Johnny Rebb, born Donald James Delbridge, (20 March 1939 – 28 July 2014) was an Australian singer.

Career

While working as a panel beater, Rebb began his music career as a

country & western Country (also called country and western) is a music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is primarily focused on singing sto ...

singer. In 1956, aged around 17 he was influenced by the film ''

Rock Around The Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...

'' and approached John Charter, a music arranger and keyboard player, to start a band. They approached Festival Records and EMI but were finally noticed by Lee Gordon and signed up with

Leedon Records Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by United States, American Australian entrepreneur Lee Gordon (promoter), Lee Gordon in early 1958. Establishment and early releases In Australian in the 195 ...

. In mid-October 1959, Rebb (and The Rebels) performed in shows titled ''Lee Gordon's 1959 Rock'n'Roll Spectacular.'' The Sydney concerts were edited into a film called ''

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

'' which premiered on 30 October. The film, thought lost but rediscovered in 2020, includes rare footage of a 1950s rock and roll concert in Australia. He was dubbed the "Gentleman of Rock" by disc jockeys of the time and replaced

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the early 1950s. A pioneer of Rock music in Australia, his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". O ...

as the MC of ''Saturday Rock'' while O'Keefe was in the USA. In 1965, with the onslaught of

rock'n'roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

, Rebb began singing in the band The Atlantics and became their lead singer. After the band finished performing live in 1970, he continued solo until the mid-70s. He died of emphysema in 2014 and was survived by his wife Elizabeth.

Singles

*"Johnny B. Goode" / "Rebel Rock" - Columbia, 1958 *"Think Me A Kiss" /"Love Ville" - Coronet, 1960 *"Lonesome Road" / "We Belong Together" - Leedon, 1960 *"Hey Sheriff" / "Noeline" - Leedon, 1959 *"How Will It End" /"There You Go" - Coronet, 1960 *"Anytime You Want Me" / "She's Just Another Girl" - Coronet, 1961 *"Billy Blue Shoes" / "Letter A Day" - London, 1962 *"Got Over It" / "Secret" - CBS, 1963

Career

Singles

References

Further reading