John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
singer whose career began in the early 1950s. A pioneer of
Rock music in Australia, his hits include "
Wild One" (1958), "
Shout!" and "She's My Baby". Often referred to by his initials "J.O'K." or by his nickname "The Wild One", O'Keefe was the first Australian rock n' roll performer to tour the United States, and the first Australian artist to make the local
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
charts. He had twenty-nine Top 40 hits in Australia between 1958 and 1973. In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe released over 50 singles, 50
EPs
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
and 100 albums. O'Keefe was also a radio and television entertainer and presenter.
O'Keefe died in 1978 from a drug overdose. He was the younger brother of Australian jurist
Barry O'Keefe (a former head of the New South Wales
ICAC). His father, Alderman Ray O'Keefe, was Mayor of
Waverley Council
Waverley Council is a Local government in Australia, Local government area in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, ...
in the early 1960s. Through Barry, O'Keefe was the uncle of Australian television personality
Andrew O'Keefe.
Early life
O'Keefe was born in the eastern
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
suburb of
Bondi Junction on 19 January 1935. He was the second of three children of Raymond Moran O'Keefe and Thelma Edna Kennedy. He was raised as a Catholic and attended the local Catholic primary school, followed by secondary schooling at
Waverley College in nearby
Waverley.
He had a solid musical background and listened to the radio almost constantly at home although he did not often sing around the house. His parents were both good singers. His mother was an excellent pianist and his father occasionally played in a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
band. O'Keefe made his stage debut at the age of four when he played the role of "Dopey" in the Waverley College production of ''
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''.
Being unable to read or memorise the script, O'Keefe improvised his part.
The young O'Keefe was intelligent and perceptive, with a great sense of humour, although his school grades fluctuated due to his misbehaviour and the fact that he was easily distracted. Sydney radio personality
Gary O'Callaghan, who was a classmate, later recalled that O'Keefe was often in trouble. During his time at high school, he joined the school cadets, where he made good progress learning trumpet,
and he reluctantly sang solo in the school choir. He was a keen swimmer, surfer and sailor and often sailed with the
Vaucluse
Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019. Juniors sailing club.
He
matriculated in 1951, gaining an 'A' in French and a 'B' in English, mathematics, physics and economics.
In 1952, he enrolled in a part-time economics degrees course at the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
, but soon abandoned it and enrolled in a short course at the College of Retailing in Sydney, after which he went to work in his father's furniture store in
Pitt Street, Sydney.
He had already begun performing at dances and 'socials' while at high school, but his interest in music blossomed after he left school. A strong early musical influence was the American singer
Johnnie Ray, who toured Australia to great acclaim in the 1950s and O'Keefe began his singing career as a Ray impersonator.
During this period he met and became good friends with
Alan Dale, also an aspiring singer, who was then employed at the O'Keefe's furniture business.
In December 1952, Dale and O'Keefe were called up for
National Service. Dale went into the Army and O'Keefe went into the
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
. He was stationed at
Richmond, approximately 50 kilometres (31 miles) north-west of Sydney and served his six-month period in two blocks, from December–February 1952 and December–February 1953.
Musical career
The first turning point in O'Keefe's career was in early 1953, when he began singing with the quintet of jazz accordionist Gus Merzi at charity dances. During these appearances, O'Keefe would sing his specialty, Johnny Ray's "
Cry", while wearing a pair of trick glasses which squirted water over the audience. Radio personality Harry Griffiths, who met O'Keefe at this time, remembered him as "a bad-tempered ratbag" who often argued with Merzi, although Merzi commented that they never clashed over music.
Recognising O'Keefe's potential, Merzi began tutoring him on piano, encouraging him to broaden his repertoire and helping him to refine his stagecraft. O'Keefe became a regular singer with the Merzi quintet and performed with them every Sunday at the charity shows they performed at the Bondi Auditorium. O'Keefe performed his routine no matter how small the audience, sometimes braving the rotten eggs and fruit thrown at him.
