Bruce Woodley

Last updated

Bruce Woodley
AO
The Seekers.png
Woodley
Background information
Birth nameBruce William Woodley
Born (1942-07-25) 25 July 1942 (age 82)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres Jazz, folk-pop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, guitarist
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, banjo
Years active1959–present

Bruce William Woodley [1] AO [2] (born 25 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. [3] [4] He was a founding member of the successful folk-pop group the Seekers, [3] and co-composer of the songs "I Am Australian," "Red Rubber Ball," and Simon & Garfunkel's "Cloudy." [5] At the National Day of Mourning on 22 February 2009 for the victims of the Victoria bushfires, Woodley unveiled two new verses for "I am Australian". [6]

Contents

Bruce Woodley was born on 25 July 1942 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He attended Melbourne High School with fellow Seekers, Athol Guy and Keith Potger. [3]

The Seekers

Woodley had a 'residency' performing at the Treble Clef restaurant in Prahran. With former schoolmates, Athol Guy and Keith Potger, he formed a folk music trio, The Escorts, in the early 1960s. [3] Soon before the arrival of vocalist Judith Durham in 1962 they became The Seekers, and had some success in Australia before travelling to London in 1964 and recording four international hit singles written and produced by Tom Springfield. [3] Woodley played guitar, banjo, and mandolin, as well as one of the four-part vocal harmony, and was the chief songwriter. [3] While Durham sang the majority of lead vocals for the group, Woodley usually handled the male lead vocals, including a number of album tracks. The Seekers first disbanded in 1968. [3]

Work with Paul Simon

During 1965, while in London, Woodley met Paul Simon, following the poor performance of Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. and just prior to the success of Simon and Garfunkel. [3] Simon and Woodley co-wrote the million-selling "Red Rubber Ball" [7] —later a Top Five hit for US group The Cyrkle. [3] The Simon and Woodley collaboration also provided "I Wish You Could Be Here" [8] and "Cloudy". [9] The Seekers later recorded these three songs, and "Cloudy" became an album track on Simon and Garfunkel's hit 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme —the only Simon and Woodley song to appear on both groups' album. [3] However, Woodley's relationship with Simon had deteriorated and Woodley later struggled to get his share of the royalties—his songwriting credit on "Cloudy" was omitted from the release of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. [3]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Seekers</span> Australian folk group

The Seekers was an Australian folk-influenced pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were especially popular during the 1960s, with their best-known configuration of Judith Durham on vocals, piano and tambourine; Athol Guy on double bass and vocals; Keith Potger on twelve-string guitar, banjo and vocals; and Bruce Woodley on guitar, mandolin, banjo and vocals.

<i>Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme</i> 1966 studio album by Simon & Garfunkel

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is the third studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966, in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of the re-release of their debut single "The Sound of Silence", Simon & Garfunkel regrouped after a time apart while Columbia issued their second album, a rushed collection titled Sounds of Silence. For their third album, the duo spent almost three months in the studio working on instrumentation and production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Durham</span> Australian singer, songwriter and musician (1943–2022)

Judith Durham was an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician who became the lead singer of the Australian folk music group the Seekers in 1962.

Marty Kristian is a German-born, British-based musician. He grew up, and started his musical career, in Australia, as a solo artist. He is a singer-song writer-guitarist and, in the 1970s, he became a heartthrob as a founding member of the New Seekers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athol Guy</span> Australian musician and politician

Athol George Guy is an Australian musician who was a member of the Australian folk-pop music group the Seekers, for whom he played double bass and sang. He was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1971 to 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Potger</span> Australian singer, songwriter, and musician

Keith Leon Potger is an Australian musician, who was a founding member of the folk-pop group the Seekers. In September 2014, along with his colleagues in the Seekers, Potger was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). In 1968, they were all awarded the nation's top honour as "Australians of the Year 1967". In 1988, he wrote and produced stage musicals for the Australian Bicentenary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevie Wright</span> Australian singer (1947–2015)

Stephen Carlton Wright was an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Called Australia's first international pop star, he is best known for being the lead singer of the Easybeats, who are widely regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s.

