Shirley Thoms | |
|---|---|
 A bronze statue bus tof Shirley Thoms in Bicennery Park, Tamworth, New South Wales | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Australia's Yodelling Sweetheart |
| Born | Shirley Joyce Thoms 12 January 1925 |
| Died | 1 July 1999 (aged 74) Summerland Point,Lake Macquarie, New South Wales |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Shirley Thoms-Bystrynski (12 January 1925 – 1 July 1999), was anAustralian country music singer and pioneer of Australia'scountry music industry. She was known asAustralia's Yodelling Sweetheart.
Thoms was born in January 1925, inToowoomba, Queensland and was raised in a family of seven children.[1]
She began her career singing and yodelling songs byTex Morton andHarry Torrani, and won a Bundaberg talent quest withTorrani'sMockingbird Yodel. In 1941, aged 16, with what is nowEMI Records she became the first female solo act to recordcountry music in Australia, as well as the firstQueenslander to be featured on disc.[2] This first batch of songs included ""Faithful Old Dog". She went on to tour Australia and New Zealand, entertaining the troops duringWorld War II and writing songs. Thoms became known by the title ofAustralia's Yodelling Sweetheart.[1] She later toured with Sole Bros Circus and met her first husband John Sole. The couple had a son, Peter and Thoms stepped away from show business, however John Sole died prematurely. In 1970, Thoms came out of retirement to appear on theCaptain Cook Bicentenary Show in theTamworth Town Hall and briefly revived her career with album releases in 1970 and 1972.[3]
Her most popular and best selling recordings were "The Faithful Old Dog", "Where The Golden Wattle Blooms" and "Yodelling in the Moonlight".[4]
After suffering fromParkinson's disease and a heart condition, she died in 1999, at Summerland Point,Lake Macquarie, NSW, aged 74.[3]
There is a collection of bronze busts in Bicentennial Park, Tamworth that includes Shirley Thoms,Stan Coster,Tex Morton,Gordon Parsons, Barry Thornton andBuddy Williams.[5]
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 in January.[6] Thoms was the fifth artist and first woman to receive this honour.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Shirley Thoms | Australian Roll of Renown | inductee |