After his second stint of National Service, O'Keefe began singing with Merzi two nights a week, at university college dances, 21st birthdays and private parties. Merzi also managed to get O'Keefe a regular spot on the
2UW live radio show ''Saturday Night Dancing''. Up to this point O'Keefe had performed for free, simply to gain experience. His first paid engagement as a singer was as a Johnny Ray impersonator, performing on the
Bathurst radio station
2BS, for which he was paid £17 plus expenses.
Rise to stardom
In June 1955, O'Keefe's life changed irrevocably after seeing and hearing
Bill Haley
William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...
singing "
Rock Around the Clock" in the film ''
Blackboard Jungle
''Blackboard Jungle'' is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel ''The Blackboard Jungle'' by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brook ...
''. He realised that this was the style of music he wanted to perform, and dedicated himself to becoming a rock 'n' roll singer and a star.
By 1960, O'Keefe was the most popular and successful singer in Australia and a major TV star. Australian rock historian
Ian McFarlane
Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017.
As a journalist ...
succinctly described O'Keefe's qualities in the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop'':
:J.O'K was the first to admit that he was a limited singer, but he possessed an incredible drive, a fierce ambition to succeed, a tireless facility for self-promotion, a tremendous flair for showmanship and a larrikin spirit that was irrepressible.
The Dee Jays
In September 1956, O'Keefe and his friend Dave Owen, an American-born tenor sax player, formed Australia's first rock'n'roll band,
the Dee Jays. The original lineup of the group was Kevin Naughton (guitar), Keith Williams (bass) and Johnny Purser (drums). Naughton left soon after the band formed and he was replaced by Indonesian-born guitarist Lou Casch. Johnny Greenan joined the Dee Jays on tenor saxophone, replacing John Balkin. This was the band that supported a tour by
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
and his band.
Casch's contribution to O'Keefe's sound, both live and on record, was considerable. He was born in
Ambon in 1924, grew up in
Aceh
Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...
and
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
, began playing guitar at an early age, and became a dedicated jazz musician. In 1952, he came to Australia under the
Colombo Plan to study medicine at the University of Sydney. He was introduced to O'Keefe by Keith Williams, whom he had known from a jazz trio in which they played. At their first meeting O'Keefe played Casch a selection of rock 'n' roll records and asked him to imitate the guitar playing, which he was easily able to do. Impressed, O'Keefe offered him the job and handed him a pile of records, saying "Here, learn these. The dance is on Saturday night."
Their first performance was at Stones Cabaret in the beach side suburb of
Coogee. By early 1957, they were playing four dances a week and performing on Saturdays in the interval between films at the Embassy Theatre,
Manly. O'Keefe and the Dee Jays quickly attracted a strong local following.
O'Keefe's trademark was his flamboyant stage attire, which included gold lamé jackets and brightly coloured suits trimmed with fake fur. Many of these outfits were made for him by Sydney show business costumier Len Taylor, although one famous red suit trimmed with leopard-print velvet cuffs and lapels, now in the collection of the
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explori ...
, Sydney, was reputedly made by his mother Thelma.
At the time Casch joined the band, they were promoting their own dances at local venues such as the
Balmain Workingmen's Institute and Stone's Cabaret. O'Keefe was involved in every aspect of the group's career including hiring the halls, placing ads in the local newspapers and putting up posters. "O'Keefe was the promoter, singer, bouncer, door attendant, sold the ice creams, mixed the drinks and cleaned the halls, while working during the days at his father's furniture store."
At the time, rock 'n' roll and its followers in Sydney often found themselves at odds with non-aficionados. According to Lou Casch, on one occasion, while O'Keefe and the Dee Jays played at an upstairs dance venue in
Newtown, an "Italian wedding" reception was also taking place downstairs. Some of the dance patrons came to blows with wedding guests in the men's toilets, and within minutes the fight had erupted into a full-scale riot that spilled out into the street, with police eventually calling in the
Naval Shore Patrol to help restore order. It was this incident, according to Casch, that inspired O'Keefe's signature tune, "Wild One".
