22 January 2011
He’s won pretty much every music award in Australia and last night Dr Jimmy Little AO added a Golden Guitar for Lifetime Achievement Award to his name.
The legendary performer has been a regular at Tamworth Country Music Festival since its inception in 1972 and now joins the likes of Chad Morgan, Slim Dusty and Pixie Jenkins as a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
“I have been performing at Tamworth Country Music Festival for years and to receive this award on the eve of possibly my final live performance here is such a great honour,” the man publically voted a National Living Treasure said.
“The CMAA has done such a wonderful job over the years of promoting country music, nurturing new talent and providing outlets for singers and songwriters to gather and share their passions.
“It is such an honour to receive this award in front of so many of my dear friends and fellow musicians.”
Jimmy Little is performing at Capitol Theatre tomorrow (Sunday 23 January 2011) in what will be a jaunt down memory lane with a stellar line up of guest artists dropping in to pay their respects to Jimmy and his career in country music.
Referred to as “Gentleman Jim”, Jimmy Little was a true pioneer as an Aboriginal man recording popular music and rose to national acclaim with his number one hit Royal Telephone in 1964.
When it was released in 1964, Royal Telephone was in the Top Ten for 18 weeks and went Gold twice earning Jimmy the title of Australian Pop Star of the Year.
There have been many hits since then and many different projects down the road, but this year’s Tamworth Country Music Festival has been very special for the song man.
The gentle singer/songwriter has been touring Australia ever since his first recording in the 50s and continues to provide mentoring and encouragement to emerging entertainers who dream of such a long and successful career.
Throughout his career, he has been seen regularly in the mainstream media breaking down barriers and working in the true spirit of reconciliation while producing songs that transcend time.
Jimmy was elevated to the Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown in 1994 and he embedded his hands into the history along with other stars such as Tex Morton, Smoky Dawson, Ted Egan, Slim Dusty, his wife Joy McKean and daughter Anne Kirkpatrick.
The Tamworth Country Music stalwart has more than 30 albums and many prestige industry awards to his name in a career that began in 1956 when he was only 19.
In 1999, the album Messenger catapulted Jimmy back to the top of the charts, earning him another platinum CD and Contemporary Album of the year and admission to the ARIA Hall of Fame. Last year, he was the recipient of the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music and the Golden Guitar completes his collection!
Since 2006, Jimmy has been concentrating on The Jimmy Little Foundation, which uses music and new media workshops to inspire young people to lead a healthy life through the foundation’s nutrition program Thumbs Up! …Healthy Tucker – Long Life.
He and his team have travelled widely across Australia in the hope of stemming the tide
of diabetes that has led to the huge increase of kidney failure in Indigenous Australians – a problem Jimmy unfortunately has had first-hand knowledge of.
He has been awarded an AO (Order of Australia) for his continued work with Indigenous Health and Education programs and holds doctorates from the Queensland University of Technology, Sydney University and the Australian Catholic University.