Smoky Dawson AM MBE was an Australian country music performer, radio star, entertainer, and icon, who enjoyed an extraordinarily long and prolific career spanning the years 1941 to 2005; making him, at the time, the world's oldest recording artist.
Herbert Henry Brown was born on 19th March 1913 in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. He was the third son of Parker Brown, a labourer of Irish descent, Olive 'Amy' Muir, of Scottish descent. [1] His mother died when Herb was just six years of age and his father married again the following year. Herb ran away from home at nine, to his mother's family, but was placed in an orphanage. It was in the orphanage that he learned to sing, and to play the harmonica and piano accordion. At the age of thirteen, he left the orphanage and joined his older brother, Peter, working on a farm at Stewarton, Victoria. Each Saturday night he would sing at the local town hall.
In 1932, Herb worked at a tannery and on weekends played a lap steel guitar in a duo, with his younger brother, Ted (known as Ted Dawson), on Spanish guitar. As Smoky Dawson he started a band and, in 1935, they were the first country and western group to be broadcast live on an Australian radio station, 3KZ. By 1937, Smoky had his own radio show. Soon afterward, he signed with Columbia Records and began touring Australia.
On 23rd June 1943 he enlisted in the Australian Army (he had earlier attempted to do so in 1939 upon the outbreak of war, but was rejected on medical grounds) as an entertainer in the Australian Army Amenities Unit. In this role Smoky was able to boost the morale and comfort of soldiers and returned servicemen through concerts. He was discharged on 28th February 1946, following the war. [2]
On 13th March 1944 in Victoria, whilst in the army, he married Florence 'Dot' Cheers, an elocution teacher six-and-a-half years his senior who he had met nine years earlier when both worked in radio. [3]
Echoing US singing cowboy, Roy Rogers, in 1952 Smoky starred in his own radio show, The Adventures of Smoky Dawson, which remained on the air for ten years. A related comic book of the same name was published from 1953 to 1962.
Although Smoky and Dot did not have children of their own, in 1957 they founded the Smoky Dawson Ranch on 26 acres (11 hectares) at Ingleside, New South Wales as a horse riding school, a holiday camp for children and a venue to host country music concerts.
He was honoured on 19th February 1976 with an episode of This Is Your Life on ATN-7 with Mike Willesee as compere. In 1988-89 Smoky appeared in three episodes of one of Australia's best-known television soap-operas, A Country Practice. [4]
Smoky Dawson was inducted into the Australian Country Music's Roll of Renown in 1978. [5] He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year's Honours 1983 for 'service to country music' [6] and Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on Australia Day (26th January) 1999 in 'recognition of service to country music'. [7] In 2005 he was inducted into the Australian Record Industry Association Hall of Fame [8] and has also been recognised in the US, receiving the Honor Award of the Grand Ole Opry.
Smoky passed away, aged a month short of 95 years, on 13th February 2008 at Hornsby, New South Wales. Not bad for someone diagnosed in 1932 as having a weak heart! He was survived by Dot, already a centenarian, who later died at 104 years of age. His ashes, combined with those of Dot's, were scattered at the Mount Oxley Lookout, overlooking Australia's 'Country Music Capital', Tamworth, New South Wales.
Featured German connections: Herb is 28 degrees from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 31 degrees from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 33 degrees from Lucas Cranach, 29 degrees from Stefanie Graf, 27 degrees from Wilhelm Grimm, 27 degrees from Fanny Hensel, 35 degrees from Theodor Heuss, 25 degrees from Alexander Mack, 43 degrees from Carl Miele, 23 degrees from Nathan Rothschild, 26 degrees from Hermann Friedrich Albert von Ihering and 26 degrees from Ferdinand von Zeppelin on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
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Categories: Radio Pioneers | Australia, Singers | Hornsby, New South Wales | Collingwood, Victoria | Grand Ole Opry | Country Music Awards of Australia | Australian Roll of Renown | Members of the Order of Australia | Members of the Order of the British Empire | Australia, Notables in the Music Industries | Notables