Donald Hugh Walker (born 29 November 1951) is an Australian musician and songwriter who wrote many of the hits for Australian pub rock band

Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...

. Walker is considered to be one of Australia's best songwriters. In 2012 he was inducted into the Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame. He played piano and keyboard with the Cold Chisel from 1973 to 1983, when they disbanded. He has since continued to record and tour, both solo, initially under the name Catfish and as

Tex, Don and Charlie Tex, Don and Charlie are an Australian supergroup formed by Tex Perkins, Don Walker and Charlie Owen. Their first studio album '' Sad but True'' was released in 1993, two others were released in 2005 and 2017. Career The band was founded in 19 ...

, and worked as a songwriter for others. In 2009, he released his first book.

Richard Clapton Richard Clapton (born 18 May 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are " Girls on the Avenue" (1975) and " I Am an Island" (1982). He reached the top& ...

describes Walker as, "the most Australian writer there has ever been. Don just digs being a sort of Beat poet, who goes around observing, especially around the streets of Kings Cross. He soaks it up like a sponge and articulates it so well. Quite frankly, I think he's better than the rest of us."

Biography

1951–1972: Early life and family

Walker was born in

Ayr, Queensland Ayr is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia. It is the centre of a sugarcane-growing region and the administrative centre for the Burdekin Shire Council. In the , the locality of Ayr had a population of 8,7 ...

to a farmer father and schoolteacher mother. His grandfather had served at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and then at the

Battle of Pozières The Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916) took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the ...

, where he was shot in the face. Returning to Australia, he married the sister of his best friend, who had died in the same battle. Walker's father was a harmonica player and fan of Larry Adler. Walker said, "He was always very keen on gospel and blues music, and 30s swing. I was familiar with that before I could talk." He said his father was in, "the AIF in Palestine and Syria in WW2 and in what was then Ceylon and three tours of New Guinea." He owned a cane farm on Rita Island on the Burdekin River, where Walker lived until the age of 4. His family later moved to Grafton, where a local piano teacher, Dot Morris, taught him, "a little bit of Chopin.....a lot of

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

repertoire, and also Winifred Atwell." Later, he, "got into organ and the main influences were

Stevie Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his dist ...

's 60s stuff and

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965. Manzarek was induc ...

." Having completed a degree in physics in the 1970s at the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 18,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 3,000 students See also *New England Colle ...

residing at Robb College. Walker was working for the

Weapons Research Establishment The Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) is part of the Australian Department of Defence dedicated to providing science and technology support to safeguard Australia and its national interests. The agency's name was changed from Defenc ...

, when he helped form

in 1973.

1973–1983: Cold Chisel

are an Australian pub rock band, formed in 1973. From the earliest days, Walker was a creative songwriting force for the band. He became known for his passionate and raw lyrical observations on the Australian society and culture of the time. His songwriting credits include the hit singles " Flame Trees," " Saturday Night," " Choirgirl,""

Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye) ''"Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye)"'' is a 1978 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. Written by keyboardist Don Walker and vocalist Jimmy Barnes, it was released as a single in 1978, peaking at number 65 on the Australian charts. It appeared ...

", " Cheap Wine," and the Australian Vietnam war song " Khe Sanh" (voted the 8th greatest Australian song of all time 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 songwri ...

in 2001). During his time with Cold Chisel, Walker produced his first work outside the band, the soundtrack of the Australian movie "Freedom", directed by Scott Hicks. The soundtrack was released as an album and featured members of

and Michael Hutchence. ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' described it as, "the best rock music written for an Australian movie."

1983–1991: hiatus & Catfish

After Cold Chisel disbanded in 1983, Walker had a five-year hiatus before resuming recording and performing. Initially, he had considered hiring an actor to mime the songs before deciding to front Catfish himself Ostensibly a band, Catfish was in effect a solo project, featuring Walker on vocals, keyboards and penning all the songs. Catfish featured various backing musicians, such as Charlie Owen,

Ian Moss Ian Richard Moss (born 20 March 1955) is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs. He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorded ...

, Ricky Fataar and harmonica player David Blight. The first album, ''

Unlimited Address ''Unlimited Address'' was the debut album by Australian band Catfish. Released in 1988, it spent one week in the Australian charts, peaking at number 50. Background Don Walker had been the main songwriter and piano player with Australian rock b ...

'', released in 1989, showed a jazzier, Eastern European side to Walker's songwriting, reflecting his travels during the previous years. Despite being critically lauded, sales were moderate, the album reaching number 49 in the national charts. The second album, ''

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called ...

'' was a return to Australia in sound and lyrical subject matter. Again, it was well received by critics but sold relatively poorly. The track "Charleville" was later to receive country music awards when covered by

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, ...