While the song is credited officially to Greenan, O'Keefe, and Dave Owens, some sources suggest that O'Keefe was not directly involved in the composition. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song, but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked in the United Kingdom on pirate stations
Radio Atlanta and, as Tony Windsor, on
Radio London.
"Wild One" was recorded originally by
Jerry Allison with
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...
backing on guitar in 1958 under the alias "Ivan", his middle name, after hearing O'Keefe perform it on tour. It reached No. 68 on the American ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' singles chart and was revived in 1986 and recorded by
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
as "
Real Wild Child". A cover by Christopher Otcasek was used on the soundtrack for the movie ''
Pretty Woman'' starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. It was also recorded by
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
,
Everlife,
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts,
Glamour Camp,
Marshall Crenshaw,
Brian Setzer,
Wakefield and
Jet.
Meeting with Lee Gordon
O'Keefe first met Bill Haley during his tour in 1957 in Australia.
Haley was impressed by O'Keefe, giving him a song to record ("
You Hit The Wrong Note, Billy Goat") and recommending him to Ken Taylor,
A&R manager of leading local record company
Festival Records. Taylor, however, failed to act on Haley's advice, so O'Keefe then famously took matters into his own hands and began telling the local press that he had in fact been signed to Festival. Anxious not to lose face, Taylor auditioned O'Keefe and signed him to the label.
O'Keefe's debut single (issued as a 78rpm record), "You Hit The Wrong Note, Billy Goat" b/w "The Chicken Song", was released in July 1957 but it failed to chart and sold poorly, as did the follow-up, a cover of
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films.
Boone ...
s "
Love Letters in the Sand" – which O'Keefe later described as the worst record of his career.
O'Keefe had become a close friend of the music concert promoter,
Lee Gordon, and O'Keefe and the Dee Jays' popularity really took off when they were installed as the featured support act for Gordon's famous "Big Show" concert bills at the
Sydney Stadium. These concerts were landmarks in Australian popular entertainment, being among the first tours to feature leading overseas rock'n'roll stars, including Little Richard,
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...
, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis; Gordon also toured many top jazz acts of the day, including the first visits to Australia by black jazz artists such as
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
.
O'Keefe and the Dee Jays' first major break was a support spot on Lee Gordon's first "Big Show" rock'n'roll tour, which starred Little Richard,
Gene Vincent, and
Eddie Cochran. When Gene Vincent and his band were stranded in
Honolulu
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
on their way to Australia, Gordon contacted O'Keefe and asked him to fill in for Vincent for the first night of the tour in Wollongong. This was followed by another support spot on the second all-star Big Show, which included The Crickets (with lead singer Buddy Holly on his first and only Australian tour), Jerry Lee Lewis and
Paul Anka.
During this period The Dee Jays also acted as the backing band for many of the international acts that Gordon toured, since they were at the time the only rock'n'roll band in the country who could read music. According to Lou Casch, they backed acts including
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
,
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
,
Fabian,
Tab Hunter,
Jimmie Rodgers and
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...
, and on his 1960 tour, Nelson was booed by fans of O'Keefe's whom he had reputedly planted in the audience. Their skill and energy and O'Keefe's frantic performances also saw them upstage many of the visiting performers. Casch recalled that he actually played behind Jerry Lee Lewis, whose own backing musicians were so daunted by the Dee Jays' performance that they got too drunk to play.
Commercial breakthrough
Their first EP, ''Shakin' At The Stadium'', included JOK's signature tune "Wild One", co-written by O'Keefe with Greenan, Owens and top Sydney DJ
Tony Withers. This became his first hit in March 1958, peaking at No. 20 on the newly established Sydney Top 40 (at this time there was no national pop chart in Australia). Although it was claimed that it was recorded live at the Stadium, it was in fact a studio recording, overdubbed with the sound of a real stadium audience.
