Tex Morton (born Robert William Lane in

Nelson, New Zealand Nelson () is a List of cities in New Zealand, city and Districts of New Zealand, unitary authority on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-old ...

, also credited as Robert Tex Morton; 30 August 1916 – 23 July 1983

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

) was a pioneer of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and Australian country and western music,

vaudevillian Vaudeville (; ) is a theatre, theatrical genre of variety show, variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comic ...

, actor, television host, and circus performer.

Early life

Born in 1916, Morton was the eldest of four to Bernard William Lane and Mildred Eastgate. At age 15 he left home to launch himself into show business. He adopted the name Morton while busking, after a police officer asked whether he was Bobby Lane, and he answered that he was Bobby Morton, taking the name from a sign seen on a garage.

Career

1930s – 1940s

About 1934, Morton recorded some "hillbilly songs" privately in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, though they were not commercially issued. Soon after, he emigrated to Australia, apparently intent on a recording career. On 25 February 1936, Morton recorded four songs for the

Columbia Graphophone Company Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned company in 1922 in a managem ...

in Sydney, Australia, and between 1936 and 1943, recorded 93 songs, accompanying himself on an acoustic guitar for most tracks, for Columbia's Regal Zonophone label. On some later tracks, he was accompanied by his band, The Rough Riders, and a female singer 'Sister Dorrie' (Dorothy Carroll). In 1943, he left Columbia following a dispute with Arch Kerr, the Record Sales Manager. He was billed as 'The Yodelling Boundary Rider' on records, though he apparently did not approve of the name. During the 1930s and 1940s, Morton gradually incorporated Australian themes and motifs into some of the songs he wrote. This approach was followed by other Australian country artists who followed in his footsteps, such as Buddy Williams and

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, referred to universally as Australia's Ki ...

, leading to a particular genre of country music - the Australian bush ballad, which was also influenced by the turn-of-the-century poetry of

Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author, widely considered one of the greatest writers of Australia's colonial period. Born in rural New South Wales, Paterson worke ...

and

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period ...

1950s – 1980s

From 1950 to 1959, Morton was based in North America. He toured with

Pee Wee King Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski (February 18, 1914 – March 7, 2000), known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "Tennessee Waltz". Pee Wee King is credited with ...

in 1952 and recorded in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in March 1953. Morton toured Canada and the United States as a stage

hypnotist Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...

, memory expert, whip cracker and

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

, and was associated for some time with the Canadian country singer, Dixie Bill Hilton. He returned to Australia in 1959 with a

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 ...

show, featuring

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

, the Wilburn Brothers and June Webb, but the show was not popular with Australian audiences and the tour had to be called off. Morton continued to record during the 1960s and 1970s, and had a surprise hit with " Goondiwindi Grey" on the Australian Singles Charts, reaching No. 5 in June 1973. During this period, Morton showed an increasing interest in acting, hosting the '' Country Touch'' TV series in New Zealand, and in the 1980s appeared in Australian films '' Stir'' (1980), '' We of the Never Never'' (1982) and '' Goodbye Paradise'' (1983). Morton was the first inductee into Australian Roll of Renown in 1976, recognising his pivotal role in the development of country music in Australia and New Zealand. He was inducted into the Country Music Awards of Australia Hands of Fame in 1977.

Later years

He had married Marjorie Brisbane in 1937, and they had two sons, twins. Morton and Brisbane divorced in 1979, and he lived with his partner Kathleen Bryan until his death on 23 July 1983 in Sydney. Morton died of cancer and was survived by Bryan and one son. His song 'Wrap Me Up with My Stockwhip and Blanket' (1936) was added to the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film & Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings deemed culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant and relevant for Australia. It was fo ...

registry in 2010.

Style

Morton, in his career, capitalized on American cowboy and "

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

" images, and was sometimes billed as "The Singing Cowboy Sensation," performing for rodeos, and singing in a yodeling style that drew heavily on those of American singers such as

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers ( – ) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Country Music", he is best known for his di ...

. His yodelling was influenced by Rodgers,

Goebel Reeves Goebel Leon Reeves (October 9, 1899 – January 26, 1959) was an American folk singer, born in Sherman, Texas, and raised in Austin. Reeves' most famous song is "Hobo's Lullaby", covered by various singers, as in '' Woody at 100: The Woody Guth ...

and the British Alpine yodeller, Harry Torrani. His early recordings featured references to America, until the release of 'Wrap Me Up with My Stockwhip and Blanket' in 1936 where he added references to dingoes and the coolibah, Australianisms that were at odds with his American style singing accent.

Awards and nominations

Country Music Awards of Australia

The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the

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, Tamworth, New South Wales. The f ...

, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973. (wins only) ! , - , 1974 , "Goondiwindi Grey" , APRA Song of the Year , , , - , 1976 , Tex Morton , Australian Roll of Renown , ,

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Tex Morton portrait at Monument Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Tex 1916 births 1983 deaths New Zealand buskers New Zealand country singers People from Nelson, New Zealand People educated at Nelson College 20th-century New Zealand male singers