Joy McKean in the 1950s. Courtesy Kirkpatrick Family
Joy McKean, Australia’s “queen of country,” is the 2021 recipient of the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music, one of the highest accolades in the nation s music industry.
It’s a fitting tribute for McKean, who paved the way for generations of homegrown country artists over a career spanning upwards of 70 years.
The trailblazing country singer and songwriter first made her mark in the 1940s and ‘50s, working alongside her sister Heather as the McKean Sisters and created an enduring partnership in life and music with her husband Slim Dusty, writing many of his most famous songs. She also managed the late country great for more than 50 years, and co-founded the Country Music Association of Australia in 1992.
Now aged 91, McKean composed “The Biggest Disappointment, “Ringer from the Top End,” “Walk a Country Mile” and “Indian Pacific,” and did so while touring regional and remote Australia at a time when the perceived role of women was that of home maker.
McKean will be in the room for the presentation during the 2021 APRA Awards, set to take place April 28 in Sydney.
Her contribution to Australian country music “as a pioneering songwriter, bush balladeer, touring performer and artist manager is unparalleled,” reads a statement from APRA.
Photo credit: David Parker
Joy McKean
The Ted Albert honor “was most unexpected,” she admits in a statement, “and I thank those who must have nominated me for such consideration by APRA.”
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