Troy Cassar-Daley (born 18 May 1969) is an Australian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

songwriter and entertainer. Cassar-Daley has released thirteen studio albums, two live albums and five compilation albums over 30 years, including the platinum-selling ''

The Great Country Songbook ''The Great Country Songbook'' is a studio album by Australian country music singers Adam Harvey and Troy Cassar-Daley, released in June 2013. The album debuted at number 2 on the ARIA Charts, becoming the career highest charting album for both ...

'' with

Adam Harvey Adam Harvey (born 21 December 1974) is an Australian country music singer. Harvey has sold over half a million records, has been nominated five times for an ARIA Music Award and has won nine golden guitars at the Country Music Awards of Austr ...

. Throughout this time he has received awards including five

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

, forty

Golden Guitar The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England. It is also a major attraction duri ...

s, nine

Deadly Awards The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The event was held from 1995 to 2013. Description T ...

(Australian Indigenous Artist Awards), four

Country Music Association of Australia The Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) is an association formed in 1992 that promotes and represents the Australian country music industry. As the peak national industry body, its activities include organisation, promotion and stagin ...

Entertainer of the Year awards and two

National Indigenous Music Awards The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMA), also known as the NT Indigenous Music Awards from 2004 to 2008, are music awards presented to recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians in ...

Early life and career

Cassar-Daley was born on 18 May 1969 in the Sydney suburb of

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surroun ...

to a Maltese-Australian father and an Aboriginal mother from the

Gumbaynggirr The Gumbaynggirr people, also rendered Kumbainggar, Gumbangeri and other variant spellings, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Gumbathagang was a probable clan or sub-group. The traditional lands of th ...

and Bundjalung people. At a very young age, he moved with his mother to Grafton in north-eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. At eleven, Troy went to the

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales. The festival is the second bigg ...

and returned the next year to busk on the streets. At 16, he and his band, Little Eagle, were touring the

North Coast of New South Wales North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

and he made the top 10 in Tamworth's Toyota Star Maker Quest. He won the 1986 "Search for a Star" competition and then toured with Brian Young for seven months in which he began to develop his songwriting skills. After returning home he replaced James Blundell as leader of country music band The Blue Heeler Band.

Solo career

By late 1993 Cassar-Daley had enough original songs for a debut EP. The first single "Dream Out Loud" was released on 24 October 1994 by Sony Music and reached number-one on the Australian country music charts. His first album, ''

Beyond the Dancing ''Beyond the Dancing'' is the debut studio album by Australian country singer Troy Cassar-Daley. The album was released in January 1995. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1995 the album won Best Country Album. At the 1996 Country Music Awards of Aus ...

'', was released in January 1995 and won the

ARIA Award for Best Country Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Country Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indus ...

at the

ARIA Music Awards of 1995 The Ninth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 20 October 1995 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. There had been a 18-month gap since the ...

. At the 1996 Country Music Awards, in Tamworth, Cassar-Daley won Best Male Vocalist. He also made a cameo appearance in the motion picture '' Race the Sun'' in which he performed a song in a bar scene. In June 1996, Cassar-Daley was part of the Australian Country Music Showcase in Nashville. The Showcase included

Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars at ...

Gina Jeffreys Gina Jeffreys (also known as Gina Jeffries, Gina Hillenberg and Gina McCormack born 1 April 1968) is an Australian country music, country singer-songwriter and radio presenter. Career In 1991, Jeffreys competed in The Toyota Star Maker Quest at ...

and

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on ...

. As a result, Cassar-Daley returned to the US to record his new album '' True Believer'' (1998) with Steve Dorff. His follow-up, '' Big River'' (1999),won another best country album ARIA Award at the

ARIA Music Awards of 2000 The 14th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 24 October 2000 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Presenters distributed 28 awards with the big win ...

. His next four studio albums were '' Long Way Home'' (2002), '' Borrowed & Blue'' (2004), '' Brighter Day'' (2005), and '' I Love This Place'' (2009), the latter two also winning best country album ARIA Awards. Cassar-Daley performed the national anthem at the

2003 NRL grand final The 2003 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the 2003 NRL season. In what was a contest of Sydney's east versus west, defending premiers the Sydney Roosters played against minor premiers the Penrith Panthers. The ...

. He partnered up with

Kate Ritchie Katherine Leigh Ritchie is an Australian actress, radio presenter and children's author, she remains best known for her long-running role as original character Sally Fletcher on the television soap opera '' Home and Away'', for which she won tw ...

for the singing competition '' It Takes Two'' aired on

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

in 2006. In May 2007 he re-appeared on the same show, this time partnered with Krystal Forscutt, a former contestant on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

's ''Big Brother'' program. The same year, Cassar-Daley was featured in Wiggles music videos for the songs "

Old Dan Tucker "Old Dan Tucker," also known as "Ole Dan Tucker," "Dan Tucker," and other variants, is an American popular song. Its origins remain obscure; the tune may have come from oral tradition, and the words may have been written by songwriter and perfor ...

" and "

Turkey in the Straw "Turkey in the Straw" is an American folk song that first gained popularity in the 19th century. Early versions of the song were titled "Zip Coon", which were first published around 1834 and performed in minstrel shows, with different people c ...

