Reg Lindsay
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Reginald John Lindsay OAM (7 July 1929 – 5 August 2008) was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality. He won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 songs in his 50-year music career. Lindsay recorded over 65 albums and 250 singles. Reg made his first trip to Nashville in June 1968 and recorded his first Nashville EP on this historic trip. Lindsay's most popular cross-over hit was a cover version, "Armstrong" (March 1971), which reached No. 6 on the ''Go-Set'' National Top 60. It was written and originally performed by the American folk musician John Stewart as a tribute to
Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...
's lunar landing in 1969.


Early years

Lindsay was born in Waverley, New South Wales in 1929, his parents were Jim and Ellen Lindsay. He was two years of age when his father gave him a
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...
which he quickly mastered. His father taught him to play, "The Wheel on the Wagon Is Broke", on harmonica by the age of four. He subsequently learned the
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...
,
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
,
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
and
fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
. After Sydney he grew up in Parkes and then Adelaide. His aunt Anne gave him a guitar when he was 15. After leaving school (Adelaide, South Australia) he initially worked for the Department of Agriculture and studied
wool classing Wool classing is the production of uniform, predictable, low-risk lines of wool, carried out by examining the characteristics of the wool in its raw state and classing (grading) it accordingly. Wool classing is done by a wool classer. Basis for ...
. As a teenager his career ambition was to become a stockman and learned how to shear sheep. Later he reflected, "The outback has always been romantic to me. People of that ilk have always been romantic. We have the longest cattle drives in the world, you know. I was scheduled to go into a reservation in the north-west of South Australia, but I ended up as a jackeroo in Broken Hill instead." Around 1946 Reg started singing around the Adelaide area with a mate Dave Burchell. As a 'Hillbilly' duo, they entertained over radio, swimming carnivals, and other events in the area. In 1948 Reg and Dave auditioned for the Dick Fair hosted radio contest program '' Australia's Amateur Hour''. They had also recorded a couple songs which were never released. After he twisted his leg in a rodeo accident, he recuperated at his parents' home in Adelaide for several weeks in 1950. He was listening to country music on 2SM with Tim McNamara promoting a radio talent quest. In November 1950 Lindsay travelled to Sydney via a motorcycle to compete, in the following year, which launched his career as a singer-songwriter.


Radio shows and recording

Reg Lindsay was a performer in the 2KY radio show, ''On the Melody Trail'', from September 1951, alongside, " Joy McKean and Heather McKean, Australia's Melody Cowgirls, Slim Dusty, Gordon Parsons and other hillbilly artists." The McKean Sisters were a country music duo of Joy McKean and her younger sister Heather, who had presented the show since 1949. Heather married Reg Lindsay in February 1954, while Joy had married Slim Dusty in 1951. Lindsay was signed to Rodeo Records in 1951, which issued his early material. His singles with that label include, "Blue Velvet Band", "My Home Way Out Back" (written by Lindsay), Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:' "Sundowner Yodel", "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time", "By the Old Slip Rail", "Sweeter than Flowers", "Shackles and Chains", "My Blue-Eyed Jane" (all before 1955), "I Love You a Thousand Ways", "Country Mile", "I'll Never Live It Down", Got Those Itchy Feet", "In the Luggage Van Ahead" (all five in 1954). Radio station 2CH had him present, ''The Reg Lindsay Show'', in 1951 to showcase his own country music. Late in that year he and his show moved over to rival station, 2SM, where it continued for 12 years. His singles from the late 1950s on
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
include, "Tom Dooley", "The Walkabout Rock and Roll" (both 1958), "The Ghost of Tom Dooley", "Don't Steal Daddy's Medal", "The Wog", "Where No One Stands Alone" (both 1959), "The Caribbean" and "The House Down Willow Lane".
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Jason Ankeny observed, "despite his public recognition and relentless touring schedule, success as a performer continued to elude him."


Touring

Reg Lindsay's first tour came about in January 1955 when he was chosen as the headliner for the Wilf Carter tour. About two weeks in the tour Wilf Carter fell ill and had to return to the US, and Reg continued the tour as 'The Reg Lindsay Show'. Reg Lindsay continued issuing singles and presenting a radio show into the early 1960s. He also headed a touring line-up for ''The Reg Lindsay Show'', which in February 1960 included Heather, "Kevin King, Jacqueline Hall, Nev Nicholls, Hayseeds, Fred Maugher and comedian George Nichols."


