Frank Ifield OAM
Background information
Born	Francis Edward Ifield (1937-11-30)30 November 1937 Coundon,Coventry, England
Died	18 May 2024(2024-05-18) (aged 86) Sydney, Australia
Genres	Country easy listening
Occupation	Musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1953–1986
Labels	Regal Zonophone Records/EMI Columbia/EMI Vee-Jay
Website	frankifield.com

Francis Edward IfieldOAM (30 November 1937 – 18 May 2024) was an Australiancountry music singer and guitarist who often incorporatedyodelling into his music.

Born in the United Kingdom, Ifield grew up in rural Australia where he started performinghillbilly music in his teens. He released singles which were successful in Australia and New Zealand. He returned to the UK in 1959 where he had four number-one hits on theUK Singles Chart in the early 1960s with his cover versions of "I Remember You", "Lovesick Blues", "The Wayward Wind" and "Confessin' That I Love You".

In 1986, he contractedpneumonia, which resulted in removal of part of a lung and damage to his vocal cords. He relocated to Sydney in 1988 and was unable to sing or yodel for years as he recovered.

In 2003, Ifield was inducted into theAustralian Roll of Renown. Ifield was inducted into theARIA Hall of Fame at theARIA Music Awards of 2007. In June 2009, he was presented with theMedal of the Order of Australia for "service to the arts as an entertainer".

Frank Ifield was born on 30 November 1937 inCoundon,Coventry to Australian parents Richard Joseph Ifield (1909–1982) and Hannah Muriel (née Livesey) (c. 1916–2012), as one of seven sons.^[1] His parents had travelled to England in 1936,^[2] where his father was an inventor and engineer who created the Ifield fuel pump, used in jet aircraft, forLucas Industries.^[1][3][4]

The Ifield family returned to Australia in January 1948 aboard the linerRMSOrion.^[2] They lived nearDural, 50 km (31 mi) north-west of Sydney.^[1][5] It was a rural district and he listened to hillbilly music (later called country music) while milking the family's cow.^[1] He was given a guitar in 1949 by his grandmother and was self-taught;^[5] he also taught himself toyodel, by imitating country stars, includingHank Snow.^[1]

The family moved toBeecroft, a Sydney suburb.^[5] At the age of 13, he performed his version of Bill Showmet's "Did You See My Daddy Over There?" and appeared on local radio station2GB's talent quest,Amateur Hour.^[5] This track was issued as his first single, in 1953, byRegal Zonophone Records.^[6] By November of that year, he appeared regularly onBrisbane radio station4BK'sYouth Parade, playing guitar and singing, where, "All the artists in this programme are under 21 years of age."^[7]

His third single was a cover version of "Abdul Abulbul Amir" (September 1954), which was backed by his own composition, "A Mother's Faith".^[6][8][9] In 1956, he hostedCampfire Favourites on local TV stationTCN-9, which "was the first weekly 'Western' programme by a local artist on Australian television."^[10] From that year to late 1957, he recorded six singles with a backing group, Dick Carr Buckaroos.^[6]

In 1957, he recorded the track "Whiplash", which was used as the theme song for the British/Australian TV series of thesame title from September 1960 to mid-1961.^[11] He toured the North Island of New Zealand in early 1959 where his single, "Guardian Angel", reached No. 1 on local radio charts.^[10] Ifield had two top 30 hits in that year on theKent Music Report, with "True" (September, No. 26) and "Teenage Baby" (November, No. 23).^[12][13] He returned to the United Kingdom in November 1959.^[14]

Ifield's first UK single, "Lucky Devil" (January 1960), reached No. 22 on theUK Singles Chart.^[15] His next six singles had less commercial success, but he had his first UK number-one hit with a cover version of theVictor Schertzinger andJohnny Mercer 1941 composition "I Remember You" (May 1962),^[16] which topped the charts for seven weeks.^[15] Known for Ifield's falsetto and a slight yodel, it was the second highest-selling single of that year in the UK,^[17] and became the seventh million-selling single.^[18] It is Ifield's highest charting single on the United StatesBillboard Hot 100, reaching No. 5.^[19][20] It also reached No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report.^[12][13]

His next single was a doubleA-side, "Lovesick Blues" and "She Taught Me How to Yodel" (October 1962).^[6] "Lovesick Blues", originally sung byHank Williams, was treated in an upbeat "Let's Twist Again" style. The other track is a virtuoso piece of yodelling with the final verse – entirely yodelling – at double-speed. It also peaked at No. 1 in the UK,^[15] No. 2 in Australia,^[12][13] and reached No. 44 on the USBillboard Hot 100.^[20] He had been told by his management not to yodel because it would brand him.^[5] Nevertheless, he sang "She Taught Me to Yodel" as an encore for aRoyal Variety Performance (November 1962),^[21] at the specific request of the Queen Mother for a yodelling song.^[5] His next single, "Wayward Wind", made him the first UK-based artist to reach No. 1 three times in succession on the UK charts.^[15] The only previous artist to have done so wasElvis Presley.^[15] In Australia, it peaked at No. 16.^[12][13]

