Our lucky streak continues

Jan 30, 2012

We have won our third Gold Guitar at the  40th Jayco CMAA Country Music Awards!

Last Saturday night we put on our best threads and joined our country music community and audience to celebrate the Golden Guitars. We were delighted to collect the Toyota Heritage Song Of The Year for ‘I Am Australian’, Written by Dobe Newton and Bruce Woodley.

No longer can we claim it takes 29 years and 28 nominations between wins! After a long ‘losing streak’ (prior to our 2010 win for Bush Ballad with ‘Road To Thargomindah’ off Australian Songbook 2, when we broke the drought) . We are ecstatic to be on a ‘lucky streak’ and very proud of Dobe for his great and iconic song.

‘I Am Australian’ was written by Dobe Newton (The Bushwackers) and Bruce Woodley (The Seekers) in 1987. Bruce Woodley later recorded it with ‘The Seekers’ and it soaked into Australia’s consciousness. 

In 2011 we decided to record and release ‘I Am Australian’ as part of our 40th Anniversary year, coinciding with the release of the all-new recordings of ‘Official Dance Album’.

The ever-popular ‘Dance Album’ has the rare privilege of having pride of place in many Australian schools for the mandatory Bush Dance. A generation of Australians have grown up enjoying the music of the Bushwackers, loving bush dances and singing ‘I Am Australian’, so it seemed fitting that ‘I Am Australian’ be included.

Bushwackers win Third Gold Guitar awardDobe made a great acceptance speech at the awards, thanking you, our audience for your long and enthusiastic support and the rest of us cheer him along with the sentiment; Roger Corbett, Mark Oats, Clare O’Meara, Michael Vidale, Ben Corbett, Brad Bergen, and of course Dobe Newton, all say thank you! Thanks for still listening, dancing, cheering, coming along to our shows and for being part of our history. We are still doing this because of you!

We have a few others we would like to thank:

  • Our Team: Amanda O’Bryan, Lily Johnson, Mia Middleton, Paul and Colleen O’Bryan, Greg and Lynette Grimes.
  • The Longyard Hotel: Joan Douglas and the amazing and enthusiastic staff at the Longyard along with Mike Vee.
  • Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA)
  • Tamworth Council: Tamworth Mayor, Col Murray. (We receive such generous support from the Tamworth city and the festival team).
  • Destination Tamworth
  • The Northern Daily Leader
 (Rebecca Belt, we love your work!)
  • Tamworth and National Press
  • National Country and Folk Music radio
  • All the performers who come along and share the stage with us at our shows.
  • WJO Distribution
  • VW Amarok (for the great Ute we drove around in during Tamworth)The Bushwackers and VW Amorok
  • Our friends and family who come along to our shows, take photos, lend a helping hand, usher, load gear, rally the troops and sometimes just hang out!
  • and…YOU – thank you for being our audience!