". Cassar-Daley with Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson played together at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 14 March 2009 for Sound Relief which was a multi-venue rock music concert in support of relief for the February 2009 Victorian bushfires, Victorian Bushfire Crisis. The event was held simultaneously with another concert taking place at the Sydney Cricket Ground. All the proceeds from the Melbourne Concert went to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Relief Appeal. Cassar-Daley went on to release the albums ''Home (Troy Cassar-Daley album), Home'' (2012), ''

'' with

(2013), and ''Freedom Ride (album), Freedom Ride'' (2015). In August 2016, Cassar-Daley released his first book, an autobiography of his early life and music career titled ''Things I Carry Around'' with an accompanying album of the same title. In 2017 Cassar-Daley was the 50th inductee into the prestigious Australian Roll of Renown. In October 2018, Cassar-Daley released his 42-track double album Greatest Hits (Troy Cassar-Daley album), Greatest Hits, along with a new single called "Wouldn't Change A Thing" on the Bloodlines label, part of Mushroom Group. The extensive album was also released on vinyl. In June 2020, Cassar-Daley signed a worldwide label deal with Sony Music Australia, Sony Music Entertainment Australia; he had first signed to the label in 1995. He released the albums ''Christmas for Cowboys'' in 2020 and ''The World Today (album), The World Today'' in 2021, which one the best country album award at 2021 ARIA Music Awards, that year's ARIA Music Awards.

Personal life

Cassar-Daley is married to radio and television presenter Laurel Edwards with whom he has two children. One of their children is singer-songwriter Jem Cassar-Daley. In 2020, Cassar-Daley's participation in Australia's ''Who Do You Think You Are? (Australian TV series), Who Do You Think You Are?'' was broadcast on SBS (Australian TV channel), SBS, where he traced both his ancestral roots on his father's side in Malta, and his mother's Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Australian ancestry.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Extended Plays

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. They commenced in 2006. , - , AIR Awards of 2011 , ''Troy Cassar-Daley Live'' , Best Independent Artist , , - , AIR Awards of 2015 , ''Freedom Ride'' , Best Independent Country Album , , -

APRA Awards

Cassar-Daley had been nominated for twelve awards, winning three at the APRA Awards (Australia), APRA Awards. , - , APRA Music Awards of 1998, 1998 , , "Little Things" , , Most Performed Country Work , , , - , APRA Music Awards of 1999, 1999 , , "Biggest Disappointment" , , Most Performed Country Work , , , - , APRA Music Awards of 2000, 2000 , , "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore" , , Most Performed Country Work , , , - , APRA Music Awards of 2004, 2004 , , "Wish I Was a Train" (with Paul Kelly (Australian musician), Paul Kelly) , , Most Performed Country Work , , , - , APRA Music Awards of 2005, 2005 , , "Factory Man" , , Most Performed Country Work , , , - , APRA Music Awards of 2007, 2007 , , "Going Back Home" , , Most Performed Country Work , , , - , APRA Music Awards of 2008, 2008 , , "Everything's Going to be Alright" , , Country Work of the Year , , , - , APRA Music Awards of 2010, 2010 , , "Big Big Love" , , Song of the Year , , , - , APRA Music Awards of 2010, 2010 , , "Big Big Love" , , Country Work of the Year , , , - , APRA Music Awards of 2012, 2012 , , "Country Is" (Troy Cassar-Daley / Colin Buchanan) , , Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2", APRA Music Awards of 2013, 2013 , , "Country Is" , , Most Performed Country Work , , , - , "Home" , , Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2", APRA Music Awards of 2016, 2016 , "Another Australian Day" , rowspan="2", Song of the Year , , - , "Freedom Rive" (with Paul Kelly) , , - , rowspan="2", APRA Music Awards of 2020, 2020 , "Wouldn't Change a Thing" , Most Performed Country Work of the Year , , - , "Shutting Down Our Town" (Cassar-Daley) by Jimmy Barnes featuring Troy Cassar-Daley , Most Performed Rock Work of the Year ,

ARIA Awards

Cassar-Daley has been nominated for thirteen awards, winning five at the

, - , ARIA Music Awards of 1995, 1995 , , ''

'' , , ARIA Award for Best Country Album, Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 1997, 1997 , , "True Believers" , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 1998, 1998 , , '' True Believer'' , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 2000, 2000 , , '' Big River'' , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 2002, 2002 , , '' Long Way Home'' , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 2004, 2004 , , '' Borrowed & Blue'' , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 2006, 2006 , , '' Brighter Day'' , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 2009, 2009 , , '' I Love This Place'' , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 2011, 2011 , , ''Troy Cassar-Daley Live'' , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 2012, 2012 , , ''Home (Troy Cassar-Daley album), Home'' , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 2013, 2013 , , ''

'' (with

) , , Best Country Album , , , - , ARIA Music Awards of 2015, 2015 , , ''Freedom Ride (album), Freedom Ride'' , , Best Country Album , , , - , 2021 ARIA Music Awards, 2021 , ''The World Today (album), The World Today'' , , Best Country Album , , , -

