Shirley Thoms-Bystrynski (12 January 1925 – 1 July 1999), was an Australian country music singer and pioneer of Australia's

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

industry. She was known as ''Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart''.

Biography

Thoms was born in January 1925, in Toowoomba, Queensland and was raised in a family of seven children. She began her career singing and yodelling songs by Tex Morton and Harry Torrani, and won a Bundaberg talent quest with Torrani's ''Mockingbird Yodel''. In 1941, aged 16, with what is now EMI Records she became the first female solo act to record

in Australia, as well as the first

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

er to be featured on disc. This first batch of songs included ""Faithful Old Dog". She went on to tour Australia and New Zealand, entertaining the troops during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and writing songs. Thoms became known by the title of ''Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart''. She later toured with Sole Bros Circus and met her first husband John Sole. The couple had a son, Peter and Thoms stepped away from show business, however John Sole died prematurely. In 1970, Thoms came out of retirement to appear on the Captain Cook Bicentenary Show in the Tamworth Town Hall and briefly revived her career with album releases in 1970 and 1972. Her most popular and best selling recordings were "The Faithful Old Dog", "Where The Golden Wattle Blooms" and "Yodelling in the Moonlight". After suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

and a heart condition, she died in 1999, at Summerland Point, Lake Macquarie, NSW, aged 74.

Legacy

There is a collection of bronze busts in Bicentennial Park, Tamworth that includes Shirley Thoms, Stan Coster, Tex Morton, Gordon Parsons, Barry Thornton and Buddy Williams.

Honours and awards

Australian Roll of Renown

The Australian Roll of Renown honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to Country Music. It was inaugurated in 1976 and the inductee is announced at the Country Music Awards of Australia in Tamworth in January. Thoms was the fifth artist and first woman to receive this honour. , - , 1980 , Shirley Thoms , Australian Roll of Renown ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thoms, Shirley 1925 births 1999 deaths Australian country singers Australian yodelers Australian songwriters Australian women songwriters 20th-century Australian women singers