Because Australia had military ties with the US (through the Korean War), various Australian agents would invite the biggest American stars of the day such as Frank Sinatra, Little Richard and Ricky Nelson to come to Australia and perform in Sydney, Melbourne, and the other state capitals. Johnny Ray was the first to atlanta jersey do this, in 1952. Until the late 1950s, Australian music was limited to jazz, country (with Slim Dusty being the biggest country star) and the music of its Indigenous peoples. Television was introduced to Australia in 1956, but because many people could not afford one at the time, the main medium for music was radio. Those who could not attend the concerts thus relied on the radio to hear the newest and most popular music. Nearly all the singles released in Australia at the time were recorded by Americans.
The original 'rock and roll', popularised by Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry in America became popular in Australia as well because it fitted in with the changing image of its popular culture. The first 'rock and roll' dances were held at Preston Town Hall, Melbourne. The Chuck Berry song "Rock Around the Clock", when released in Australia in 1955, sold over 150,000 units as a 45rpm EP. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) By the end of the decade, rock
In 1955, the New South Wales government extended pub closing time from 6pm to 10pm to allow more rock and roll bands to play at these clubs(see Six o'clock swill).
In March 1958, Johnny O'Keefe's "The Wild One" was the #1 single on the Australian charts - he was the first Australian rock star to have such a hit. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) Channel 9 began broadcasting an Australian version of America's Bandstand programme, with Brian Henderson as host, which lasted for 14 years.
In 1959, Johnny O'Keefe took over the recently launched Six O'Clock Rock (ABC), which ran until 1962.
1960s
Still strongly reflecting American culture, in 1962 Australia experienced the Twist fad, soon followed by the Stomp fad (reflecting surf culture, which came to Australia through the Americans a few years before). In 1964, one of the biggest bands of this genre, the Beach Boys toured Australia. Other American acts also toured - rock and roll was still quite popular there - but very few American acts were just as successful.
More and more Australians were buying television sets, which gave the four television networks - Seven, Nine, Ten and ABC - an opportunity to air its own music show. In music shows of the 1950s and 60's, every single song on the show was performed live in a small studio in front of an audience of 300 at the most, and they were nearly always teenagers.
The British invasion, which started with The Beatles, swept through Australia with many British acts being considered alternatives to the American ones. When the Beatles toured Australia in 1964, there were fans running to meet them everywhere. They performed to sell-out crowds in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The Rolling Stones also toured Australia in 1965, again to sellout crowds. But American singers still came to Australia for tours - Bob Dylan in 1966 and Elvis Presley in 1968. The mid 1960s saw the 'mod' fad, which had been popular in Britain, come and go.
Most of the Australian acts of the 1960s were influenced by the British acts, which were more common and thus more exposable, than the American acts and so most of the Australian songs of the decade were recorded in British styles of music. However, there were some Australians who were willing to stay Americanized and record surf rock, or rock and roll songs (although for the latter genre, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles would have been bigger influences than the US acts of the 50's).
Because of its small population at the time, not every Australian singer could to an Australian label the traditional way (via a demo). So to pursue their dreams of becoming music stars, they had to enter talent shows. The winner of each talent show would get the chance to travel to Los Angeles, New York or London and be signed to a major British or American recording label. Olivia Newton-John and Helen Reddy were two of these singers, with Newton-John moving to London and performing songs with fellow Australian singer Pat Carroll. The Bee Gees, influenced by the big bands of the 40's and 50's also had to go on a talent show before they could start their recording careers. They became extremely successful in this style of music.
A cover of The Coasters' "Poison Ivy" (also covered by the Rolling Stones) gave Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, a surf rock band, their first #1 hit, keeping even the Beatles at bay. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) 1964 also saw Jimmy Little have a hit with "Royal Telephone" - he was the first indigenous Australian to do so. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)
In 1966, Australia's prestigious (but quite Anglicized) annual rock band competition, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds began, and this ran until 1972.
By 1966, the Loved Ones (through "The Loved One") and the Easybeats (through "Friday on my Mind")had both seen success. Johnny Young was host of Young Talent Time and the Seekers became the first Australian band to sell over a million records internationally. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) Their best known songs were "Georgy Girl" and "The Carnival is Over". The last three mentioned bands all list British bands as their influences (to some extent).
Pop paper Go-Set was also launched this year (1966), hosting their own televised pop awards (the Pop Poll).
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