CMAA Awards

The Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the

, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. Cassar-Daley has won forty awards, the most of any artist. Cassar-Daley was inducted into the Australian Roll of Renown in 2019. (wins only) , - , rowspan="1", 1996 , , "End of the Road" , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , rowspan="3", 1998 , , ''True Believer'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , "Little Things" , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , "Little Things" , , Video of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2", 2000 , , "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore" , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore" , , ARPA Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="3", 2003 , , "Born to Survive" , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , "Wish I Was a Train" (with Paul Kelly (Australian musician), Paul Kelly), , Vocal Collaboration of the Year , , , - , "Born to Survive" , , ARPA Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="4", 2006 , , "Lonesome But Free" , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , "Bird On A Wire" (with Jimmy Barnes) , , Vocal Collaboration of the Year , , , - , "Yellow Belly" , , Instrumental of the Year , , , - , "Lonesome But Free" , , ARPA Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="1", 2008 , , "Everything’s Going To Be Alright" , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , rowspan="6", 2010 , , ''I Love This Place'' , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , ''I Love This Place'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , "Ain’t Gonna Change for You" (with The McClymonts) , , Vocal Collaboration of the Year , , , - , "Chasin' Rodeo" , , Heritage Song of the Year , , , - , "Big Big Love" , , APRA Song of the Year , , , - , "Big Big Love" , , Single of the Year , , , - , rowspan="1", 2011 , , "Sacred Bones" , , Toyota Heritage Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="5", 2013 , , ''Home'' , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , ''Home'' , , Album of the Year (Artist) , , , - , ''Home'' , , Album of the Year (Producer) , , , - , "Country Is" , , Single of the Year , , , - , "Home" , , APRA Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="1", 2015 , , "My Country My Land" (with Dean Perrett) , , Vocal Collaboration of the Year , , , - , rowspan="7", 2016 , , ''Freedom Ride'' , , Album of the Year (Artist) , , , - , ''Freedom Ride'' , , Album of the Year (Producer) , , , - , "Freedom Ride" , , Male Vocalist of the Year , , , - , "Freedom Ride" , , Toyota Heritage Song of the Year , , , - , "Freedom Ride" , , APRA Song of the Year , , , - , "Take a Walk in My Country" , , Single of the Year , , , - , Troy Cassar-Daley" , , CMAA Producer of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2", 2017 , , ''Things I Carry Round'' , , Album of the Year (Artist) , , , - , ''Things I Carry Round'' , , Album of the Year (Producer) , , , - , rowspan="2", 2019 , , "Shadows on the Hill" , , Heritage Song of the Year , , , - , himself , , Australian Roll of Renown , , , - , rowspan="3", 2022 , , ''The World Today'', , Top Selling Album of the Year , , , - , himself , , Male Artist of the Year , , , - , "South" (with Ian Moss) , , Vocal Collaboration of the Year , , , -

Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1996 to 2013. , - , Deadly Awards 1997 , ''True Believer'' , Album of the Year , , - , Deadly Awards 2001 , himself , Country Artist of the Year , , - , Deadly Awards 2003 , himself , Male Artist of the Year , , - , Deadly Awards 2003 , himself , Male Artist of the Year , , - , Deadly Awards 2004 , himself , Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", Deadly Awards 2006 , himself , Male Artist of the Year , , - , "Lonesome But Free" , Single of the Year , , - , Deadly Awards 2007 , "Going Back Home" , Song of the Year , , - , Deadly Awards 2012 , ''Home'' , Album of the Year , , - , Deadly Awards 2013 , himself , Male Artist of the Year , , -

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Troy Cassar-Daley won six awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1997 , Troy Cassar-Daley , Male Country Entertainer of the Year , , - , 1998 , Troy Cassar-Daley , Male Country Entertainer of the Year , , - , 1999 , Troy Cassar-Daley , Male Country Entertainer of the Year , , - , 2002 , Troy Cassar-Daley , Male Country Entertainer of the Year , , - , 2003 , Troy Cassar-Daley , Male Country Entertainer of the Year , , - , 2008 , Troy Cassar-Daley , Slim Dusty Male Country Vocal Performer of the Year , , -

National Indigenous Music Awards

The

recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. They commenced in 2004. , - , rowspan="2", National Indigenous Music Awards 2012, 2012 , himself , Artist of the Year , , - , ''Home'' , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan="3", National Indigenous Music Awards 2017, 2017 , himself , Artist of the Year , , - , ''Things I Carry Around'' , Album of the Year , , - , "Things I Carry Around" , Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", National Indigenous Music Awards 2021, 2021 , "Back On Country" , Film Clip of the Year , , -

Queensland Music Awards

The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006. (wins only) , - , Queensland_Music_Awards#2009_Q_Song_Awards, 2009 , "Big Big Love" , Published Song of the Year ,

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassar-Daley, Troy 1969 births APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian country guitarists Australian country singers Australian male singers Australian people of Maltese descent Indigenous Australian musicians Living people Australian male guitarists People from New South Wales People from Grafton, New South Wales