Lily was born in Cessnock in 1931. At Age 11, she discovered she could yodel and won a heat of Australia’s Amateur Hour. In 1946, she went on to sing in the Radio 2KY competition which led her to perform in many variety shows touring the country. In 1948, Lily, her mother and sister Bonnie, travelled to America to visit her mother’s family. While there, Lily had her own half hour show on KFI Television in Los Angeles billed as ''The Girl From Australia''.
She then joined a government sponsored touring show called "Nations in Review" representing Australia. She was offered a five year "starlet contract" in Hollywood but turned it down because she felt she would be controlled too much by the studio. In 1950, Lily returned to Australia and was soon a regular on shows organised by Ted Quigg and Tim McNamara. Lily began recording on the Regal Zonophone label. It was her version of ''Chime Bells'' that became her signature song.Lily was a regular on the 2GB radion program Bonnington’s Bunkhouse for five years and she was a frequent guest on Bandstand and Reg Lindsay’s Country And Western Hour music television program. In 1962, she gave birth to her son Alan and it was here that she slowly cut back on her performing career. In 1972, Lily embarked on a short tour with Slim Dusty and it was to be her last major performance. In 1978, she was inducted into the Hands of Fame in Tamworth. She died in 2018 aged 87.
Lily was also honoured as a pioneer in Australian Country Music in Tamworth in 2010. Thank you for sharing a little part of her story
ReplyDeleteThanks
Delete