Barry John Stanton (23 January 1941 – 21 January 2018) was an English-Australian

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

musician. He performed on pop music programs, ''

Six O'Clock Rock ''Six O'Clock Rock'' was an Australian rock and roll television show broadcast on ABC from 28 February 1959 to 1962 at 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Program synopsis Inspired by the BBC program '' 6.5 Special'', it had a similar format to its rival ...

'', ''

Bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

'', ''Johnny O'Keefe Show'', '' Sing Sing Sing'', ''Saturday Date'', and ''Woody's Teen Time''. He issued a compilation album, ''A Tribute to the King Rare Songs 1957-1965'', in 1988. Stanton released singles via

Leedon Records Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by American Australian entrepreneur Lee Gordon in early 1958. Establishment and early releases In Australian in the 1950s and early 1960s, locally distribut ...

, starting with "Don't Let Go" in April 1960. His second, "Don't You Worry 'Bout That" (September), was written by O'Keefe, which reached number 3 on the local Top 40. His fourth single, "Beggin' on My Knees" (November 1961), was written by his brother Rod and reached number 16, nationally. Stanton was signed by

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

in 1964 and issued another single, "A Tribute to the King". This was written by fellow musician and the label's A&R,

Johnny Devlin John Lockett Devlin (born 11 May 1938) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and rock musician, who has been compared to Elvis Presley. His cover of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" in 1958 went to number one in the New Zealand charts with s ...

. He followed with "My Little Emmy" in July 1965, which was written by Stanton. Even though he was a popular performer locally, he achieved little commercial success internationally. Stanton subsequently performed with other early Australian rockers.

Early life

Barry Stanton was born in London on 23 January 1941. The Stanton family—Stella Rose, Carl Leopold, Barry John and Rodney—migrated to Australia in 1948. They settled in the Sydney suburb of Neutral Bay. At the age of 15 Stanton became interested in rock and roll. He left school and worked as apprentice motor mechanic. His early bands included the Boppers and the Bellairs; they played gigs at local dance halls. Stanton provided "some Presley-type singing and guitar-playing." In 1957 he recorded material, which was not released until 1988, issued on his compilation album, ''A Tribute to the King Rare Songs 1957-1965'', via Canetoad Records. According to Ainslie Baker of ''

The Australian Women's Weekly ''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by ...

'', he "has brown eyes, is 6ft. 1in. tall, weighs 13- stone, likes cars and car-racing, surfing, and football."

Lee Gordon/Leedon

Stanton was "talent spotted" in 1959 while playing during the interval in between

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

and

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

films at Manly's Embassy Theatre, by

2SM 2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group. The SM call sign is taken from the initials of Saint Mary's. 2SM's progra ...

radio DJ, Allan Lappan. He was recommended to

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe rel ...

who recruited Stanton for a spot on the rocker's TV pop music show, ''

''. He became "one of the most popular young male artists of the day." He also appeared regularly on pop, variety TV show, ''

''. One of the few artists to use his real name, O'Keefe branded him the "Big Boy of Rock" due to his solid physique. Stanton signed to O'Keefe and Lee Gordon's label,

, in 1960, which issued his debut extended play, ''Barry Stanton Sings''. His first single – a cover version of

Roy Hamilton Roy Hamilton (April 16, 1929 – July 20, 1969) was an American singer. By combining semi-classical technique with traditional black gospel feeling, he brought soul to Great American Songbook singing. Hamilton's greatest commercial success cam ...

's "Don't Let Go" – appeared in April. It was recorded with chorus and orchestra directed by Eddie Cash, Jr (a pseudonym of O'Keefe). He began touring with other local artists,

Digby Richards Digby George "Dig" Richards (12 September 194017 February 1983) was an Australian rock and roll singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, musical theatre actor and television presenter, active during the late 1950s and early 1960s as lead singer wit ...

Jimmy Little James Oswald Little, AO (1 March 19372 April 2012) was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher, who was a member of the Yorta Yorta tribe and was raised on the Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales. Little started his profess ...

, and Warren Williams. In May to June that year he took part in an interstate tour supporting Johnny O'Keefe and the Dee Jays, Laurel Lea, Booka Hyland,

Lonnie Lee Lonnie Lee is the stage name of David Laurence Rix (born 18 September 1940), an Australian singer, who has fronted Lonnie Lee and the Leeman and Lonnie Lee and the Leedons. He is a pioneer of Australian rockabilly music and has worked in the ind ...

, the Sapphires and

Ray Hoff Raymond Terrence Charles Hough (born 29 December 1942), who performed as Ray Hoff, was an Australian rock 'n' roll and R&B singer from the late 1950s to mid-1970s. He led Ray Hoff & the Off Beats from 1959 to 1967, which issued a self-titled alb ...

. Stanton left the tour in mid-June as he was "too exhausted to sign on for an extra week of engagements." In the following week O'Keefe lost control of his

Plymouth Belvedere Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970. The Belvedere name was first used for a new hardtop body style in the Plymouth Cranbrook line for the 1951 model year. In 1954 the Belvedere re ...

near Kempsey and was involved in a serious car accident. Stanton's follow-up single, "Don't You Worry 'Bout That", written by O'Keefe, appeared in September 1960. It was well received in most states, reaching No. 37 on the Sydney music charts. Late in the following year he issued his fourth single, "Beggin's on My Knees", which became his most successful hit when it reached No. 16 on the national top 40. The track is written by his younger brother, Rod Stanton, who later explained how "One day, strumming on an old guitar given to him by Barry, he asked his brother to have a listen to a fresh composition he was quite happy with. Its potential was immediately recognised by Barry and, perhaps even more importantly, by his producer, 'Keefe"

Warren Carr Warren Carr (died 1993) was an Australian singer, composer, producer and musician, specializing in country music, country and rock 'n' roll, although his music was better described as Honky Tonk piano party style. He is best known for his 20-year ...

played its "ear grabbing tinkling piano."

