Jimmy Little



Angelic help for the Jimmy Little Foundation
While most Australians are living longer than ever before, one in every three indigenous Australian males can expect to die before they reach the age of 55. (Oxfam Australia) With Jimmy Little AO at the helm, The Jimmy Little Foundation is fundraising to continue and expand the "Return to Country" project that assists indigenous Territorians with kidney disease, return to their families and communities whilst undergoing dialysis treatment. Oz rock veterans The Angels, have put up their hands to help the legendary entertainer and "Return to Country" by performing at a number of benefits including one in Alice Springs this August. From 5pm on Sunday 26th August, The Angels will perform on the lawns at The Federal Sports Club during the Todd River Regatta weekend and $5 from ticket sales will support the RTC project. On Monday 27th August, Jimmy Little & The Angels travel to Kintore for an exclusive concert at the kidney health day. Co-director of JLF, Jimmy's manager and The Angels drummer Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup said: "The Jimmy Little Foundation was established to help improve kidney health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across regional and remote Australia. For some time, Jimmy and The Foundation have had an association with Kintore and the Western Desert Mob and The Angels are thrilled to be honouring an invitation from health workers and the community to bring the music and the message to them. "No Secrets" about it!" The Australian Kidney Foundation has stated in the past that kidney disease is three times greater in the Territory than the Australian average and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are five times more at risk of contracting kidney disease than non-indigenous people. By raising funds through music, the "Return To Country" program assists indigenous dialysis patients to return to their country and family for a few days every couple of months. With no dialysis facilities in most remote indigenous communities and with vast distances to travel for treatment, many patients are forced to relocate to Alice Springs to access life saving health care. This has caused distress to the patients and those left behind in the community, without a parent or family member. More than one hundred indigenous Australians have been relocated for treatment, often from their remote communities. Dr James O Little AO, a legend of the Australian music scene has been performing for over fifty years and knows first hand the problems of coping with kidney failure. He says: "It is just not financially possible for people to get back home and some patients have not returned to their country for many years. Their dislocation breaks their hearts, makes family life very difficult and leads to problems with their health treatment". As part of The Jimmy Little Foundation's ongoing work in Central Australia, Jimmy, Buzz and Co-director Don Palmer will also visit Uluru's Mutitjulu community on the 20th August to present a music/DJ workshop and further discuss plans for a dialysis facility there. For media enquiries, images and interviews contact: Buzz Bidstrup Mobile: 0419 226 434 434 Email: buzz@jlf.org.au>buzz@jlf.org.au Web: www.jlf.org.au
DATES: Wednesday 20th August: Music & DJ workshop, Mutitjulu community school. Sunday 26th August: The Angels concert, Federal Sports Club Alice Springs ($5 per ticket to the Foundation) Monday 27th August: Jimmy Little and The Angels in concert at the Kintore kidney health day
ROCK THE FOUNDATION (Fundraiser for indigenous Territorians with kidney disease) George Brown Botanic Gardens Amphitheatre Sunday 16th September 5pm-11pm Let there be CLASSIC ROCK at the Jimmy Little Foundation concert Rock The Foundation on Sunday 16th September, George Brown Botanic Gardens Amphitheatre, in association with The Fred Hollows Foundation. Raising funds for indigenous Territorians with kidney disease are local songbird Shellie Morris, National Living Treasure Jimmy Little AO and other Aussie legends The Angels, Party Boys Screaming Jets and GANGgajang, shaking the Amphitheatre to its core. High-octane hits over 6 hours include a hard rocking Bon Scott tribute from the Party Boys, The Angels – Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, Take A Long Line & No Secrets, Screaming Jets – Helping Hand, Better & Shivers, GANGgajang - Sounds of Then (This is Australia), Hundreds of Languages, American Money & Initiation. From Very Special Guest Jimmy Little - Under The Milky Way, The Reason For It All, The Way I Made You Feel, Royal Telephone and more. Performance times: 5pm Gates open 5.30pm Shellie Morris 6pm Jimmy Little 6.30pm GANGgajang 7.30pm Screaming Jets 8.40pm The Party Boys 9.50pm The Angels 11pm Gates close Please bring chairs, rugs, cameras & bottled water. Beach umbrellas, pets, glass, alcohol & hot food will NOT be permitted entry. Plenty of food stalls with hot/cold drinks and bar services inside the venue. Under 18’s must be accompanied by a responsible adult and at no times may they enter the bar service areas. Car parking is located nearby at the Mindil Beach area adjacent to the George Brown Botanic Gardens. Presale Tickets: Adult $50/12-18 years $30 inc BF & GST. Under 12 free with parent. Bookings: Darwin Entertainment Centre www.darwinentertainment.com.au Tel: 89 803 333, Tourism Top End The Mall Info Booth, Customer Service Desk Casuarina Square, Oasis News & Lotto Palmerston. Tickets at the Gate: Adult $60/12-18 years $35. Under 12 free with parent. Jimmy Little is proof that you can be productive when living with renal failure. He self-administered dialysis 4 times a day for 2 years before undergoing a kidney transplant and established The Jimmy Little Foundation, a not for profit charitable institution, to improve health care for kidney patients from regional and remote communities. Rock The Foundation acknowledges the support of Baxter, Channel 9, NT News, Darwin Airport Resort, The Fred Hollows Foundation & 105.7 ABC Darwin. For more information, images and interviews, please contact publicist: Em: soozcam@bigpond.net.au Jimmy Little Foundation: www.jlf.org.au The Fred Hollows Foundation: www.hollows.org.au
NOW IT'S... DR JIMMY!
JIMMY LITTLE was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) last week. The doctorate makes him Dr Jimmy O'Little OA (the OA standing for either Order of Australia, which he was awarded in 1989. He got the honour for being "an inspiration for other indigenous entertainers and for indigenous youth in general," said QUT Vice Chancellor Peter Coaldrake. Little, in complete robes and hat, told the 1,500 strong audience (which included his wife Marge) that "I believe I'll be teaching until the day I die" and observed he didn't think he belonged to "such distinguished academic circles" given that he left school at 15. The ceremony was 12 months late. It was meant to take place last September but was delayed by Jimmy's kidney transplant. Christie Eliezer, TheMusic.com.au

