GORDON PARSONS

 

Gordon Parsons was born in 1926 in Paddington, a suburb in eastern Sydney, and moved with his parents to Cooks Creek near Bellingen, NSW, in 1929. At 14, he left the family farm to work as a sleeper-cutter. Around then, he entered Terry Dear’s Australian Amateur Hour, a popular radio talent quest, earning second prize. Impressed by his performance, Regal Zonophone Records recorded six of his songs in 1946. He went on to tour extensively through rural Australia with various travelling shows, including the Goldwyn Brothers Circus. During his travels, he met and married his first wife, Zelda, from the Ashton’s Circus family. They welcomed a daughter, Gail, in 1949, though the marriage ended soon after.

He kept touring with major country stars like Slim Dusty, Chad Morgan, and Tex Morton, and between tours would head bush to write songs, fish, and do odd farm jobs. He switched labels and began recording with John Mystery’s, an Australian label founded in the late 1940s by Lester Basil Sinclair (aka John Mystery), known for publishing children’s books. In 1956, someone handed Parsons a scrap of paper with the words to a poem, ''A Pub Without Beer'' (written in 1943 by Queensland farmer Dan Sheahan after finding his local pub, the Day Dawn Hotel in Ingham, QLD, had been drunk dry by US servicemen stationed nearby), suggesting it could be turned into a song.

Parsons wrote ''A Pub With No Beer,'' expanding the poem with vivid portraits of patrons from his local pub, the Cosmopolitan Hotel in the small settlement of Taylors Arm, about 25 km inland from Macksville, NSW. Slim Dusty heard the song while touring with Parsons and asked to record it as a novelty filler for his 1957 session, as he was one song short of the required four. Released as the B-side to ''Saddle Boy,'' the track unexpectedly took off, getting heavy airplay, especially on Sydney’s 2UE. By 1958, it was a huge hit across Australia, becoming the first and only 78 to earn an Australian gold record. In 1959, it climbed to #3 in the UK, topped the charts in Ireland, and gained popularity in Canada and the USA. Beyond Regal Zonophone, Gordon recorded with labels like Hadley, Columbia, and Selection. In 1978, he married his third wife, Jeanette, and they made their home in Sydney.

In 1979, Parsons was inducted into the Hands of Fame in Tamworth and later elevated to the Roll of Renown. His wax figure became part of the Gallery of Stars Wax Museum collection in Tamworth. In 1990, he was inducted into Rocky Page’s Hall of Fame and Avenue of Honour in Barmera, SA. Parsons died on 17 August 1990 at the age of 63 and is buried in Pinegrove Cemetery.

SINGLES
''The Happy Bushman / My Mother In Heaven'' 1946 Regal Zonophone
''The Australian Bushman / Back To Those Rolling Plains'' 1946 Regal Zonophone
''Where The Bellinger River Flows / The Passing Of Cobber Jack'' 1946 Regal Zonophone
''Rhythm Of The Range / The Parent's Song'' 1951 Regal Zonophone
''Please Tell Me Darling / Way Up North'' 1952 Regal Zonophone
''Lovely Young Aust. Girl Of Mine'' 1953 John Mystery's
''The Parents Song'' 1953 John Mystry's
''My Best Girl's Just Walked Right Out On Me / S.W.Y. (The "Two Up" Song)'' 1965 Hadley
''Men Who Are Lost / That's The Kind Of Life I Live'' 1967 Columbia
''Back To Those Rolling Plains / Slightly Used'' 1968 Columbia
''Where The Bellinger River Flows / Jody'' 1968 Columbia
''Baby's Not Walking / A Mangled Mass Of Steel'' 1969 Columbia
''Pub With No Beer / Another Day, Another Town'' [with Slim Dusty] 1983 Columbia
''Joe The Crow'' 1985 Selection

EPs

'Gordon ''Pub With No Beer'' Parsons 6 Great Songs' 1965 Hadley

'Yesterday's Kisses' 1975 Hadley

ALBUMS
'Rhythm Of The Range' 1970 Columbia 
'Bluey Francis Meets Gordon Parsons' 1975 CM
'Gordon Parsons' 1976 Hadley 
'The Old G.P.' 1980 Selection 
'Just Passin' Through' 1982 Selection 
'Throw In A Line' 1983 Selection 
'Just Driftin' Along' 1985 Selection 

 

References

Gordon Parsons (singer-songwriter) - Wikipedia