Born in 1916, Morton was the eldest of four to Bernard William Lane and Mildred Eastgate.[1] At age 15 he left home to launch himself into show business.[2] He adopted the name Morton while busking, after a police officer asked whether he was Bobby Lane, and he answered that he was Bobby Morton, taking the name from a sign seen on a garage.[3]
Career
1930s – 1940s
About 1934, Morton recorded some "hillbilly songs" privately in Wellington, though they were not commercially issued.[3][2] Soon after, he emigrated to Australia, apparently intent on a recording career.[2] On 25 February 1936, Morton recorded four songs for the Columbia Graphophone Company in Sydney, Australia,[4] and between 1936 and 1943, recorded 93 songs, accompanying himself on an acoustic guitar for most tracks, for Columbia's Regal Zonophone label. On some later tracks, he was accompanied by his band, The Rough Riders, and a female singer 'Sister Dorrie' (Dorothy Carroll). In 1943, he left Columbia following a dispute with Arch Kerr, the Record Sales Manager. He was billed as 'The Yodelling Boundary Rider' on records, though he apparently did not approve of the name.[4]
During the 1930s and 1940s, Morton gradually incorporated Australian themes and motifs into some of the songs he wrote.[2] This approach was followed by other Australian country artists who followed in his footsteps, such as Buddy Williams and Slim Dusty, leading to a particular genre of country music - the Australian bush ballad, which was also influenced by the turn-of-the-century poetry of Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson.[5]
1950s – 1980s
From 1950 to 1959, Morton was based in North America. He toured with Pee Wee King in 1952 and recorded in Nashville in March 1953. Morton toured Canada and the United States as a stage hypnotist, memory expert, whip cracker and sharpshooter,[2] and was associated for some time with the Canadian country singer, Dixie Bill Hilton.[6]
He returned to Australia in 1959 with a Grand Ole Opry show, featuring Roy Acuff, the Wilburn Brothers and June Webb, but the show was not popular with Australian audiences and the tour had to be called off.[6]
Morton continued to record during the 1960s and 1970s, and had a surprise hit with "Goondiwindi Grey" on the Australian Singles Charts, reaching No. 5 in June 1973.[7] During this period, Morton showed an increasing interest in acting,[2] hosting the Country Touch TV series in New Zealand,[8] and in the 1980s appeared in Australian films Stir (1980), We of the Never Never (1982) and Goodbye Paradise (1983).[1]
He had married Marjorie Brisbane in 1937, and they had two sons, twins. Morton and Brisbane divorced in 1979, and he lived with his partner Kathleen Bryan until his death on 23 July 1983 in Sydney. Morton died of cancer and was survived by Bryan and one son.[1]
Morton, in his career, capitalized on American cowboy and "Wild West" images, and was sometimes billed as "The Singing Cowboy Sensation," performing for rodeos, and singing in a yodeling style that drew heavily on those of American singers such as Jimmie Rodgers. His yodelling was influenced by Rodgers, Goebel Reeves and the British Alpine yodeller, Harry Torrani.[12]
His early recordings featured references to America, until the release of 'Wrap Me Up with My Stockwhip and Blanket' in 1936 where he added references to dingoes and the coolibah, Australianisms that were at odds with his American style singing accent.[5]
Awards and nominations
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
^ abcWaterhouse, Richard, "Tex Morton (1916–1983)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 28 March 2024
^ abcdefSmith, Andrew (1990). "Cowboys and Hillbillies Down Under", Journal of Country Music, vol 13, no 2 (First ed.). pp. 1759/60.
