ATHOL McCOY

 

Athol McCoy was born in Sheffield, Tasmania in 1925. During the 1930s Athol played piano at local dances and when he left school, he worked on his father’s farm and as a farmhand on neighbouring properties. During this period Tex Morton and Wilf Carter’s music gained his attention. In 1947 he got his first break when asked to sing on a program at Radio 7AD Devonport. The program ran for more than three years. In 1950 he moved to Melbourne to work on his career as an entertainer. He won the novelty section on the radio show P&A Parade which brought him constant radio work and live performances. To supplement his income, he worked as a barman in Connell’s Railway Hotel until 1958.

In 1956 he topped the poll on Terry Dear’s Australia’s Amateur Hour with more than 10,000 votes. On the strength of that, he went to Sydney for a Regal Zonophone audition. The first track he recorded was Wilf Carter’s ''My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby'' and his own composition, ''Tassy Tears''. The recordings made him the first Tasmanian to sing on 78rpm. In the latter part of the 1950s he undertook a promotional tour of the eastern states on Noel George’s Australian Wild West Show, which featured American Indian wrestler Big Chief Little Wolf. He also toured with Reg Lindsay, Chad Morgan and Rick & Thel Carey. He recorded a couple of singles on the Columbia label.

In the early 60s he organised his own travelling show, the best days for this type of entertainment had passed, so he returned to Tasmania. Athol began touring again in 1966. He teamed up with his boyhood idol, Tex Morton – as The Mortons and McCoys. The tour started in Morven, QLD, through to Mount Isa, across to Alice Springs, back through the settlements to Darwin where they did a three-week season showing nightly, across the Kimberley, down to WA and across the Nullarbor. After these shows ended, he toured with Terry Gordon, Ray ‘The Hat’ Hasler and Lindsay Butler. Back in Sydney, he recorded for RCA with Eileen Wood on fiddle, who also toured with him and they married. 

At the end of the year in 1969, he had a break from touring and gained a job with the Reserve Bank in Melbourne. In 1972 he released the album 'Tassie Tears' on the Hadley label and during this time made his last tour of Australia. Hadley Records in Tamworth acquired the rights to most of Athol’s recorded output and issued a compilation album 'Your Tassie Mate'. Athol and Eileen settled in Bega, NSW where they had their own business. They also worked clubs occasionally as The Real McCoys duo. In 1980 he was inducted into the Hands of Fame, Tamworth and was elevated to the Roll of Renown in 2005. Athol died June 6 in Bega Hospital in 1995.

SINGLES

''Tassy Tears / My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby'' 1956 Regal Zonophone
''The Shepherd's Lament / The Hut Beside The Trail'' 1958 Columbia 
''The Freight Train Yodel / Tassie Is The Star'' 1959 Columbia 
''The Land Where The Crow Flies Backwards / Darling Nellie Gray'' 1965 RCA
''The Answer To "How Are Ya Mate" / Give Me The Life Of A Rambler'' 1965 RCA
''Scobie's Hangover / Things Are Really Changing'' 1965 RCA
''We're Going To The Old Barn Dance / Pick Me Up On Your Way Down'' 1966 RCA

''The New Tassie Waltz / Just Because'' 1975 Hadley

ALBUMS
'Tassie Tears' 1972 Hadley 

References

ATHOL McCOY ; ATHOL McCOY; HOF_1980_MCCOY | eHive