O'Keefe issued three more singles during 1958: "Over The Mountain" b/w
Lawdy Miss Clawdy", "So Tough" b/w That'll Be Alright" (a cover of
The Cuff Links song which reached No. 12 in Sydney) and "I Ain't Gonna Do It" b/w "Could This Be Magic?"
O'Keefe had played a few dates in New Zealand in 1958, but in early 1959 rising NZ promoter
Harry M Miller organised a two-month tour. O'Keefe took the staid NZ music scene by storm, although he was banned from playing at some halls and faced problems getting airplay. At that time the
New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation had a monopoly on radio, they had only one J.O'K. record in their library, and they refused to play his new single "Wild One" – although a hastily issued version by NZ rocker
Johnny Devlin ''was'' played. O'Keefe also toyed with the local press, playing on Lou Casch's exotic appearance by telling journalists that Casch was the son of an
Arrernte Aboriginal chieftain from
Ayers Rock and that Casch's hand-built guitar was made from
mulga wood.
In mid-October 1959, O'Keefe performed in shows titled ''Lee Gordon's 1959 Rock'n'Roll Spectacular.'' The Sydney concerts were edited into a film called ''
Rock 'n' Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
'' which premiered on 30 October. The film, thought lost but rediscovered in 2020, includes rare footage of a 1950s rock and roll concert in Australia.
U.S. visits, 1959–1960
"
She's My Baby" was recorded in Los Angeles with producer
Snuff Garrett during O'Keefe's first visit to the United States in October 1959. It was recorded at a 5-song session at Goldstar recording studios in Hollywood on 5 November 1959 ("She's My Baby", "
It's Too Late", "Own True Self", "Ready For You" and "Come On and Take My Hand"). His decision to try his luck in the USA was strongly opposed by his friend and mentor Lee Gordon but the ever-ambitious O'Keefe had already set his sights on breaking into the American market, and in L.A. he met with record executive Mickey Shaw who introduced him to executives of
Liberty Records.
In February 1960 O'Keefe returned to the U.S. for a promotional tour, where he was promoted as "The Boomerang Boy", and much to his chagrin, O'Keefe was obliged to give
boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...
throwing exhibitions. According to Ian McFarlane, Liberty offered to pay $5 to anyone who could throw further than the singer, but they had to pay out many times at one exhibition when O'Keefe turned up drunk.
[McFarlane, ''op cit'', p. 462]
Car accident
In the early hours of 27 June 1960, O'Keefe, Greenan and Greenan's wife Janice were driving back to Sydney from the
Gold Coast. About 20 kilometres north of
Kempsey, the Plymouth ploughed into a gravel truck. While the front of the large car bore the brunt of the very severe impact, all three were seriously injured. O'Keefe's face was smashed and Greenan was thrown out of the car, landing six metres away on the
Pacific Highway, causing a fractured vertebra and loss of front teeth. Janice Greenan suffered a severe concussion. O'Keefe suffered multiple lacerations, a concussion and fractures to his head and face. He lost four teeth, and his hands were badly lacerated.
O'Keefe was air-lifted back to Sydney for treatment and survived. Many believe he never fully recovered from the accident and that it was the catalyst for his subsequent mental health problems.
Continuing career
He continued recording and scored another No. 1 hit in August 1960 with "Don't You Know"/"Come on And Take My Hand", and the next single, "Ready For You"/"Save The Last Dance For Me", reached No. 4 in November. In January 1961 O'Keefe attempted another tour of the United States, but it was also unsuccessful.
His run of Australian hits continued in spite of his mounting personal problems. "I'm Counting on You" became his second No. 1 hit in August 1961, followed by a third chart-topper, "Sing (And Tell The Blues So Long)" in March 1962, and "I Thank You", which reached No. 22 in December.
O'Keefe's tenure with ''Six O'Clock Rock'' ended in mid-1961, and in October he moved to
ATN-7 as compere of ''
the Johnny O'Keefe Show''. The show was a major success, but this only added to his already hectic workload and increased the pressure on him. In August 1962 he suffered another breakdown and spent two months in the psychiatric ward at
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney,
beginning what was to become a repeating cycle of much-publicised breakdowns, hospitalisation and recovery. During his convalescence the TV show was renamed ''Sing, Sing, Sing'' and he was temporarily replaced as host by folk singer
Lionel Long.
O'Keefe scored his fourth Australian No. 1 hit with "
Move Baby Move" in July 1963, and also "Shake Baby Shake" (#8, October 1963) and "Twist It Up" which reached No. 32 in December 1963.
It was around this time that O'Keefe finally parted ways with his backing group the Dee Jays, as he devoted more and more time to TV. It was an era in which many major artists mimed songs at outdoor locations, such at Manly Beach's Fairy Bower in 1967. Live performances began to taper off. The Dee Jays stayed together, however, and continued performing until 1980.
Decline in popularity
Fearing that O'Keefe might have to be replaced as
compère, the Seven network renamed O'Keefe's TV show ''
Sing Sing Sing'' in February 1963,
but its popularity continued nevertheless.
By late 1963, a new music trend from the UK known as
Merseybeat was gaining momentum. Within a few months, the emergence of the new wave of guitar/vocal groups led by
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
and
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
ushered in a new era in popular music, and their advent signalled the start of a rapid decline in O'Keefe's career. These overseas acts inspired a new generation of local 'beat' stars, spearheaded by
Bobby & Laurie,
Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs,
Ray Brown & The Whispers,
Tony Worsley & The Fabulous Blue Jays,
Normie Rowe, and
The Easybeats, who took the Australian pop scene by storm, and, at least in Australia, soon came to rival the popularity of the biggest overseas acts.
Although he had helped the careers of many of his rock'n'roll contemporaries, O'Keefe was resistant to the changes in pop music and made himself unpopular amongst the new groups by banning "long-haired" acts, such as
The Missing Links, from appearing on ''Sing, Sing, Sing''. O'Keefe was alienated by the new developments in pop music, and later described this period as "the biggest downer in my career".
Another major blow to O'Keefe was the sudden death of his musical partner and friend Lee Gordon, who died from a heart attack in London on 7 November 1963.
O'Keefe's last major hit of the Sixties came in April 1964, two months before the Beatles toured Australia, when "
She Wears My Ring" reached No. 2 on the singles chart. The follow-up single charted significantly lower, peaking at a modest No. 30, and titles of the two songs seemed, in retrospect, to presage the downturn in O'Keefe's career the A-side, "Rock'n'Roll Will Stand" was backed by a cover of
The Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?".
His popularity continued to decline and sales of his records fell. ''Sing, Sing, Sing'' was cancelled in October 1965.
In January 1967, O'Keefe compèred a new TV show called ''
Where The Action Is''. It was produced and broadcast by the newly opened Channel
TEN-10 and filmed at various outdoor locations around Sydney. O'Keefe released a 'spin-off' album also titled ''Where The Action Is'' in 1967, but the series was not successful and budget problems and low ratings led to its cancellation in November 1967.
From 1968 onwards O'Keefe devoted most of his time to performing on the burgeoning Australian club and cabaret circuit, and aside from the 1969 live LP ''Live on the Gold Coast'', his only album releases were compilations of past hits, mostly issued on Festival's budget label
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
.
During the later 1960s, O'Keefe doggedly continued recording new singles, but only three made it into the Top 40: "Sun's Gonna Shine Tomorrow"(#38, May 1966), "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw" (#28, August 1966) and a re-release of "She's My Baby", which reached No. 22 in August 1969.
1970s
In 1969, O'Keefe toured
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
to entertain Australian troops stationed there. On the business front, he signed a new contract with Festival at the end of 1969 and continued to record and release singles. In July 1972 that he scored another hit with a re-recorded version of 1958 hit "So Tough", which reached No. 7 in September 1972.
