Vince Courtney was an Australian songwriter, entertainer, singer and radio personality during the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

era. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales in 1887. He was prominent in the early twentieth century. He was born in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

. Although it is unusual for an Australian artist, Courtney was regarded as universally published and a household word from his gramophone recordings and radio broadcasts He often performed with his wife, Eva. For several years he was a key member of impersonator revue ''Stiffy and Mo'', with fellow vaudeville personality

Roy Rene Roy Rene (born Henry van der Sluys, 15 February 189122 November 1954) was an Australian comedian and vaudevillian. As the bawdy character Mo McCackie, Rene was one of the most well-known and successful Australian comedians of the 20th century. ...

. He contributed songs to pantomime ''

The Bunyip ''The Bunyip'' is a weekly newspaper, first printed on 5 September 1863, and originally published and printed in Gawler, South Australia. Its distribution area includes the Gawler, Barossa, Light, Playford, and Adelaide Plains areas. Along ...

'' (1916). Many of his songs were written for other leading variety performers. On 17 August 1951 he collapsed in a Dubbo hotel lobby and died suddenly. He is buried in Randwick, New South Wales.

Works

* The Silver in My Mother's Hair * Back to Virginia * Dear Old Mother Machree * The Cold North Sea * There never was love like mother's love * That little home among the hills – Orchestrated for sextet * She was like the blue in heaven * Our flag never shall come down * Boggabri * Mexico * Corroboree Rag (1916) in ''The Bunyip'' Pantomime

Recordings

* Isobel (1927) * That little home among the hills (1920) * My Home (1925) * Jane O'Hara (1925) * 1962 The Silver in My Mother's Hair with

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon and one of the country's most awarded stars, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Vince 1887 births 1951 deaths Australian male composers Australian composers Composers for piano Australian musical theatre composers Australian jazz musicians Male jazz musicians Australian male singer-songwriters Australian singer-songwriters Musicians from Sydney