JIMMY NOMIMATED FOR
MO AWARDS
Jimmy Little has been nominated for Classic Rock Performer of the Year with Birtles/Goble/Shorrock, Russell Morris, Shannon Noll and Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs. Click here for all country Mo Award info

JIMMY'S GENTLE JOURNEY from CMAA A NEW television program on Jimmy Little titled "Jimmy Little's Gentle Journey"will air on ABC Television 9.30pm Wednesday, May 12. With a remarkable talent and conviction, Jimmy rose from poverty and personal tragedy to become Australia's first Aboriginal popstar. "Our program is an intimate exploration of the life of a formidable pioneering artist and survivor, said a spokesman for the program producers. "In this, the 50th year of his career, Jimmy has been recently awarded an Order of Australia Medal and named a Living National Treasure. He has also just received an urgently required kidney transplant.
"Jimmy's extraordinary journey has brought many trials and triumphs. The television documentary finally gets his very significant story in its full perspective," the spokesman said. "In the '50s and '60s Jimmy was a trail-blazing pioneer who gently opened doors and minds. At a time when Aboriginals were not even recognised as Australian citizens, his ground-breaking achievements in a white-dominated society broke down cultural barriers and redefined the perceived stature and potential of Indigenous Australians. "As the first Aboriginal musical artist to be regularly featured in the public eye at large, Jimmy's talent and success subtly swept aside ignorance and negative stereotypes. His was a new, beautiful voice softly announcing that anything was possible." Jimmy was born in 1937 on Cummeragunja Mission. Intoxicated by the musical talents of his parents, he began dreaming of being a performer from a young age. His world was suddenly thrown into turmoil at the age of 13 with the untimely death of his mother. Although the loss brought great sorrow, it also strengthened his resolve to be an entertainer - music became his medicine. Jimmy moved to Sydney to launch his career and quickly gained a reputation as a gifted singer with a compelling charisma. He expanded his repertoire from country to pop classics and ballads and took the new medium of television in his stride, performing regularly on programs such as Bandstand and The Johnny O'Keefe Show. He even starred in a Hollywood movie. Jimmy's most successful era came with the release of his chart-topping hit "Royal Telephone" in 1963, earning him three gold records and nation-wide acclaim. The '60s also saw him emerge as an Aboriginal role-model and spokesperson. He established Australia's first modern all-Aboriginal band, became the leader of an unprecedented Indigenous show business fraternity and quietly defied racist 'black-bans' in clubs and pubs. The emergence of the Indigenous political consciousness of the '70s, however, instigated a critical perception of Jimmy. It was claimed by some that he was a self-centred sell-out who was not political or 'Aboriginal' enough. Reluctant to side with agitating political factions, he chose to stay independently committed to his own conciliatory 'softly-softly' approach. Jimmy moved away from gospel and evergreen ballads in the '70s to focus on country material, consolidating his reputation as an Australian country music icon. By the end of the decade, however, his career was losing momentum. The '80s brought some hard times for Jimmy. Raising his grandson James and caring for his seriously ill wife Marj, he struggled to find work. Financially and emotionally stretched, he began mentoring young Aboriginal performing artists which led to a successful and rejuvenating period as an educator. The '90s saw Jimmy's career gradually regain momentum. He was awarded Australian country music's highest honour, elevation to the Roll of Renown, before pursuing an unlikely new musical frontier with his Messenger album which was a huge success triggering a comprehensive career resurgence and finally bringing Jimmy some very overdue recognition (including induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame, the Australian music industry's highest honour). Jimmy has proven himself to be a survivor whose talent and determination remain solid at the age of 67. "Jimmy Little's Gentle Journey" provides an intimate and comprehensive biographical portrait of the life and times of a man driven by a gentle, but very powerful, spirit. Tamworth Country Music Festival 2004
Blazes West League Club

Jimmy Little




: Inspirational leader: Jimmy Little has been named Senior Australian of the Year - NSW - and is also in line for the national Senior Australian of the year award, to be announced in January.

The recent release of his new album Passage, Jimmy Little has been named 2003 Senior Australian of the Year - NSW, at a ceremony at Government House, in Sydney.
The Australian of the Year Awards gives recognition each year to outstanding Australians who have inspired national pride and have worked tirelessly for their community and the nation.
Jimmy is also up for nomination for the national 2003 Senior Australian of the Year award, the winner of which will be announced in January 2003.
The Senior Australian of the Year is Jimmy's third award this year, following on from his recent naming as Best Country Artist at the 2002 Deadlys (indigenous version of ARIAs) and the recipient of the Inaugural Golden Gospel Award, which was presented to him recently in Canberra by the Governor-General.
An Australian music milestone, Jimmy Little's Passage: 1959-2001 is a comprehensive double CD anthology, featuring music spanning the entire 46-year recording career of Festival Records' longest-serving artist and the man who is widely regarded as Australia's first black pop star.

Inspirational leader: Jimmy Little has been named Senior Australian of the Year - NSW - and is also in line for the national Senior Australian of the year award, to be announced in January.