1992–present: Tex, Don and Charlie

In early 1992, Walker featured in an acoustic live performance for alternative radio station JJJ with Charlie Owen,

James Cruickshank James George Watson, who performed as James Cruickshank (1962 – 8 October 2015), was an Australian musician. He was the long-term guitarist and keyboardist for indie rock group, the Cruel Sea. As a solo artist he released three albums, ''Hym ...

and Tex Perkins. Six months later, Perkins proposed to Walker that they record an album together. Walker described the recording as a number of informal afternoons spent jamming in the studio. "It wasn't an album approached with any sort of seriousness. It wasn't until we had it all done that we started to realise we might have something special." In 1993

released their first album, ''

Sad but True Sadness is an emotional pain associated with, or characterized by, feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, grief, helplessness, disappointment and sorrow. An individual experiencing sadness may become quiet or lethargic, and withdraw thems ...

'' on Red Eye Records. The record, an acoustic country-tinged affair, returned Walker to some level of popular awareness and received rave reviews in magazines like Australian

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

. About half the songs were written by Walker, including "Sitting in a Bar". The band toured strongly on the back of the album, later releasing a live album '' Monday Morning Coming Down...'', featuring tracks from ''Sad But True''. 2005 saw the release of a third

album, '' All is Forgiven'', similar in style to the first. Again, Walker wrote about half the songs, including "Harry was a Bad Bugger", described by Chris Johnston as, "the Australian song of the year", and by Mess & Noise as, "one of the finest Australian compositions of the last 20 years." The album was shortlisted for the inaugural

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was made by Australian Music Pri ...

. The trio continue to release music, including their 2017 album, '' You Don't Know Lonely'', which peaked at number 14 on the ARIA Charts.

1995–present: Solo career

In 1995, Walker's released his debut studio album under his own name, ''We're All Gunna Die''. He stated that it was the first album to carry his name as, "it was the first record that finished up how I wanted it." Rehearsal sessions were held over four afternoons in Walker's lounge room, and all songs were recorded in 3 takes or less. The band featured David Blight, Garrett Costigan on pedal-steel guitar and Red Rivers on guitar. The music was a ragged mix of country, Chicago blues and balladry, and featured the song "Eternity". Commencing in 2005, Walker toured Australia occasionally with his backing band, The Suave Fucks (named after a line from Blue Velvet). They featured Roy Payne on baritone guitar, Michael Vidale on bass, Hamish Stuart on drums, Garrett Costigan, and Glen Hannah on guitar until his death in 2019. Don_Walker_at_Mullum

In 2009, Walker published his first book, ''Shots''. It was an autobiographical collection of smaller pieces, rarely more than a few pages in length. The subject matter was mostly recollections of rural Australia or life with Cold Chisel before they became famous. A separate piece by Walker had previously been included in The Best Australian Essays collection for 2007. ''Shots'' received a number of positive reviews: ''The Age'' described the memoir as "a whip crack across a landscape of rural Australia, lonely highways and endless gigs;" in the ''

Australian Book Review ''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are 'to ...

'' it was called "a quite wonderful book

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

blasts away every last vestige of the crude, boozy, foot-stomping, flag-waving

Australiana Australiana includes the items, people, places, flora, fauna and events of Australian origins. Anything pertaining to Australian culture, society, geography and ecology can fall under the term Australiana, especially if it is endemic to Austra ...

that has until now enveloped the Cold Chisel story like a filthy smog, leaving behind only the simmering highways, the trashy motels, the dank pubs and the monotonous suburbs of a nation slouching apathetically through the remnants of the 20th century." Readings from ''Shots'', as performed by Walker, were aired on

Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors a ...

throughout late 2009. In 2011, Walker released his first live album, ''Live in Queenscliff''. The album features a performance with The Suave Fucks at the 2006

Queenscliff Music Festival Queenscliff Music Festival is a live music festival held in the town of Queenscliff, located on the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. The festival began in 1997 and is held annually on the last weekend of November. According to its web ...

. In August 2013, Walker released ''Hully Gully'', which was recorded with the Suave Fucks over a decade.

Joe Henry Joseph Lee Henry (born December 2, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He has released 15 studio albums and produced multiple recordings for other artists, including three Grammy Award-winning albums. Early life H ...

was asked to mix the album because Walker was impressed by his work on the

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

album ''

The Bright Mississippi ''The Bright Mississippi'' is an album by the New Orleans Jazz and R&B pianist Allen Toussaint, released on Nonesuch Records in 2009. The album reached No. 8 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart. Background The album was produced by Joe Henry a ...

