| Smoky Dawson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Herbert Henry Dawson |
| Born | 19 March 1913 Collingwood, Victoria, Australia |
| Origin | Australia |
| Died | 13 February 2008 (aged 94) |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter, guitarist, singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1934–2005 |
| Notable instruments | |
| Acoustic Steel Guitar | |
Smoky Dawson, MBE (19 March 1913 – 13 February 2008), born Herbert Henry Dawson, was an Australian country music performer. He was widely touted as Australia's first singing cowboy.
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Born in Collingwood, Victoria and raised in the rural area of Warrnambool, his mother died at an early age and his father was prone to violence, resulting in him living for several years in an orphanage.
In 1934 he formed a Western group and appeared on radio 3UZ. In 1941 he signed with Columbia Records and toured around Australia.[1]
Music was always his way of comforting himself, and during World War II he took his talent to comfort others, serving with the Australian Entertainment Unit. When he returned from the war he married Florence "Dot" Cheers (in 1944), and they travelled to the United States to record and play at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
When he returned to Australia in 1952 he starred in his own radio show, echoeing that of Roy Rogers in the United States.—The Adventures of Smoky Dawson—which stayed on the air for ten years. At its peak, the show was broadcast on 69 stations across the country. Dot also had her own radio shows for children.
A long career of recording and performing followed his radio show, and he still enjoyed performing until he died. He has frequently been recognized for his contributions to music and entertainment. In 1978 he was awarded an MBE for his services to country music. In 1983 he was named on the Australian Country Music Roll of Renown.
In 1988 he appeared in two episodes of A Country Practice as a drifter who passes through Wandin Valley and proposes to town gossip, Esme Watson. His performance was so popular with viewers that he made another appearance in 1989.
His Famous Palomino TV horse, "Flash", bedecked in more American-style tack than Australian, lived to be 42 years old, and Smokey fed him porridge with a spoon.
In 1988 Smoky and Trevor Knight won The Heritage Golden Guitar with their recording of "The Days of Old Khancoban" (written by Smokey about the droving days of his youth in the Snowy Mountains). Tony Taunton (Vocals & guitar -Nowra) & Debbie Bowen(-Saunders) (Vocals & guitar-Brisbane), ( both formally with Trevor Knight in "the Newport Trio"), were on the same recording, but neither were credited. Tony Taunton, from Nowra, NSW, also recorded & dedicated a song to Smoky, "When Smoky Sings" that same year, recalling his own childhood growing up with Smoky as his radio hero, and then the pride in playing with him. Debbie & Tony & Trevor were also on another recording of one of Smokys compositions: "The Last of the Wild-West Shows", mourning the loss of the Wild-West tent shows that Smoky ran for around 10 yrs (?) both in Australia & America following the agricultural exhibition/show circuit with Dot, where he was a sharp-shooter, guitar/singer, Lasso, trick rider & had trick horses, including "Boxer", a big heavy half-draught who would 'fall down dead' when trick-shot. The following year Trevor and Smoky followed up that success with a 2nd Golden Guitar for their song "High Country" (best vocal duo or group)
In 2005 he was inducted into the Australian Record Industry Association Hall of Fame. He has also been recognized in the United States, and received the Honor Award of the Grand Ole Opry. In April 2007 he donated his first electric guitar to the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame[2] Dawson was a Freemason.[3]
His recording career spanned more than six decades. His last album,[4] was released in 2005, at which point he became the oldest recording artist in the world.[5]
Smoky's Bar and Grill was opened in his name in 2005 at the West Diggers Club in Tamworth.
He died on 13 February 2008 after a short illness, a month short of his 95th birthday. He was survived by his wife, Dot Cheers, who died herself on 27 October 2010 at 104 years of age.[6]