It’s always hard to walk in your parents’ footsteps, especially when the parent belongs to the category of an icon. But Anne Kirkpatrick, daughter of Australia’s country music legend the late Slim Dusty and his equally renowned wife the late Joy McKean, has traced her parents’ path with a steady stride, in the process carving for herself a unique identity.
A talented songwriter with a unique vocal style, Anne has been recording since she was 12 years old, and 1st appeared on stage at age 10 in her parents’ travelling country music show, before rising to prominence as a solo artist in the mid 70’s when she formed her own band with an exciting new contemporary country rock sound alongside the likes of the Dingoes, Moose Malone and The Flying Circus to name a few. Initially recording her first solo album in 1974, she won her first Golden Guitar in 1979 for female Vocal.
Over her long and highly acclaimed career now spanning five decades she has gone on to release 14 albums, been inducted into the CMAA Roll Of Renown, won five more Golden Guitars including two for Album and Female Vocal and an ARIA Award for her watershed album Out of The Blue in 1991. All of this while managing to raise a family, daughter Kate and son James, with her husband Greg.
Anne’s 1991 release ‘Out Of The Blue’ , heralded as a watershed album in Australian country music, was produced by the late great Mark Moffatt for the ABC label. ‘Out Of the Blue’ melded the traditional country influences of her formative years with the contemporary feel she had grown to love. The result was an exquisitely crafted, passionately presented album that went on to win all the major awards in 1991, including ARIA Best Country Album, 2 Golden Guitars at Tamworth for Best Album and Best Female Vocal and a Mo Award. Critics labelled her …godmother of Australian new country.
“Showman’s Daughter”..Anne’s last solo album, was released after the passing of her beloved dad Slim. An album of raw, authentic performances of insightful and at times deeply personal stories, music historian Glenn A Baker commented..
“It’s a tradition going forward as well as back, for the most remarkable aspect of ‘Showman’s Daughter’ is it’s intertwining generations. Multi layered and inter -connecting musical families are not unknown in American country music—the Cash/Carters, the McGarrigles and Wainwrights come to mind——–but it’s hard to think of another contemporary female artist able to front the microphone in a studio armed with high quality songs penned by herself, her father, her mother and her son,—–as well as friends of them all, the ‘extended family’…all seamless in their integration into her personal story.”
Anne has achieved great success as a recording artist and performer-both as an individual and in concert with her parents the late Slim Dusty and Joy McKean and her family. Anne’s ability to blend a contemporary style with the traditional themes she grew up with, has influenced the way many Australians think about modern country music and her early success helped prepare the way for the many young artists who have followed in her footsteps.
