Product Code Database
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 professional career in 1951, as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, which spanned six decades. For many years he was the main Aboriginal star on the Australian music. His music was influenced by Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and American country music artist Jim Reeves. His gospel song "Royal Telephone" (1963) sold over 75,000 copies, and his most popular album, Messenger, peaked at No. 26 in 1999 on the ARIA Charts.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999, Little was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and won an ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. On Australia Day (26 January) 2004, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia with the citation, "For service to the entertainment industry as a singer, recording artist and songwriter and to the community through reconciliation and as an ambassador for Indigenous culture".
As an actor, he appeared in the films Shadow of the Boomerang (1960) and Until the End of the World (1991), in the theatre production Black Cockatoos and in the opera Black River. As a teacher, from 1985, he worked at the Eora Centre in Redfern and from 2000 was a guest lecturer at the University of Sydney's Koori Centre.
Little was a diabetic with a heart condition and, in 2004, had a kidney transplant. After his transplant he established the Jimmy Little Foundation to promote indigenous health and diet. On 2 April 2012, Little died at his home in Dubbo, aged 75 years.
Little grew up, the eldest of seven children, on the Cummeragunja Aboriginal Reserve on the Murray River in New South Wales, about from Echuca in Victoria. Little later recalled his upbringing, "my taught me well about the value of life, freedom, love, respect, all those basic things that we need. As Vaudevillians, I loved them. It was part of my dream to follow in the footsteps of Mum and Dad. And I'm so proud that I was able to do that". He became a devout non-denominational Christian. He is an uncle of writer, soprano, and composer Deborah Cheetham and older brother of the late Aboriginal author and singer-songwriter Betty Little. In February 1939, about 200 to 300 members of the mission participated in the Cummeragunja walk-off – in protest at the low standard of living conditions. The Little family moved to his father's tribal land (near Wallaga Lake) and lived for some years on the New South Wales south coast at Nowra and Moruya.
Not long after moving, Frances died from a tetanus infection after cutting her finger on an oyster shell. At the age of 13, Little was given a guitar and within a year he was playing at local concerts. When 16 years old he travelled to Sydney to perform on a radio programme, Australia's Amateur Hour. In 1955 Little left home to live in Sydney and pursue a career in country music, his mellow style earned him the nicknames of "the Balladeer", "Gentleman Jim" and "the Honey Voice". (1999). 9781865080727, Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781865080727
In February 1960, his next single was "El Paso", which reached No. 12 in Sydney. Little made his acting debut in the Billy Graham evangelical feature film Shadow of the Boomerang the same year.Ross, Dick (1980). "Shadow of the Boomerang", in Pike, Andrew and Cooper, Ross. Oxford Australian Film 1900–1977. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Little had the role of Johnny, a devout stockman on a cattle station where his American employer's son Bob refers to him as "that nigger". After Johnny dies, while saving Bob's life, from being gored by a wild boar, Bob has a religious conversion to Graham's cause. Little issued the title song as a single backed by "Little by Little". In September 1961, he appeared on the radio program, Col Joye, with fellow Bandstand regulars, Trisha Noble and Judy Stone. By 1962, Little joined a touring stage production, All Coloured Show produced by Ted Quigg, and gained wider public exposure. In July 1963, he toured north west New South Wales with Robie Porter, Noleen Batley and Lonnie Lee and was personally booked out till November.
In October 1963, after 17 singles, Little issued his biggest hit with the gospel song, "Royal Telephone", based upon the Burl Ives' version. In November it peaked at No. 1 in Sydney and No. 3 in Melbourne. The following month Australian Women's Weeklys music writer, Bob Rogers described it as "a sincere ballad with a religious feeling" and that "in only three weeks the record was rising to the top all over Australia, one of the fastest-selling records of the year". It was awarded 3× Gold certification by Festival Records and "Best Male Vocal Disk" (1963) in "The Tunetable Awards", Australia's first disk awards from a major radio source for home-produced disks. In March 1964 the Barry Gibb-penned "One Road" reached No. 19 in Sydney and No. 30 in Melbourne. Gibb was 17 years old when he wrote "One Road" and Little became one of the first artists to record a Gibb song. The magazine Everybody's named him Australian Pop Star of the Year. Little was backed by the Jimmy Little Trio which had an all-indigenous line-up of Cyril Green,mistake is alleged to have been made in the Jimmy Little book where it stated the name of Cyril Peters. Further reference coming. Conversations with family and common knowledge in Armidale recognise Cyril Green as the band member. Doug Peters and Neville Thorn.
Little's final hit of the era came in September 1974 with "Baby Blue" which peaked at No. 8 in Melbourne and No. 37 in Sydney. Further non-charting singles were released until 1978's "Beautiful Woman". From the end of the 1970s, Little turned from his musical career to focus on his family and becoming qualified as a teacher.
In 1992, Little performed at the Tamworth on Parade and Kings of Country roadshows before releasing his 14th album, Yorta Yorta Man, in 1994. The same year, he was inducted into Australian Roll of Renown, the highest honour an Australian country music artist can achieve.
Messenger, a collection of contemporary songs reinterpreted through Little's smooth vocals, was released in June 1999 and peaked at No. 26 nationally, selling over 20,000 copies. It had been organised by Brendan Gallagher (from Karma County) and featured covers of well-known songs by Australian artists: "(Are You) The One I've Been Waiting For?" by Nick Cave, "The Way I Made You Feel" by Ed Kuepper and "Randwick Bells" by Paul Kelly.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999 Messenger won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album and Little was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. At The Deadly Awards of 1999 – the annual Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Awards – he won Best Male Artist of the Year and Best Single Release of the Year. By 2001 Messenger was certified by ARIA with a gold record for shipments of 35,000 units.
