ROCKY PAGE

Dean "Rocky" Page was born at Kadina South Australia on May 10, 1928. Rocky's parents had a mixed farm and in 1932 his father passed away and the family moved to a dairy farm at Wallaroo. Rocky helped with the milking before and after school. Rocky volunteered for all the circuses and travelling concert shows in the hope of getting a ticket to the show. In 1939 his mother moved to Crafers in the Adelaide Hills where Rocky completed his education. Rocky's step father, George Westly, was a talented musician on the accordion and mouth organ and taught Rocky to play these instruments. Rocky was greatly influenced by Wilf Carter, Tex Morton and the Carter Family when he listened to them on the radio. Rocky's first job was delivering meat and mail around the Adelaide Hills on horseback - rain, hail or shine.

It was in the early 1940's that Rocky met radio personality, Uncle Bert Wooley, who gave him a guitar that he brought back from France and taught Rocky to play. Bert was a fine entertainer. Rocky and Bert performed in many shows around Adelaide.In the late 1940's Rocky appeared on many radio stations, Mel Cameron's Radio Canteen 5DN, Bob Fricker's Mountain Music 5AD, The Tivoli Shows and Good Friday Appeals. Rocky made his first custom record in 1947 at 5AD. He also taught music at the Adelaide College of Music.

In 1951 he moved to Berri and continued to teach for the Adelaide College of Music. Every Riverland town and charity organisation benefited by the "Rocky Page School of Music Shows". In 1956 Rocky toured with Stan and Kitty Gill around Australia in their rodeo and circus. At the close of this tour in Melbourne, Rocky met Les Partel and as partners had many joint ventures in show business and recorded as the Whitman Brothers. Rocky appeared on television in Melbourne many times on Channels 9 and 7 and on Radio 3DB. The Rocky Page Show was playing to packed houses everywhere, with top artists, Tex Barnes, Ian Castles, Les Partel, Isobel Denmead and Ken Warne.
In 1957 Rocky had a weekly radio programme that played on 5RM (Berri), 3TR (Sale), 3CV (Maryborough) and 7HT (Hobart).

In 1961 Rocky undertook a two-month tour in Tasmania with the Slim Dusty Show and Rocky recorded for Hadley Records in Launceston with Slim, Joy and Barry Thornton backing. The next six years Rocky spent working with Frank Foster on most capital city show grounds with great artists such as Lonnie Lee, Slim Dusty, Chad Morgan, Lionel Long, Johnny Chester, Johnny Devlin, Johnny O'Keefe and Normie Rowe. In early 1967 Rocky performed a lightning tour with the Johnny Young Spectacular. Later that year Rocky joined the Slim Dusty Show for a complete tour of Australia which in Rocky's own words were very happy and exciting times. In 1968 Rocky again toured with Slim and Joy with regular appearances on Reg Lindsay's Country and Western Hour television show in Adelaide.

In 1971 Rocky organised and started the very successful Berri Rodeo. In 1978 Rocky rode a horse to Darwin putting on numerous shows to raise funds for Apex Help A Kid Make It Appeal and raised in excess of $10,000. The rides and shows took some four months to complete. Also in 1978 the first South Australian Country Music Awards were conducted following the Berri Rodeo. Over the next 20 years, Rocky continued to organise and promote the South Australian Country Music Awards and was instrumental in establishing the Festival which is now part of a ten days of Country Music in the Riverland. Rocky's health was not always the best and he died in 1997 after a long battle with Motor Neuron Disease. Rocky won numerous awards over his lifetime culminating with his induction into Tamworth's Roll of Renown in 1998.

SINGLES

''A Hundred Thousand Acres / Good Old Aussie Beer'' 1962 Hadley

EPs

'Rocky Page With The Bushlanders' 1967 Hadley

'Rocky Page' 1971 Hadley

'Rocky Page' 1973 Hadley

ALBUMS

'Rocky Page' date unknown Hadley

'Rocky Page Country' date unknown Self Released

References

http://country.ianfisk.org/artists/page_rocky/index.htm