Shirley Thoms-Bystrynski (12 January 1925 – 1 July 1999), was an Australian country music singer and pioneer of Australia's

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, ...

industry. She was known as ''Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart''.

Biography

Thoms was born in January 1925, in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

, Queensland and was raised in a family of seven children. She began her career singing and yodelling songs by

Tex Morton Tex Morton (born Robert William Lane in Nelson, New Zealand, also credited as Robert Tex Morton; 30 August 1916 – 23 July 1983) was a pioneer of New Zealand and Australian country and western music, vaudevillian, actor, television host and ...

and Harry Torrani, and won a Bundaberg talent quest with Torrani's ''Mockingbird Yodel''. In 1941, aged 16, with what is now EMI Records she became the first female solo act to record

in Australia, as well as the first

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

er to be featured on disc. This first batch of songs included ""Faithful Old Dog". She went on to tour Australia and New Zealand, entertaining the troops during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and writing songs. Thoms became known by the title of ''Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart''. She later toured with Sole Bros Circus and met her first husband John Sole. The couple had a son, Peter and Thoms stepped away from show business, however John Sole died prematurely. In 1970, Thoms came out of retirement to appear on the

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

Bicentenary Show in the Tamworth Town Hall and briefly revived her career with album releases in 1970 and 1972. Her most popular and best selling recordings were "The Faithful Old Dog", "Where The Golden Wattle Blooms" and "Yodelling in the Moonlight". After suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and a heart condition, she died in 1999, at Summerland Point,

Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area in Greater Newcastle and part of the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city from 7 September 1984. The area is situated adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is ...

, NSW, aged 74.

Legacy

There is a collection of bronze busts in Bicentennial Park, Tamworth that includes Shirley Thoms, Stan Coster,

, Gordon Parsons, Barry Thornton and Buddy Williams.

Honours and awards

Australian Roll of Renown

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 ...

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. Thoms was the fifth artist and first woman to receive this honour. , - , 1980 , Shirley Thoms , Australian Roll of Renown ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thoms, Shirley 1925 births 1999 deaths Australian country singers Yodelers 20th-century Australian women singers