Joy McKean , (born 14 January 1930), 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, ...

singer-songwriter and wife and manager of the late

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, ...

. Known as the "grand lady" of

Australian country music Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass music, bluegrass, to yodeling to Australian folk music, folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English ...

, McKean is recognised as one of Australia's leading songwriters and

bush ballad The bush ballad, bush song or bush poem is a style of poetry and folk music that depicts the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. The typical bush ballad employs a straightforward rhyme structure to narrate a story, often one of ...

eers and wrote several of Dusty's most popular songs. In 1973, she was awarded the first ever

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 ...

, for writing "

Lights on the Hill "Lights on the Hill" is an Australian country music hit song written by Anthony Ernest Brooks, with music by Joy McKean and made famous by her husband, Slim Dusty. It won the first Golden Guitar in January 1973 at the Country Music Awards of Austra ...

". She was inducted into the

Australian Roll of Renown The Australian Roll of Renown was inaugurated bRadio 2TMin 1976. The award honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to Country Music. The award is determin ...

in 1983. The 2020 documentary film ''

Slim and I ''Slim and I'' is a 2020 Australian documentary film directed by Kriv Stenders about the life of Joy McKean and Slim Dusty, Australia's most successful husband and wife singer-songwriter duo. Making of the documentary The documentary came ab ...

'' told the story of her life and musical partnership with Dusty. The McKean-Dusty musical partnership produced over 100 albums, sold eight million records in Australia alone, and earned 45

Golden Guitars The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

Biography

Early life and career

Joy McKean was born in

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance o ...

in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

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 ...

on 14 January 1930. As an infant, McKean lived on the dairy farm belonging to her mother's family. Her father was a country school teacher and the family moved around to several regional centres during her youth. Her mother and their father, who was a steel guitar player, encouraged an interest in different types of music, including country performers Jimmie Rogers and the

Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

. Joy learned the accordion, piano and steel guitar, while younger sister Heather McKean learned the ukulele and both took up

yodel Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word ''yodel'' is derived from th ...

ing. McKean also contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

as a child and was treated in Sydney by the famous

Sister Kenny ''Sister Kenny'' is a 1946 American biographical film about Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an Australian bush nurse, who fought to help people who suffered from polio, despite opposition from the medical establishment. The film stars Rosalind Russell, A ...

. McKean first performed on the radio for the first time around the age of 10 on Sydney's

2GB 2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE. 2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM. In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total rad ...

radio station. Later McKean and her sister, Heather McKean (born 20 February 1932), sang for the

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

Revue, while a student at the university. By the age of 18, in the 1940s, she was performing live with her sister Heather on their own half-hour Saturday radio show on 2KY as the McKean Sisters, noted for their

ling harmonies. ''The Melody Trail'' starring the two sisters ran from 1949 until 1956. The McKeans began recording, and from 1951 with Rodeo Label they cut such trademark hits as "Gymkhana Yodel" and "Yodel Down The Valley". During this time, Joy McKean first met

, introduced by radio DJ Tim McNamara in Sydney.

Marriage and musical partnership with Slim Dusty

Joy McKean married Slim Dusty (real name David Kirkpatrick) in 1951 (becoming Mrs Kirkpatrick, but retaining Joy McKean as her stage name). Sister Heather met

Reg Lindsay Reginald John Lindsay OAM (7 July 1929 – 5 August 2008) was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality. He won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 ...

, whom she married in 1954 and the sisters began solo careers and partnerships with two of Australia's leading male country music singers. McKean was Dusty's wife and manager for over 50 years, creating a hugely successful body of work.
Slim Dusty documentary is pure joy, in more ways than one
'; ''The Sydney Morning Herald''; 10 Sep 2020 Dusty and McKean had two children:

Anne Kirkpatrick Anne Kirkpatrick (born 4 July 1952) is an Australian country music singer. She is the daughter of country singers Slim Dusty and Joy McKean. Biography She also has a brother, David Kirkpatrick, who is an accomplished singer-songwriter. The yea ...

and David Kirkpatrick who are also accomplished singer-songwriters. The family began annual round Australia tours in 1964 – encompassing a 30,000-mile, 10-month journey which was the subject of a feature film, ''

The Slim Dusty Movie ''The Slim Dusty Movie'' is a 1984 Australian feature film directed by Rob Stewart and starring Slim Dusty, Joy McKean, Jon Blake and Mary Charleston. The film The film dramatises the early life and career of Australian country music singer ...

'' in 1984. Dusty attained international success with his 1957 hit "

A Pub With No Beer "A Pub with No Beer" is the title of a humorous country song made famous by country singers Slim Dusty (in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and Bobbejaan Schoepen (in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria). Gordon Pa ...

", and remained at the forefront of

from that time until his death in 2003. Together they produced more than 100 albums, sold eight million records in Australia alone, and earned 45

. McKean developed a flair for melody and musical storytelling with vivid evocative imagery. She was awarded the first ever

award in 1973, for writing "

", performed by Dusty. Other popular songs written by McKean for her husband include: "

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", "

Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, l ...

