Graeme Connors (born 29 April 1956) is an

Australian country music Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodeling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, the Australian bush bal ...

singer, songwriter, and performer. Connors has released seventeen studio albums and has received fourteen

Golden Guitar The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England. It is also a major attraction duri ...

awards among other prestige Australian country music awards. In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. Q ...

celebrations, Graeme Connors was announced as one of the

Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland's first 150 years ...

of Queensland for his role as an "Influential Artists". In 2016, Connors was inducted into the

Australian Roll of Renown The Australian Roll of Renown was inaugurated bRadio 2TMin 1976. The award honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to Country Music. The award is determin ...

Career

1965-1987: Early career

Graeme attended school

St. Patricks in Mackay St Patrick's College is a coeducational Catholic systemic secondary school, located in , Queensland, Australia. The college's motto is "Seek and Serve Christ". The current principal is Janelle Agius. History St Patrick's College was founded i ...

. Graeme commenced his music career in the mid-1970s doing support vocals for many well-known acts of the day. In 1974, at the age of 18, Connors opened for American singer/songwriter,

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

during his Australian tour. Kristofferson was so impressed with young Connors, that he took him into the recording studio to produce his 1976 debut album ''And When Morning Comes''. From the late 1970s through to the late 1980s, Connors wrote songs that became big hits for

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon and one of the country's most awarded stars, ...

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

and Jon English. Connors spent the first half of the 1980s writing songs based on truck driving which became hits for Slim Dusty such as "I'm Married to My Bulldog Mack" and "Dieseline Dreams".

The 1987-present

In 1988, Connors had recorded and released the breakthrough single "A Little Further North", featured on his first album on the Australian ABC Records label, ''North''. Subsequent singles followed with the releases of "Let the Canefields Burn", "Cyclone Season", "Sicilian Born" and "A Heartache (Or Two)". In 1995 - Connors released the album ''The Here and Now'' and won three golden guitars at the CMAA Awards, including Album of the Year. In 1995, Connors won MO Award for Male Country Performer of the Year and was Inducted into the Hands of Fame. In 1998 Connors wrote the Cowboys Theme song "The Cowboys are my Team". In 2000, Connors performed at both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the

2000 Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

and he wrote their theme song "Being Here". In 2011, Connors was awarded Album of the Year at the 2011

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales. The festival is the second bigg ...

for ''Still Walking''.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

AIR Awards of 2012 The AIR Awards of 2012 (or Jägermeister Independent Awards of 2012) is the seventh annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Revolt Art Space, in Melbou ...

, ''At the Speed of Life'' , Best Independent Country Album , , -

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. Lewis has won three awards from seven nominations. , - ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, "I'm Married To My Bulldog Mack" (written by Graeme Connors / Doug Trevor) , Most Performed Australasian Country Work , , - ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

, "A Little Further North Each Year" (written by Graeme Connors) , Most Performed Australasian Country Work , , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, "Road Less Travelled" by Graeme Connors (written by Graeme Connors) , Most Performed Australasian Country Work , , - ,

, "These Uncertain Times" by Graeme Connors (written by Graeme Connors) , Most Performed Australasian Country Work , , - ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, "Good Things in Life" by Adam Brand (written by Adam Brand & Graeme Connors) , Most Performed Australasian Country Work , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions ...

. Connors has won one award from four nominations. , - ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, ''Tropicali'' ,

Best Country Album The Grammy Award for Best Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music genre. Honors ...

, , - ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, ''The Return'' , Best Country Album , , - ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, ''The Here and Now'' , Best Country Album , , - ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, ''The Road Less Travelled'' , Best Country Album , , -

Country Music Awards (CMAA)

Connors has won fourteen

Golden guitar The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England. It is also a major attraction duri ...

awards at the Tamworth

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

and was inducted into the

. *Note: Wins Only , - , 1989 , , "We've Done Us Proud" (recorded by

) , , Song of the Year , , , - , 1995 , , "Songs from the Homeland" , , Song of the Year , , , - , 1995 , , ''Homeland'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , 1995 , , ''Homeland' , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , 1996 , , "The Great Australian Dream" , , Song of the Year , , , - , 1996 , , "Slowly But Surely" (with Rosemary Rae), , Vocal Collaboration of the Year , , , - , 1996 , , "The Ringer and the Princess" , , Bush Ballad Heritage Song , , , - , 1996 , , "The Great Australian Dream" , , Video Track of the Year , , , - , 1997 , , ''The Road Less Travelled'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , 1997 , , "The Road Less Travelled" , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , 2001 , , "Good Things in Life" (recorded by Adam Brand) , , Song of the Year , , , - , 2004 , , "The Simple Truth" , , Video Track of the Year , , , - , 2011 , , "A Good Life" , , Male Artist of the Year , , , - , 2011 , , ''Still Walking'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , 2017 , , himself , ,

, , , -

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Graeme Connors won two awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1994 , Graeme Connors , Male Country Entertainer of the Year , , - , 1996 , Graeme Connors , Male Country Entertainer of the Year , , -

Tamworth Songwriters Awards

The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the

. They commenced in 1986. Graeme Connors won nine awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1992 , Graeme Connors , Songmaker Award , , - , rowspan="2", 1994 , rowspan="2", "Prodigal Son" , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , Country Song of the Year , , - , 1995 , "Songs from the Homeland" , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , 1996 , "The Great Australian Dream" , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , 1997 , "The Road Less Travelled" , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 1998 , "I Believe in Santa Claus" , Children's Song of the Year , , - , "One Child Born" , Gospel Song of the Year , , - , 2000 , "These Uncertain Times" , Contemporary Song of the Year , , -

Other Awards

*1975 American Song Festival Award *1976 American Song Festival Award *2000 Victorian Country Music Awards - Song of the Year "These Uncertain Times" *2005 Victorian Country Music Awards - Song of the Year "Hard Decisions" *2009 Q150 Queensland Icon Award *2011 WARP Gold Medallion Award (Queensland Male Vocalist of the Year)

References

External links

Graeme Connors Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connors, Graeme 1956 births Living people APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian country singers Musicians from Queensland