Little released the album Down the Road for ABC Country in 2003. In 2004 he released his 34th album, Life's What You Make It, a collection of distinctive and poignant versions of songs by contemporary artists as diverse as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, PJ Harvey, Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen.
In 2010 Little retired from performing. On 2 April 2012 Little died of natural causes in Dubbo, aged 75 years. He is buried in Walgett, NSW. The town has a tall water tank with a picture of him painted on it.
Actor and musician Michael Tuahine proposed a play based on the life of Jimmy Little. The play was written by Reg Cribb and called Country Song; it won the 2013 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award for New Work. It was performed by the Queensland Theatre Company in the Cremorne Theatre at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in August 2015.
On 27 May 2022, he was honoured with a Google Doodle.
A biography, Jimmy Little: A Yorta Yorta Man, written by his daughter Frances Peters-Little, was published in March 2023 by Hardie Grant.
From 1985, Little taught and mentored indigenous music students at the Eora Centre in Redfern, and from 2002 he was an ambassador for literacy and numeracy for the Department of Education. Since 2000, Little was a guest lecturer at the University of Sydney's Koori Centre.
In 2002, he was diagnosed with kidney failure and was placed on dialysis and, in 2004, had a kidney transplant. As a result of immunosuppressants Little developed type 2 diabetes. He also developed a heart condition. In 2006, Little launched the Jimmy Little Foundation to help the many other indigenous Australians who are succumbing to kidney disease. The foundation works with patients in regional and remote Australia and partnered with The Fred Hollows Foundation in 2009 to develop a nutrition and education program for indigenous children to reduce the cycle of bad nutrition leading to diabetes which can lead to kidney failure and diabetic retinopathy.
His wife Marjorie Rose Little died on 25 July 2011, aged 74, in Dubbo – she had been under medical care since early that year for an unspecified illness.
On 2 April 2012, Little died at his home in Dubbo, aged 75. He is survived by his daughter, Frances, and his grandson, James Henry Little. In 2005, Little told Peter Thompson, on the ABC TV program Talking Heads, how he would like to be remembered, "I just want people to remember me as a nice person who was fair-minded and had a bit of talent that put it to good use."
In June 2005, on the last day of National Reconciliation Week, Little and composer Peter Sculthorpe were awarded honorary doctorates in music by the University of Sydney in recognition of "their joint contribution to reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians". Other honorary doctorates have been awarded to Little by Queensland University of Technology and Australian Catholic University.
|- | 2010 | Jimmy Little | Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music | |-
|- | 2003 | himself | Red Ochre Award | |-
|- | 1994 | Jimmy Little | Australian Roll of Renown |
|- | rowspan="2"| 1999 | Jimmy Little | ARIA Hall of Fame | |- | Messenger | Best Adult Contemporary Album | |- | 2002 | Resonate | Best Adult Contemporary Album | |- | 2004 | Life's What You Make It | Best Adult Contemporary Album |
(wins only)
|-
| 1994
| Jimmy Little
| Australian Roll of Renown
|
|-
(wins only)
|-
| 1997
| "himself"
| Outstanding Contribution to Aboriginal Music
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1999
| "himself"
| Male Artist of the Year
|
|-
| "The Way You Make Me Feel"
| Single Release of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "himself"
| Country Artist of the Year
|
|-
| 2007
| "himself"
| Jimmy Little Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music
|
|-
|- | 2012 | Himself | JC Williamson Award | |-
(wins only)
|-
| 1996
| Jimmy Little
| John Campbell Fellowship Award
|
|-
| 2003
| Jimmy Little
| Classic Rock Performer of the Year
|
|-
| 1956 | "Mysteries of Life" | |
| "It's Time To Pay" | ||
| "Someday You're Gonna Call My Name" | ||
| "Sweet Mama" | ||
| 1957 | "Silver City Comet" | |
| 1959 | "Frances Claire" | |
| "Give The Coloured Boy a Chance" | ||
| "Danny Boy" | 18 | |
| 1960 | "El Paso" | 21 |
| "The Shadow of the Boomerang" | ||
| "Bells of St. Marys" | ||
| "Somebody's Pushing Me" | 97 | |
| 1961 | "Kissing Someone Else" | |
| "Silent Night" | ||
| 1962 | "Little Green Valley" | |
| 1963 | "Pledge of Love" | |
| "Royal Telephone" | 10 | |
| 1964 | "Eternally" | 99 |
| "Lifeline" | ||
| "One Road" | 31 | |
| 1965 | "His Faith in Me" | |
| "Bimbombey" | ||
| "Ring, Bells Ring" | ||
| 1966 | "I Want To Be Free" | |
| "Too Many Times" | ||
| 1968 | "Molly" | |
| 1969 | "I Can't Stop Loving You" | |
| 1970 | "Goodbye Old Rolf" | |
| 1973 | "There's a Heartache Following Me" | |
| 1974 | "Baby Blue" | 24 |
| 1975 | "Ain't It Good (To Feel This Way)" | |
| "Goodbye Is Really Good at All" | ||
| 1976 | "Where The Blues of The Night Meets The Gold of The Day" | |
| 1978 | "Beautiful Woman" | |
| 1999 | "Randwick Bells" | |
| "The Way I Made You Feel" | ||
| 2001 | "Bury Me Deep in Love"(with Kylie Minogue) | |
| 2002 | "In a Field in France" | |
| 2009 | "Royal Telephone" (Re-Recording) | |
|
|