", "Kelly's Offsider", "The Angel of Goulburn Hill" and "

The Biggest Disappointment "The Biggest Disappointment" is an Australian country music song written by Joy McKean and made famous by her husband, Slim Dusty. It has been covered by artists including Missy Higgins, Troy Cassar-Daley, Beccy Cole, and Gina Jeffreys.Country mus ...

". McKean was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1991 for "service to the entertainment industry". In 1993 the McKean Sisters reunited to record a CD, "The McKeans on Stage" and continued to perform together on stage various times with the Slim Dusty Show over the subsequent decade leading up to Slim's death in 2003 and Tamworth's tribute "Concert for Slim" in 2004. This tribute concert brought together over 30 Australian music artists and featured an historic duet performance by McKean and Paul Kelly of "Sunlander" and a cover of McKean's

performed by

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

Later career

Joy McKean received her 6th

award in 2007 with ''Peppimenarti Cradle'' winning the Award for Bush Ballad of the Year. McKean celebrated her 80th birthday in 2010 with the ''Happy Birthday Joy'' concert at Capitol Theatre in Tamworth during the Country Music Festival in January 2010. McKean is one of the founders of 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 the

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 ...

, and is also a biographer ("Slim Dusty: Another Day, Another Town"). McKean is Chair of the ''Slim Dusty Foundation Ltd'', the organisation established to build and operate the Slim Dusty Centre in Slim's home town of Kempsey, NSW. The centre opened in October 2015. ; Documentary film The 2020 Australian documentary film ''

'', directed by

Kriv Stenders Kriv Stenders is an Australian writer, producer and director best known for the film '' Red Dog'' and the thriller film ''Kill Me Three Times''. He started off directing music videos for many famous Australian bands, including Go Betweens, M ...

was released when Joy was aged 90, and told the story of her life with

. The film features covers of McKean songs by acclaimed contemporary artists including

Missy Higgins Melissa Morrison Higgins (born 19 August 1983), known professionally as Missy Higgins, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her Australian number-one albums are ''The Sound of White'' (2004), ''On a Clear Night'' (2007) and ''The Ol ...

, Paul Kelly,

Troy Cassar-Daley Troy Cassar-Daley (born 18 May 1969) is an Australian country music 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 Gr ...

and

. Film critic Paul Byrnes wrote: "Kriv Stenders (Red Dog) gives us a loving portrait of one of the most important songwriters this country has produced – and it’s not Slim Dusty. Aficionados already knew Joy McKean wrote many of her husband’s best songs – in particular, Lights on the Hill and The Biggest Disappointment. ''Slim and I'' makes clear that she also kept the Slim Dusty Show on the road, managed the band, raised the kids and kept her husband from straying too far from the path of righteousness... ". The film soundtrack included a new McKean composition "I Don't Believe You", co-written with grandson James Arneman, and his wife Flora Smith, and described by ''Rolling Stone'' as "McKean at her most honest and poignant, with her iconic songwriting shining through in what is her first composition in over a decade."

Honours and awards

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". , - ,

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, , Joy McKean, , Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music , ,

Australian Roll of Renown

The

honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to Country Music. It was inaugurated in 1976 and the inductee is announced at the

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

in Tamworth in January. Joy has been recognised twice; once as part of The McKean Sisters and individually in 2020. , - , 1983 , The McKean Sisters , Australian Roll of Renown , , - , 2020 , Joy McKean , Australian Roll of Renown ,

Australian Women in Music Awards

The

Australian Women in Music Awards Australian Women in Music Awards (commonly known informally as AWMA) is an annual awards ceremony and conference celebrating the contributions of women in all areas of the Australian music industry. The two-day program includes forums, a show ...

is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the

Australian Music Industry Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018. , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Joy McKean , Lifetime Achievement Award ,

Country Music Awards of Australia

The

(CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the

, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973. (wins only) , - , 1973 , "Lights on the Hill" (written by Joy McKean) recorded by Slim Dusty , APRA Song of the Year , , - , 1975 , "Biggest Disappointment" (written by Joy McKean) recorded by Slim Dusty , APRA Song of the Year , , - , 1978 , "Indian Pacific" (written by Joy McKean) recorded by Slim Dusty , APRA Song of the Year , , - , 1979 , "Beat of the Government Stroke" (written by Joy McKean & Tom Oliver) recorded by Slim Dusty , APRA Song of the Year , , - , 1998 , "Lady Is a Truckie" (written by Joy McKean) recorded by Slim Dusty , Bush Ballad of the Year , , - , 2007 , "Peppimenarti Cradle" (written by Joy McKean) recorded by Anne Kirkpatrick , Bush Ballad of the Year ,

Tamworth Songwriters Awards

The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the

. They commenced in 1986. Joy McKean has won three awards. (wins only) , - , 1993 , "Calloused Hands" by Joy McKean and Tony Brooks , Traditional Bush Ball of the Year , , - , 1994 , "Ringer from the Top End" by Joy McKean , Traditional Bush Ball of the Year , , - , 2005 , Joy McKean , Tex Morton Award ,

External links

Tribute to the McKean Sisters
by Kate Nugent and Max Ellis, 26 January 2007.
ABC Country: Slim Dusty with Joy Mckean''The Slim Dusty Movie'' on The Internet Movie Database

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKean, Joy Australian country singers Living people Australian country singer-songwriters 1930 births Australian women singer-songwriters Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia