The lead vocalist of 1960s Australian folk-pop band The Seekers, Judith Durham brought out singles like “Georgy Girl” and “Georgy Girl” with her sparkling soprano voice and wholesome image. “I can’t find another you” The pop chart-topper died Friday in Melbourne. She was 79 years old.
Her death in the hospital was attributed to bronchiectasis, a lung disease she had battled since childhood. Facebook page.
A bubbly folk-influenced quartet whose fresh imagery and frenetic pop songs contrasted with the frenzied libido of 1960s rock, the Seekers have sold an estimated 50 million singles and albums worldwide. sold inside. They became the first Australian pop group to achieve global success, paving the way for other Australian-based acts such as the Bee Gees and Olivia Newton-John.
“Judith Durham gave voice and helped new elements of our identity pave the way For a new generation of Australian artists,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Twitter.
Ms. Durham was a classically trained vocalist whose work was admired by other singers. Ms. Durham once said that Elton John in her 1971 recording of “Skyline Her Pigeon” has “the purest voice in popular music.”
Judith Mavis Cook was born on July 3, 1943 in Essendon, Australia, to William and Hazel (Durham) Cock, World War II aviators. “My mother apparently said I could sing nursery rhymes. perfect song When I was two years old,” Durham once said in a television interview.
While working as a secretary at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in Melbourne, account executive Atholl Guy invited her to join his folk group which included Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley. .
The group released their first album, Introducing the Seekers, in 1963, but didn’t make much of an impact until the following year when they played gigs on an ocean liner and ended up in England indefinitely.
Bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks performed to screaming teenage fans on their quest for global stardom.
The Seekers were a far cry from rock and roll sweeping London. With a perky smile in her ankle-length evening dress, Ms. Durham belts a petite woman tapping her toes, supported by her three slim male bandmates in suits. I tightened it.
“Pop charts were probably the furthest thing we had in our minds,” she said. 2001 TV interview“We just didn’t try to do it with a folk-based quartet. Everyone was more pop, with long hair and electric instruments.”
However, the group, inspired by Ms. Durham’s vocals, caught the eye of Tom Springfield (Dusty Springfield’s lyricist brother) and offered them one of his songs. “I will never find another you” record.
“Georgie Girl” The title track from the hit 1966 feature film, starring Lynn Redgrave, was an even bigger hit. It reached #2 on the board singles chart.
However, Ms. Durham felt the pressure of fame and became increasingly insecure about her weight, so she tried to disguise her weight by making her own dresses.
“This was not feeling good enough “To be given the wonderful opportunities that have been given to us,” she said in a 2018 Australian television interview. It was great, so I was like, ‘They don’t really need me.'”
Fans were disappointed when she left the group in 1968. Especially in Australia, she recorded her solo albums, appeared in TV specials and performed with pianist Ron Her Edgeworth, whom she married in 1969.
The survivor has a sister named Beverly Sheehan, a singer.
Durham reunited with the Seekers multiple times in the ’90s and in 2013 to mark the group’s 50th anniversary. That tour was interrupted when Mr. Durham was injured. cerebral hemorrhage.
To mark her 75th birthday in 2018, Ms Durham released her first album in six years. This is a compilation of unreleased songs called “So Much More”.
and 2016 interview On Australian television, she admitted that when she was younger, fame started to seem like a burden.
“At some stage, I really thought that maybe I wasn’t going to keep singing,” she said. It made me feel less burdened and made me consider it an honor and a privilege that people had me in their lives. “