[McFarlane, op cit, p. 463]
In January 1973, O'Keefe performed at the second
Sunbury Pop Festival. MC
Paul Hogan jokingly introduced him as a "newcomer" and urged the crowd to "give him a go", and although he was at first greeted with some jeering and booing, by the end of his set he had completely won over the crowd.
In early 1974, he scored his last big hit with a version of the old
Inez and Charlie Foxx hit "Mockingbird", recorded as a duet with vocalist Margaret McLaren. It became his 29th Australian hit, reaching No. 8 nationally in April 1974.
It fared well against stiff competition from the better-known
James Taylor-
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...
version, which was rush-released in Australia to compete with it, but many of O'Keefe's supporters claim that O'Keefe's version was deliberately ignored by some commercial radio stations, in favour of its US rival.
In August 1974, O'Keefe put together a package tour called "The Good Old Days of Rock'n'Roll" which featured many of his old friends including Dinah Lee, Johnny Devlin,
Lonnie Lee,
Jade Hurley,
Barry Stanton, Tony Brady and
Laurel Lea. It premiered at
St George Leagues Club in Sydney and continued successfully for the next four years. O'Keefe continued to issue singles, including a cover of the
Harry Vanda-
George Young song "Saturday Night", originally recorded by The Easybeats.
O'Keefe's last public appearance was on Seven Network's ''
Sounds'' program, taped on 30 September 1978, six days prior to his death.
Personal life
O'Keefe married Marianne Renate Willimzik, a 23-year-old hairdresser, at St Therese's Catholic Church,
Dover Heights, on 2 August 1958. They had three children. Their relationship eventually concluded due to the pressure of O'Keefe's career demands, and they divorced in 1966.
By the early 1960s, O'Keefe was reaching the limits of his physical and mental endurance. Given the severe head injuries he had sustained in his 1960 car crash, it is also possible that O'Keefe was suffering from undiagnosed neurological trauma which may have affected his personality and contributed to his later mental health and drug issues. These problems were undoubtedly exacerbated by his heavy drug and alcohol use.
In 1961, after the second US tour collapsed, he flew to London on impulse, but he reportedly overdosed on a combination of alcohol marijuana and prescription medication in his room at the
Park Lane Hotel. He blacked out and woke three days later to find himself in a psychiatric hospital. He spent several days confined in a straitjacket and heavily medicated, but by chance he encountered a staff member who had recently arrived from Australia who recognised him and was able to confirm his identity.
As soon as he was released from close confinement he escaped. By chance he was able to make contact with Gordon, who happened to be in London, and with Gordon's help, and that of O'Keefe's wife and his parents, he was transferred to St George's Hospital to recover. He returned to Australia as soon as he was well enough to travel. Unfortunately this was the first of many such "breakdowns" – O'Keefe would subsequently endure numerous spells in psychiatric hospitals, including Hydebray alcohol rehabilitation hospital, and his drug problems dogged him until the end of his life.
During the late 1960s and into the 1970s, O'Keefe's personal life remained increasingly busy. On 14 February 1975, at the Masonic Hall, Waverley, O'Keefe married for the second time to Maureen Joan Maricic, a 29-year-old fashion consultant. They opened a boutique, J. O'K Creations, in
Paddington
Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
in 1978.
Later that year in 1975, O'Keefe was the subject of
This Is Your Life (Australian TV series) in which his father, mother, sister and brother all paid tribute to him. His three young children, John, Vicky and Peter also attended, followed by his second wife, Maureen.
O'Keefe died on 6 October 1978, from cardiovascular collapse caused by an overdose of prescription barbiturates and Methaqualone.
He was buried at
Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium in Sydney, with full catholic rites.
Legacy
Since his death, O'Keefe's stature has continued to grow, and he has been posthumously accorded the recognition he did not receive in his lifetime. The first major biography on O'Keefe was published in 1982, and several others have been written since including ''The Wild One'' by Damian Johnstone and ''Johnny O'Keefe – The Facts'' written in 2008 by Lonnie Lee and released by Starlite Records. Besides being a great showman himself, he is also credited for nurturing other Australian talent, like Barry Stanton and Lonnie Lee.
