Aussie country music legend Chad Morgan has died aged 91 after a career of more than seven decades.
The news of his death was confirmed to the ABC by his son, Chad Junior, who shared that his father died in hospital at Gin Gin near Bundaberg in Queensland yesterday evening.
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The singer, who nicknamed himself the “Sheik of Scrubby Creek” – also the name of his 1952 debut album – was described by fellow country singer and friend Evelyn Bury as a “beautiful larrikin”.
The Queensland singer was born in a small town called Wondai in 1933 and worked cutting timber and sugar before eventually joining the air force.
It was from there that his turn into music came by chance.
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“I went into the air force in ’52 and mates heard me singing and they dared me to go on Amateur Hour and it snowballed from there,” he told the ABC in a 2016 interview.
After he released his debut album in 1952, he became the pioneer of the country-comedy genre with his hits I’m My Own Grandpa, The Shotgun Wedding, Double Decker Blowflies, There’s Life In The Old Dog Yet, and more.
He was known for his upturned hat, fastened with a safety pin, and his signature toothy grin.
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The singer was inducted into the Tamworth Hands of Fame in 1979, the Roll of Renown in 1987, received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2004, and was given the lifetime achievement award at the Country Music Association of Australia Awards in 2010.
Morgan was previously wed to fellow singer Pam Mitchell, with whom he welcomed three children – Allan, Chad Jr and Janelle.
After the couple split when Morgan was in his 50s, he remarried Joan Morgan, who he was with for over 30 years until her death in 2017.
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Many remembered the icon, including photographer John Elliot, who went way back with the singer.
The photographer grew up in Blackall, outback Queensland, and can still recall his first Chad Morgan gig.
“He was larger than life – terrified the hell out of me when I was four or five,” Elliot told the ABC.
“He just didn’t seem real, he was so different from all the other performers.”
Elliot ended up photographing and touring with Morgan extensively throughout his career.
Reflecting on his legacy, Elliot said, “Chad Morgan may be good, but I don’t think they’ll be making another one.”
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