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| It would be hard to find a friendlier, more down-to-earth individual than the Great
Man of Country Music - Reg Lindsay, whose career has spanned fifty
years. His voice is his trademark: rich and mellow and, like fine wine, it just keeps
getting better with the passing of time. He's recorded a multitude of albums and
singles, won three Golden Guitars at the Australasian Country Music Awards, been
awarded the Order of Australia for his services to music, had his own top-rating,
nationally syndicated television and radio programs, written more that 500 songs
and toured every inch of this great continent.
In addition, Reg has tasted success in the United States, taking his own brand of country music back to the source. He has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry numerous times, represented South Australia at the Texas sesquicentenary celebrations, been made Honorary Citizen of both Tennessee and Texas, received an award for Excellence of Performance from the Texas Senate, and became the first Australian country artist to be officially recognised with a Plaque on Nashville's Walkway of Stars. Indeed, Reg has collected enough awards and decorations from Australian and overseas to fill a museum. Entertaining is his great love and the success that flows from it is purely incidental. Reg Lindsay is a man grateful to be doing the things he wants to do, the way he wants to do them. And he certainly has done them in a unique way. Making music, meeting people and travelling; the successful ingredients for a lifetime of achievement. Reg Lindsay began his musical career at the age of two when his father gave him a harmonica. Within a few years, he had demonstrated a remarkable proficiency with the instrument and later went onto master the mandolin, banjo, guitar and fiddle. But the youngster had his heart set on becoming a stockman and, without the intervention of fate, he might today be anonymously riding the dusty reaches of some outback station. By his teenage years he was already adept at shearing, fencing and general stockwork. He had been accepted for a job on Mutooroo Station outside Broken Hill but a rodeo injury occasioned a long period of recuperation. |
Reg became a "dial-
twister", scouring the radio frequencies for his favorite music - country music. It was
during this time he came across Tim McNamara's talent quest on Sydney station
2SM. Fired with enthusiasm, he rode an old ex-Army dispatch bike to Sydney to
compete, and eventually win the 2SM talent quest. The year was 1951 and his career
took on the high-charge tumescence of a rocketship, beginning with a top-rating
radio program, firstly with 2CH then with 2SM that showed no sign of slowing.
In 1959 he turned to touring full-time; his music was known around Australia. For the next three years, he pretty much blanketed the country with his music. He would return to Sydney in time for Christmas and record some new songs, then it was back to the dusty outback trails. In 1964 he made his move into television, The Reg Lindsay Country Hour, broadcast out of |
Adelaide, was followed by the Brisbane- based
Reg Lindsay Country Homestead. For more than twelve years, the shows
garnered incredible ratings. In 1968 he was accepted for a spot on the Friday
night Nashville Opry concert. He was the first Australian to ever do so, and
his acceptance paved the way for many other Australian artists. It
was the first of many Grand Ole Opry performances. While the Country Homestead
program was running in the 1970's, Reg divided his time between Australia and United
States. By the mid-1980s he was based almost entirely in America. Late in 1986, Reg
was offered his own Austin-based television show. His mind said yes, while his heart
was pulling him home. He returned to Australia for Christmas where homesickness
won out.
His recording career has straddled both countries and three of his top-selling singles won awards in Australia. "July You're A Woman" gave him his first Golden Guitar for Best Male Vocalist at the Australiasian Country Music Awards in Tamworth in 1974. He reached the winner's podium on two more occasions: in 1978 for "Silence On The Line" and in 1980 for "The Empty Arms Hotel". Other Tamworth honours included his induction into the Hands of Fame in 1977 and the Roll of Renown in 1984. His biggest Australian success, "Armstrong", inspired by astronaut Neil Armstrong's 1969 walk on the moon, was placed within the world's largest time capsule, buried at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. But association with the Australian rodeo will draw a special mention. Since the beginning of his career he has maintained a strong link with the sport and he proudly displays the gold and silver trophy buckle awarded the All Pro Rodeo Rider's Association. Inscribed "Australian Pro Rodeo' Favorite Entertainer", it marks another great achievement: Reg is the first and only entertainer to have been accorded such a high distinction. In 1989, Reg received the Order of Australia for his services to country music and the entertainment industry. It was a fitting tribute and after forty years of serving the industry, Reg is looking forward to the next forty years. Australia has many country music artists. But there is only one Reg Lindsay! |
| 1998 saw the passing of Bill Pittman of the "Homesteaders Country Band" Bill and the Homesteaders had been with Reg for a very long time. This photo [Right], taken at the Hobart Casino back in 1988 is of Bill along with other artists with "The Reg Lindsay Show", Bill will always be remembered. | 
From L to R: Glen & Bill Pittman (R.I.P), Reg & Ros Lindsay, Jess Zapia,
Donita Dey & Michael Rose |
| Roland Storm |