In 1986, the Seven Network produced the successful 'docu-drama' mini-series based on his life, ''
Shout! The Story of Johnny O'Keefe'', which starred actor-singer
Terry Serio as O'Keefe. The same year, punk legend Iggy Pop recorded a cover version of O'Keefe's signature tune "Wild One" under the title "Real Wild Child", which was included on his
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
-produced album ''
Blah Blah Blah'' and released as a single. Samples from the Iggy Pop version were incorporated into the theme music for the ABC's long-running late-night music video show ''
Rage'', which premiered in 1987, and the opening credits of the show include footage of O'Keefe on stage.
In 1988, O'Keefe was posthumously inducted into the
ARIA
In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
Hall of Fame.
In 1994, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney recognised O'Keefe's contributions in a major exhibition of Australia's rock and pop history titled ''Real Wild Child'' and a comprehensive CD-ROM based on the exhibition was later released with the same title.
In 1998,
Australia Post issued a special stamp edition celebrating the early years of Australian rock'n'roll; the first stamp in the series commemorated O'Keefe's rise to stardom in 1958.
O'Keefe's life story and career also inspired the stage musical, ''
Shout! The Legend of The Wild One'', with book by
John-Michael Howson, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow and featuring music made famous by O'Keefe and other hits of the 1950s.
A portrait of O'Keefe by Australian artist
Ivan Durrant, titled "A Little Bit Louder Now", is in the collection of th
National Portrait Galleryin Canberra. On 10 June 2004, a 5-metre tall Monument titled "The Wild One", created by sculptor Dr. Alex Sandor Kolozsy CDVA, was unveiled at the Coolangatta/Tweed Heads, Twin Towns Services Club in memory of O'Keefe.
"She's My Baby" was added to the
National Film & Sound Archive's
Sounds of Australia registry in 2007. In October 2010, his 1958 album, ''Wild One'', was listed in the top 40 in the book, ''
100 Best Australian Albums''.
In December 2020, O'Keefe was listed at number 39 in ''Rolling Stone Australia''s "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue.
Discography
Charting albums
Charting EPs
Singles
Charting B-sides
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The
ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music. They commenced in 1987. O'Keefe was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988.
, -
,
1988
, himself
,
ARIA Hall of Fame
,
King of Pop Awards
The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of
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 King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978.
, -
, 1972
, himself
, Special Gold Award for '20 years service to the Industry'
,
, -
, 1976
, himself
, Contribution to Australian Pop Industry
,
, -
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. Johnny O'Keefe won one awards in that time, and the encouragement award was named named him.
(wins only)
, -
, 1976
, Johnny O'Keefe
, Special Contribution Award
,
, -
References
Print sources
*Caswell, Robert (1986) ''Shout! : the story of Johnny O'Keefe'', Sydney:
Currency Press (pbk.) Discography: pp. 158–160.
*
*
*
External links
Johhny O'Keefe and Australian Rock 'n' Roll at Perth Capitol Theatre*
Biography in the Australian Dictionary of Biographies Online EditionJohnny O'Keefe Home PageOpening sequence from Six O'Clock Rockat the
National Film & Sound Archive website
"The Ambonese Connection: Lou Casch, Johnny O'Keefe and the Development of early Australian rock and roll" by Peter Cox(PDF)
25th Anniversary Tribute to Johnny O'Keefe* Listen to an excerpt o
'She's My Baby'o
australianscreen online''Sing, Sing Sing'' performed by Johnny O'keefe (video)Johnny O'Keefe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, Johnny
1935 births
1978 deaths
ARIA Award winners
ARIA Hall of Fame inductees
Rock and roll musicians
Australian people of Irish descent
Australian pop singers
Australian rock singers
Australian Roman Catholics
Liberty Records artists
Logie Award winners
People with bipolar disorder
Drug-related deaths in Australia
20th-century Australian male singers
Australian Christians
People educated at Waverley College