Denis Alfred Gibbons (19322002) was an Australian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

ian, radio announcer and musicologist. He started in radio in 1951 with the Macquarie Radio Network and began recording

Australian folk music Australian folk music is the traditional music from the large variety of immigrant cultures and those of the original Australian inhabitants. Celtic, English, German and Scandinavian folk traditions predominated in the first wave of Europe ...

in 1954. His first albums were released in 1960 and he regularly appeared on Australia's Channel Nine as a lead-in to their news reports. In 1982 he received an Advance Australia award for "his outstanding contribution to Australian Folk Music". He worked as a producer for

Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

. He died in 2002

Biography

Denis Gibbons was born in 1932, his father, Alfred Charles Gibbons, was a hotelier. Gibbons grew up in Port Elliot, South Australia, he attended the Sisters of Mercy in Victor Harbour and then

Rostrevor College , motto_translation = , coordinates = , established = , type = Independent primary and secondary day and boarding , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = Cath ...

in Adelaide. His early jobs included labouring in Adelaide, selling hardware, managing a bicycle shop, truck driving, working for the PMG and in factories. He started in radio in 1951. While working at 3SR, he was described in August 1953 in Melbourne's '' The Argus'' as a, "cheery breakfast and lunch-time announcer, is starting his own programme soon singing folk songs Burl Ives fashion with guitar." By May 1954 he was compère of ''Time for a Song'' at

3AW 3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station. The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co. Hist ...

. In November 1955 he married Joan Carey in Shepparton. Gibbons debut album, ''Trads and Anons'', was issued in September 1960, which was reviewed by '' The Australian Women's Weekly''s correspondent, "the disc is a cosmopolitan collection of folk songs including the Dutch 'Jan Himmerk', the Irish 'Spinning Wheel', the Australian 'Bold Tommy Payne', 'Dying Stockman', and 'Wild Colonial Boy', the English 'Early One Morning', and the Scottish 'Skye Boat Song'." Note: includes a photo of Gibbons with his daughter.

Discography

Albums

* ''Trads and Anons'' (September 1960) * 1975: ''Folksongs of Australia – The Struggle For Survival'' ( W&G, double LP) * ? ''Folk Songs with Denis Gibbons'' ( W&G) * 1995: ''Fair Dinkum Matilda'' ( Move)

Extended plays

* 1960: ''Bush Songs'' ( W&G) * 1962: ''Shearing Songs'' ( W&G) * 1967: ''Folk Songs from Australia'' ( W&G)

Singles

* "

Jamaica Farewell "Jamaica Farewell" is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an American-born, half- Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands. Harry Belafonte ...

" (1957) * "Take a Message to Mary" (1959) – (

W&G Records W&G Records was an Australian recording company that operated from the early 1950s to the 1970s. It was a subsidiary of the Melbourne precision engineering company White & Gillespie. W&G released many significant recordings by Australian popular a ...

) (WG-SL-777) * "Here Comes Summer" (1959) – W&G Records (WG-SL-814) * "Along the Old Bush Track" (1959) – W&G Records (WG-SL-841) * "The Drover's Dream" (1960) – W&G Records (WG-SL-986) * "Michael (Row the Boat Ashore)" (Denis Gibbons with the Unichords and the Jack Varney 5) (1961) – W&G Records (WG-S-1254) * "Tina" (Denis Gibbons with the Unichords and the Jack Varney 5) (1962) – W&G Records (WG-S-1301)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons, Denis Australian folk musicians 1932 births 2002 deaths 3AW presenters