"A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Originally recorded for Simon's 1965 UK-only debut, The Paul Simon Songbook, it was recorded soon after by Simon and his partner, Art Garfunkel, for the duo's third album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)</span> Single by Simon and Garfunkel

"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" is a song by folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon and originally released on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Cash Box called it a "sparkling, spirited lid".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon & Garfunkel discography</span>

Simon & Garfunkel, an American singer-songwriter duo, has released five studio albums, fifteen compilation albums, four live albums, one extended play, twenty-six singles, one soundtrack, and four box sets since 1964. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel first formed a duo in 1957 as Tom & Jerry, before separating and later reforming as Simon & Garfunkel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penelope Austin</span> Australian singer-songwriter

Penelope Austin is an Australian singer-songwriter. She performs electropop music. She released her debut extended play, The Beautiful Dark on 30 May 2013. She has co-written several tracks with United States record producer and songwriter, Robert Conley including "Smoke into Flames", "A Place to Call Home", and "Don't Rescue Me" (May). During 2013 "A Place to Call Home" was used for the Australian TV series of the same name. Austin and Conley co-wrote "The Dark Collide" with J. J. Abrams and Charles Scott. Austin's performance of "The Dark Collide" was used on the Australian version of the Star Trek Into Darkness soundtrack.

<i>Seekers Seen in Green</i> 1967 studio album by The Seekers

Seekers Seen in Green is the sixth studio album by the Australian group The Seekers. It was released in the UK and Europe in 1967 by Columbia Records and EMI Records. It was released in Canada in 1967 and in the US in 1968 by Capitol Records. It was also released in Germany and the Netherlands on LP on the Emidisc‡ label in 1976. It was released on CD in 1999 in the UK.

"Cloudy" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). It was co-written by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley of the Seekers; that band later covered it on their 1967 album Seekers Seen in Green. The Cyrkle released a version of the song on their 1966 debut album, Red Rubber Ball. The title track, Red Rubber Ball, was also written by the duo of Woodley/Simon.

<i>25 Year Reunion Celebration</i> 1993 live album by Judith Durham and The Seekers

25 Year Reunion Celebration is a live album credited to Judith Durham and The Seekers. It celebrates the 25th anniversary of the band's final performance in 1968. The concert was recorded at the Melbourne Concert Hall and released on 29 November 1993 and peaked at number 9 on the ARIA Charts in January 1994. The success lead to a sell-out UK tour across 1994 and 1995 at London's 'Royal Albert Hall' and 'Wembley Arena'.

<i>The Seekers</i> (1964 album) 1964 studio album by The Seekers

The Seekers is the second studio album by the Australian group The Seekers. The album was released in 1964. In some countries, the album was titled Roving with the Seekers.

<i>The Seekers Sing Their Big Hits</i> 1965 compilation album by The Seekers

'The Seekers Sing Their Big Hits is the first compilation album by the Australian group The Seekers. The album was released in 1965 and includes tracks from their four studio albums to-date. The album peaked at number 3 and was the 16th biggest selling album in Australia in 1967.

<i>The Silver Jubilee Album</i> 1993 greatest hits album by Judith Durham and The Seekers

The Silver Jubilee Album is a compilation album credited to Judith Durham and The Seekers. It celebrates the 25th anniversary of the band's final performance in 1968. "Keep A Dream In Your Pocket" and "One World Love" are new tracks recorded in December 1992. All other tracks were recorded between 1964 and 1968.

<i>Future Road</i> Album by Judith Durham

Future Road is a studio album credited to Australian recording artist Judith Durham and The Seekers. It is Durham's eighth studio album and The Seekers' eleventh. The album was released in Australia in October 1997 and peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Charts and by Christmas was certified platinum.

<i>Treasure Chest</i> (The Seekers album) 1997 box set by The Seekers

Treasure Chest is a 3-disc box set by Australian band The Seekers. Disc one contains two new tracks and an interview. Disc two is their 1967 album, Seekers Seen in Green and disc three is their 1968 album, Live at the Talk of the Town. The album peaked at number 7 in Australia and was certified gold.

References

General
Books
Articles
Specific
  1. ↑ ""Two Summers" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  2. ↑ "The Australian" - Hey There, it's the Seekers AO
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Duncan Kimball, ed. (2002). "THE SEEKERS". MILESAGO: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. ICE Productions. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  4. ↑ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Seekers'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop . St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 4 June 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  5. ↑ ""I Am Australian" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  6. ↑ "Promising to remember". Melbourne Herald Sun. 23 February 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ ""Red Rubber Ball" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  8. ↑ ""I Wish You Could Be Here" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  9. ↑ ""Cloudy" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.