'', saying, "it sounded like

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

produced by

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

. I just fell in love with the record." Named after a simple 60s dance, it was thought by some to be his best album to date, but failed to chart. In March 2018, Walker released a six-album vinyl box set of his solo back catalogue. Five of the albums had never been on vinyl before, with Walker saying "It's a way of reviewing the whole catalogue, without doing a best-of." In 2019 Walker released the book ''Songs''; a publication of Walker solo work and collaborations over 40 years from Cold Chisel to Tex, Don & Charlie and his solo albums.

Collaborations

Walker has worked with many other artists, most notably with song writing credits on

' hit album, '' Matchbook'' and

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...

' top ten single " Stone Cold". He has written with or had songs recorded by TOFOG,

Jimmy Little James Oswald Little, AO (1 March 19372 April 2012) was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher, who was a member of the Yorta Yorta tribe and was raised on the Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales. Little started his profes ...

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her song "Pash" received a gold sa ...

Wendy Matthews Wendy Joan Matthews (born 13 January 1960) is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models and Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in the 1990s including " Token Angels", " ...

, Wes Carr, Troy Cassar-Daley, Graeme Connors,

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 ...

Mick Harvey Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The ...

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 O ...

Busby Marou Busby Marou (pronounced buz-bee ma-roo) are an Australian musical duo originally from Rockhampton, Queensland. The duo consists of Thomas Busby and Jeremy Marou while other musicians perform with them in concert. At the APRA Music Awards of 20 ...

, Melinda Schneider, Sarah Blasko,

Katie Noonan Katie Anne Noonan (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the band George and remains the singer in the band Elixir; perf ...

, Jeff Lang,

Normie Rowe Norman John Rowe (born 1 February 1947) is an Australian singer and songwriter of pop music and an actor of theatre and soap opera for which he remains best known as Douglas Fletcher in 1980s serial '' Sons and Daughters''. As a singer he was ...

and Adam Brand. Two Walker-penned songs appeared on '' The Very Best of Slim Dusty'', which stayed in the Australian country charts for over 15 years. He also produced Moss' album '' Petrolhead''.

Personal life

He is the brother of the Australian novelist,

Brenda Walker Brenda Walker (born 1957 in Grafton, New South Wales) is an Australian writer. She studied at the University of New England in Armidale and, after gaining a PhD in English (on the work of Samuel Beckett) at the Australian National University ...

and son of Australian novelist Shirley Walker. He is a

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

supporter.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Box Set

Singles

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the

to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. Walker has won one award from five nominations. , - , rowspan="3",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, "Good Friends" by Adam Brand (written by Don Walker & Myles Walker) , rowspan="2", Most Performed Country Work of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", "Looking Forward Looking Back" by

(written by Don Walker) , , - , Song of the Year , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, "Everything's Going to Be Alright" by Adam Brand (written by Adam Brand, Sam Hawksley & Don Walker) , Country Work of the Year , , - ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

, "Coming From / Khe Sanh" by Troy Cassar-Daley (written by Troy Cassar-Daley & Don Walker) , Country Work of the Year , , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, "All for You" by Cold Chisel (Don Walker) , Song of the Year , , , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, "Luck" by

(written by Thomas Busby and Don Walker) , Blues and Roots Work of the Year , , - , rowspan="2",

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, Cold Chisel (Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Don Walker, Phil Small and Steve Prestwich) , Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music , , - , "Lost" (Don Walker, Wes Carr) , , Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, , rowspan="2", "Getting the Band Back Together" (Don Walker) , , Most Performed Rock Work , , , - , Song of the Year , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

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 ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , rowspan="2", 1989 , '' Unlimited Address'' , ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Album , , rowspan="2", , - , "When You Dance" ,

ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single The ARIA Music Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1989 through to 2009 and 2011. This, and the ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Album was merged in 2012 t ...

, , - ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, "

Tucker's Daughter "Tucker's Daughter" is the debut single by Australian rock singer and guitarist, Ian Moss. It was released in November 1988 almost five years after his group, Cold Chisel, had disbanded for the first time. It is co-written by Moss and Don Walke ...

" (written by

and Don Walker) ,

ARIA Award for Song of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year/Song of the Year, 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 Austral ...

, , , -

Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame

The Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honour the lifetime achievements of some of Australia's greatest songwriters. , - , 2012 , himself , Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame ,

TV Week / Countdown Awards

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987, it presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine ''

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

''. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. , - , 1979 , Don Walker - "Choirgirl" by Cold Chisel , Best Recorded Songwriter , , - , 1980 , Don Walker (Cold Chisel) , Best Recorded Songwriter , , - , 1984 , Don Walker (Cold Chisel) , Best Songwriter , , -

Footnotes

External links

Don Walker's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Don 1951 births APRA Award winners Australian keyboardists Australian male singers Australian pianists Australian songwriters Cold Chisel members Living people Musicians from Queensland Musicians from Sydney Tex, Don and Charlie members Male pianists