Television programs

Lindsay returned to Australia in 1964, and hosted a TV show on the
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
in Adelaide called '' The Country and Western Hour'', which ran for seven-and-a-half years, until 1972. It won two state-based
Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...
s for South Australia's Most Popular show in
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
and
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
. By 1966 the show that was originally only broadcast locally in Adelaide went nationally with Lindsay, as host In that year he issued a single, "They Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dog Around". He travelled to the United States in 1968, to record material for his TV show, while there he was asked to appear on the ''
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
'' in Nashville. He was so successful in this debut he was invited back for the ultimate encore, the Saturday night show. Reg was the first Australian ever to do so and was the first of many Grand Ole Opry appearances.<


Business ventures

Upon return to Sydney in 1968, with his wife Heather, he established a business, Reg Lindsay's Country Store, to sell "records, clothing and musical instruments." Heather described, "It's surprising how many of the young people like to wear this gear-particularly the hand-carved leatherwork. The young surfies like the fringed jackets-they're fantastic sellers-and the girls go for the cotton jackets to wear over bathers to the beach." A second store soon followed, both were sold off ten years later.


Later career

Reg Lindsay was best known for his single, "Armstrong" (March 1971), a tribute to the historic 1969
Moon landing A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, including both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959. In 1969 Apollo 11 was the first cr ...
by American
astronauts An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
, particularly
Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...
. It peaked at No. 6 on the ''Go-Set'' National Top 60 and remained in the charts for 16 weeks. It is included in a
time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...
at the
Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...
in Houston, Texas. The song is written and was recorded by John Stewart, an ex-member of
the Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...
. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:' It is Lindsay's first major hit, reaching No. 8 on the
Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
in
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA) created their own
charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...
in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
His other popular singles from the 1970s are "July You're a Woman" (1973), "Silence on the Line" (1977) and "Empty Arms Hotel" 1979). In January 1974 he won a Golden Guitar trophy at the Country Music Awards of Australia for Best Male Vocal with "July You're a Woman". He won the same category in 1978 for "Silence on the Line". A third trophy for "Empty Arms Hotel" was awarded in that category in 1980. ''The Country and Western Hour'' had finished in 1972 and was followed in late 1977 by his own TV program, ''Reg Lindsay's Country Homestead'', on Brisbane's channel 9, which ran for four years until 1982. ''Reg Lindsay's Country Homestead'' also won two state-based Logie Awards for Queensland's Most Popular Show in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
and
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. Lindsay supported charities and appeared on TV telethons to raise money for various community organizations. Some of his performances were issued on a DVD video album, ''Reg Lindsay : live across Australia 1979-1994'', in 2015 via Umbrella Entertainment. In a music career of over 50 years he wrote more than 500 songs and hosted various TV shows. He recorded over 65 albums and 250 singles.


Personal life

Lindsay was married twice. His first marriage was to Heather McKean (born 1932) on 13 February 1954 in Granville. McKean's older sister Joy McKean had married fellow country musician, Slim Dusty in 1951; that couple are the parents of another country musician, Anne Kirkpatrick. The McKean Sisters were a country music duo from 1948. Heather continued performing under her maiden name during their marriage. In May 1969 Lindsay and Heather opened Reg Lindsay's Country Store and Trading Post to sell Western gear. They separated in 1982 and Heather resumed her solo career as well as working with Joy as the McKean Sisters. Reg married his second wife, Roslyn née Winfield (born 1959), a rodeo champion, on October 12, 1988 at Brampton Island – they first met in 1984 at the Warwick Rodeo, Queensland where the 24 year old was competing in the National Finals. Dave Dawson described Roslyn, "glamorous former barrel racer, steer roper and country chanteuse." His son-in-law, Ross Smith, was one of six victims of Malcolm Baker, a spree killer, in October 1992, the murders are referred to as the Central Coast massacre. In January 1995 he had a
brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...
and in the following month he underwent surgery to remove the related
brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...
. He had a heart attack in January 1996 and had triple bypass surgery. A series of strokes followed, Roslyn observed, "He had lots of seizures, and it was very, very tough for him for many years, trying to get those seizures under control." From 2003 he was under 24-hour care at John Hunter Hospital in
Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...
. Reg Lindsay died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
on 5 August 2008 in Newcastle, aged 79. Note: source incorrectly gives birth date as 5 August. Coincidentally, this date is the birthday of Neil Armstrong. Lindsay is survived by his wife Roslyn; his three daughters from his first marriage, Dianne, Sandra and Joanne; and his grandchildren. His daughter, Dianne Lindsay is also a country music singer-songwriter – she won Best Female Vocal at the Australian Country Music People's Choice Awards in Tamworth in January 2017. March 2015, the Reg Lindsay statue was unveiled at East Cessnock Bowling Club. In 2019 the first Reg Lindsay DVD was released titled 'Country All The Way' and in January 2021, Roslyn Lindsay released the first ever Reg Lindsay pictorial book 'Setting The Pace' a collection of photos throughout his career with rare photos including McKean Sisters, Slim Dusty, Kenny Sole, Judy Stone, Chad Morgan, Buddy Williams, Lily Connors and many others. The DVD, CDs and Book are available at the Reg Lindsay official websit

