Musical journeyman had one of the great, distinctive Australian voices
By Glenn A Baker
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1946-2021
“He’s big, this cat” wrote one Roger Aldridge in the September 20, 1969 issue of
The Age. “Broad shouldered, big armed. And hairy. A wild mass of tight curls halo a broad tawny green saturnine face from which burn the most honest eyes you ever saw. His wide mouth is humorous and framed by a hairline moustache which drops to two chin tufts.”
Doug Parkinson rarely went unnoticed – for his voice, his physique, his very presence. From the moment he appeared as a participant in Australian popular music in 1966 he commanded attention. Decades later he became a true household name – one of the great distinctive Australian voices.