Australian Pop

This is a beautiful gemstone globe by Alexander Kalifano.

Let's focus on the country of Australia, made from the lining of an abalone shell.

This small koala, wearing his "I ♥ Australia" vest, is proudly flying his flag.
 

Let's look briefly at some music from Australia. . . .

I remember the folk song "Kookaberra" from my chilhood. We sang it as a round.
Here it appears in a beginner guitar book and in a beginner violin book.

"Waltzing Matilda" is another folk song I remember from those days (last millenium).

In the 1960s, Rolf Harris scored a big hit with his very Australian song "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport."

In the 1970s, British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John was a prolific hitmaker.

This song was written by John Rostill, who was a prolific songwriter in his short life.
The famous bass vocal was sung by Michael Sammes, whose singers had a long successful career.
 

Her follow-up single was #1 both in Australia and in the United States.
 

The French version of this is "ma maison au bord de l’eau,"
Which translated means "my house is by the water."
Is pretty different, n'est-ce pas?
 

Here are a couple of hits from the end of the 1970s.
 

Here's a lead sheet* for Olivia's first top ten hit.

In the 1980s, Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell comprised
one of the most successful duos, performing as Air Supply.
(Personally, I think the name "Russell" would have fit nicely!)

They met in Australia, formed their band in Australia, and enjoyed
success in Australia before we knew about them in the States.

In "All Out Of Love," Hitchcock holds the final note for 16.2 seconds!

"Two Less Lonely People In The World" was lyricist Howard Greenfield's
last hit. Two decades before, Greenfield had a very successful
songwriting career, including a partnership with Neil Sedaka.

~ FURTHER READING ~

*A lead sheet contains simply a melody, chord symbols, and possibly lyrics, as opposed to a full-scale arrangement. Someone who can interpret the chord symbols can identify the individual notes, leading to a more complete version. Often a lead sheet is used by a guitarist who may not be able name the notes in a chord but who can finger it on the fretboard.

Here are some sample chord symbols followed by the analysis of each. These are all shown with C as the root, but the root can be any natural, sharp, or flat note.

C	=	C E G
Cm	=	C Eb G
Cdim	=	C Eb Gb
Caug	=	C E G#
C7	=	C E G Bb
Cmaj7	=	C E G B
Cm7	=	C Eb G Bb
Cm7b5	=	C Eb Gb Bb
Cdim7	=	C Eb Gb Bbb
CmM7	=	C Eb G B
Csus2	=	C D G
Csus4	=	C F G

A number of lead sheets can be collected in what is known as a "fake book," allowing a musician who has never heard a song to "fake it."

(There is another A.M.M. display about the development of fake books.)