On 21 January 2021 Roslyn with the Federal Member for New England
Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who was the leader of the National Party of Australia from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2021 to 2022. Joyce was the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia during both ...
and selected guests officially opened The Reg Lindsay Memory Barn at Spring Ridge, south of Tamworth, in honor of her late husband. The Reg Lindsay Memory Barn, which is full of Reg's personal and career's memorabilia spanning 60 years, was expected to be officially opened in 2020 but was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


DVDs and books

* ''Country All the Way'' DVD (2019) * ''Setting the Pace'' pictorial book (2021)


Discography


Albums

* ''Secrets of Life'' * ''20 Golden Country Greats'' * ''Ten Ten Two and a Quarter'' * ''No Slowin' Down'' * ''40th Anniversary Album'' * ''The Roundup – 50th Anniversary Collection'' * ''The Rodeo Years'' * ''The Best of Reg Lindsay'' * ''If You Could See Me Now'' * ''Down by the Old Slip-Rail'' * ''Reasons to Rise'' * ''No Stone Unturned'' * ''Armstrong'' (digitally remastered)


Charting singles


Awards and honours

Reg Lindsay became the first Australian to appear at Nashville's ''
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
'' in June 1968; he is officially recognized with a plaque on Nashville's Walkway of Stars. * 1968 - Was made an Honorary Citizen of Tennessee by Governor
Buford Ellington Earl Buford Ellington (June 27, 1907 – April 3, 1972) was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of Tennessee from 1959 to 1963, and again from 1967 to 1971. Along with his political ally, Frank G. Clement, he helped lead a ...
* 1968 - Honored by CMA for his contribution to Country Music worldwide (Nashville) * 1973 (Oct) CMA citation for his contribution to Country Music (Nashville) * 1978 (June) National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Nashville - for Services Rendered * 1981 - Named "Australian Pro-Rodeo's Favorite and made an honorary member of the Rodeo Association * 1982 - Queensland Country Music Awards * 1986 - Was made an Honorary Citizen of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
* 1988 - Inducted into the Barmera Country Music Hall of Fame * 1989 - OAM for his Services to Country Music * 2006 - Living Legends Award (Kempsey, NSW)


Country Music Awards (CMAA)

Reg Lindsay has won three Golden guitar awards and was inducted into the Roll of Renown at the Tamworth Country Music Awards of Australia , - , 1974 , , Reg Lindsay ''July You're a Woman'', , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , 1978 , , Reg Lindsay ''Silence on the Line'', , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , 1980 , , Reg Lindsay ''The Empty Arms Hotel'' , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , 1984 , , Reg Lindsay , , Roll of Renown , , , -


Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Lindsay won two awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 2001 , Reg Lindsay , John Campbell Fellowship Award , , - , 2014 , Reg Lindsay , Hall of Fame , , -


Order of Australia

, - , 1989 ,
Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...
(Australia) ,
Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
(AM) "for service to country music" , , -


References


External links

*
"Reg Lindsay Photo"
by John Elliott at National Portrait Gallery
"Reg Lindsay and Roslyn Lindsay interviewed by Rob Willis"
Recorded on 9 July 1999, held at National Library of Australia

photo of Reg Lindsay at Honeysuckle / Tidbinbilla for the 20th anniversary of Apollo 11 in Canberra in 1989. He performed "A Man Named Armstrong". * * "Memories and Dreams" by Dianne Lindsay
part 1part 2part 3
archived from the originals in November–December 2008 at he
official website
Accessed on 2 January 2018. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, Reg 1929 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Australian guitarists Australian country guitarists Australian country singers Deaths from pneumonia in New South Wales Australian male guitarists People from Parkes, New South Wales Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian male singers