His UK charting singles from 1963 were "Nobody's Darlin' but Mine" (April 1963, No. 4), "Confessin' (That I Love You)" (June, No. 1), "Mule Train" (October, No. 22) and "Don't Blame Me" (December, No. 8).^[15] In 1963, he sang at theGrand Ole Opry, introduced by one of his heroes, Hank Snow. Many of his records were produced byNorrie Paramor. Ifield was also featured onJolly What!, a 1964 compilation comprising eight of his tracks and four bythe Beatles, which has been considered an attempt to cash in onBeatlemania.^[22][23] (Vee-Jay Records had acquired US distribution rights to the Beatles along with Ifield.) Despite changing trends, Ifield continued to have further top 40 hits in that decade including "Angry at the Big Oak Tree" (April 1964), "I Should Care" (July), "Paradise" (August 1965), "No One Will Ever Know" (June 1966), and "Call Her Your Sweetheart" (September).^[6][15]

In 1965, he starred in "Up Jumped a Swagman" a movie about an Australian moving to London. it features many songs by Ifield. The same year he started inBabes in the Wood, the London Palladiumpantomime, which every year headlined with artists who had achieved popular success in the year.^[24]

Ifield twice entered the UK heats for theEurovision Song Contest. He came in second in the1962 heat with "Alone Too Long" (losing toRonnie Carroll).^[25] In the1976 heat he tried with "Ain't Gonna Take No for an Answer", finishing last of 12.^[25]

In 1991, Ifield returned to the UK chart when a dance remix of "She Taught Me How to Yodel", renamed "The Yodeling Song" and billed as Frank Ifield featuring the Backroom Boys, reached No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart.^[15] In more than 30 years, it became his 16th appearance on the chart. The song was mentioned byVictor Meldrew in theOne Foot in the Grave episode, "Love and Death".^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Ifield was inducted into theAustralian Roll of Renown.^[26] Ifield was inducted into theARIA Hall of Fame at theARIA Music Awards of 2007. In June 2009, he was presented with theMedal of the Order of Australia for "service to the arts as an entertainer". He was first married to Gillian Bowden (1965–88) and the couple had two children. His second marriage was to Carole Wood (1992 to his death). In 2005, he co-wrote his autobiographyI Remember Me: the First 25 Years, with Pauline Halford.^[27]

Ifield married Gillian Bowden, a dancer at theLondon Palladium, on 6 July 1965 atMarylebone Register Office, London.^[28] Ifield starred as Dave Kelly, and Bowden appeared as a dancer in the comedy musical filmUp Jumped a Swagman (December 1965).^[29][30] The couple had two children.^[31]

In 1986, Ifield contractedpneumonia and required surgery to remove part of a lung. As a result, his vocal cords were damaged, which meant he could not sing or yodel for years until they recovered.^[1] He and Bowden divorced in 1988 and he returned to Sydney to live.^[32] In 1992, he married Carole Wood, an airline hostess.^[32]

Ifield died in Hornsby Hospital in Hornsby, New South Wales (NSW)^[33] of pneumonia on 18 May 2024, at the age of 86.^[34]

• Ifield, Frank (1963),Meet Frank Ifield,World Distributors, retrieved23 July 2018
• Ifield, Frank; Halford, Pauline (2005),I Remember Me: the First 25 Years, Kempton Marks,ISBN 978-0-7552-0501-1

In June 2009, he was presented with aMedal of the Order of Australia, with a citation for "service to the arts as an entertainer."^[40]

On 10 June 2012, Ifield joined Paul Hazell on hisWorld of Country show^[41] on the community radio stationUckfield FM. He discussed his life in music and forthcoming induction to the Coventry Music Wall of Fame.^[42]

TheAustralian Roll of Renown honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to country music. It was inaugurated in 1976 and the inductee is announced at theCountry Music Awards of Australia in Tamworth every January.^[43]

TheARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres ofAustralian music. It commenced in 1987. Ifield was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.^[44][45][46]

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as theMo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. It recognised achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Ifield won one award in that time.^[47]

• Frank Ifield's official website
• Frank Ifield with autograph seekers, 1962
• Frank Ifield^{[dead link]} discography at Music City
• Frank Ifield atIMDb
• Frank Ifield discography atDiscogs
• Frank Ifield atAllMusic

• 1937 births
• 2024 deaths
• ARIA Award winners
• ARIA Hall of Fame inductees
• Musicians from Coventry
• Australian yodelers
• Columbia Graphophone Company artists
• MAM Records artists
• Vee-Jay Records artists
• Australian country guitarists
• Australian male singers
• Australian country singers
• Acoustic guitarists
• Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
• Australian male guitarists
• EMI Records artists

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