongsโฏwithโฏDidjeridu Accompaniment by David Blanasi, Djoli Laiwanga and others – 1963
- Because I Love You by The Masterโs Apprenticesโฏ- 1971
- Itโs Time by Alison MacCallum – 1972
- True Blue by John Williamson – 1986โฏโฏ
- Tomorrow by Silverchairโฏ- 1994
- Martin/Molloy by Tony Martin and Mick Molloy – 1995-1998
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