1964-1980

Stanton was approached to switch to

by New Zealand-born rocker

, who from late 1963 was the label's Australian A&R manager and house producer. Stanton's first single on the label, "Tribute to the King" was released in 1964. It was written by Devlin as a tribute to Presley, which "consisted of 32 Elvis Presley song titles set to rocking instrumental backing provided by Devlin's backing band The Devils." His next single, "My Little Emmy", which was written by Stanton, was released in July 1965. Stanton undertook interstate tours supporting

Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales. The group enjoyed success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early 1970s to become one of the most popular Australian hard-ro ...

and Ray Brown & the Whispers. Though only releasing two singles while at RCA, he recorded more material, however after leaving the label in 1966, the recordings were unreleased. According to Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, "with the lack of success of his RCA sides, Stanton gave up his rock'n'roll career to work as an electrician." In 1974 he resumed his music career to join O'Keefe and fellow 1960s rockers Ray Brown, Lonnie Lee, Jade Hurley, Johnny Devlin,

Dinah Lee Diane Marie Jacobs (born 19 August 1943), known as Dinah Lee, is a New Zealand singer who performed 1960s pop and adult contemporary music. Her debut single from early 1964, "Don't You Know Yockomo?", achieved No. 1 chart success in New Zea ...

and Tony Brady as part of a touring ensemble, The Good Old Days of Rock 'n' Roll. The nostalgia circuit was successful with the tour continuing for four years. In 1978 he issued a single, "City of Armidale", via the Bunyip label.

1981-onward

In 1981 Raven Records issued a compilation, split album, ''Rock On!'', with "most of Stanton's singles as one half" and the rest from fellow rocker,

Johnny Rebb Johnny Rebb, born Donald James Delbridge, (20 March 1939 – 28 July 2014) was an Australian singer. Rebb began as a country & western singer and was signed with Leedon Records and was dubbed the "Gentleman of Rock" by disc jockeys of the time. ...

. Stanton's early material, including previously unreleased tracks, was issued as a solo compilation album, ''A Tribute to the King Rare Songs 1957-1965'', via Canetoad Records. Concert bookings had become rarer, and Stanton returned to working a day job, as a warehouse manager. He periodically played shows until 2006, when he took a break from showbiz to spend time with his grandchildren. After two years, he performed a comeback concert in Melbourne.

Personal life

Barry Stanton married fellow singer,

Kelly Green Shades of chartreuse are listed below. Historically, many of these colors have gone under the name of either yellow or green, as the specifics of their color composition was not known until later. Wrapping the spectrum into a color wheel In a c ...

, and the couple had two children. They had met in Green's hometown of Perth at the Fiesta Theatre, and after Green relocated to Sydney in 1962 Stanton saw her on ''Bandstand'' and they started dating. Stanton wrote one of Green's tracks, "Tell Me That You Love Me Too", which was the B-side of her single, "Do You?" (August 1964). The couple separated in 1965 before their second child was born, with Green returning to Perth. In the mid-1970s he married a second time, to Rena, and this couple had three children. Stanton died of

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

on 21 January 2018, two days short of his 77th birthday.

Discography

* ''Don't Let Go'' (1960) Lee Gordon # Don't Let Go (I. Hayes) # I Got A Woman (R. Richard/R. Charles) * ''Don't You Worry 'Bout That'' (1960) Leedon # Don't You Worry 'Bout That (O'Keefe) # You Are Gone (Dempsey-Zoeller) * ''Barry Stanton Sings EP'' (1960) Leedon # Don't Let Go; I Got A Woman # Don't You Worry 'Bout That; You Are Gone * ''A Teenage Idol'' (1961) Leedon # A Teenage Idol (O'Keefe) # Indeed, I Do (Scharr) * ''A Teenage Idol EP'' (1961) Leedon # Teenage Idol; Indeed, I Do # Begging on My Knees; Solitary Confinement * ''Beggin' On My Knees'' (1962) Leedon # Beggin' On My Knees (R. Stanton) # Solitary Confinement (Colijah-Pori) * ''Back in Your Arms'' (1962) Leedon # Back in Your Arms (R. Stanton) # For Now And Always (R. Stanton) * ''Little Miss Heartbreak'' (1963) Leedon # Little Miss Heartbreak (Bass-Boyer) # You'll Never Learn, Will Yer? (B. Stanton) * ''Little Miss Heartbreak EP'' (1963) Leedon # Little Miss Heartbreak; You'll Never Learn, Will Yer? # Back in Your Arms; For Now And Always * ''A Tribute to the King'' (1964) RCA # A Tribute to the King (Devlin) # That's Right, All Right (R. Stanton) * ''My Little Emmy'' (1965) RCA # My Little Emmy (B. Stanton) # Dancing Partner (Crane/Wisner/Paddy) * ''City of Armidale'' (1978) Bunyip # City of Armidale (R. Stanton) # Big Front Door (R. Stanton) * '' Rock On! w/Johnny Rebb'' (1981) Raven * '' Mona Lisa & Others'' (1981) KEG * '' A Tribute to the King (Rare Songs 1957-1965)'' (1988) Canetoad

References

;General * * * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. *
The Australian encyclopaedia
Volume 8 By Grolier Society of Australia, Page 98 ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Barry Australian male singers Australian rock singers Australian people of English descent English male singers Naturalised citizens of Australia 1941 births 2018 deaths