David Kent (historian)

Last updated

David Kent
BornDavid Cyril Kent
(1941-02-03) 3 February 1941 (age 83)
Mount Lawley, Western Australia, Australia
Occupation Music historian, writer
GenreMusic culture
Subject Rock music, popular culture
Website
www.austchartbook.com.au

David Cyril Kent (born 3 February 1941) [1] is an Australian music historian and pop culture writer. Kent produced the Kent Music Report, compiling the national music chart from May 1974 to 1996; it was known as the Australian Music Report from 1987. [2] The music reports were a weekly listing of the National Top 100 chart positions of singles and albums. [2] [3]

Contents

Kent's music reports were used by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) as its official ARIA Charts from mid-1983 until July 1988 when ARIA developed an in-house chart. [2] [4]

Kent continued to publish his Australian Music Report on a weekly basis until 1996. [2] In 1993, Kent collated his charts into a book, Australian Chart Book, 1970–1992. [5] He followed with Australian Chart Book (1940–1969) in 2005, [6] Australian Chart Book (1993–2005) in 2006, [7] and The Australian top 20 book (1940–2006) in 2007. [8]

Early life

David Kent was born in Mount Lawley (a suburb of Perth), Western Australia, Australia, to Cyril Kent (an industrial chemist) and Marjorie Goodwin (née Dalton).[ citation needed ]

He listened to local radio broadcasts of top hits such as "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley in 1955. [9] [10]

Australia had no nationwide chart system for singles or albums when Kent was a youth. [9] Kent kept his own tally of the positions provided by Sydney radio stations. [10]

Career

Kent initially worked for record companies, EMI and Polygram, and avidly collected record charts as hobby [10]

In 1958, radio station 2UE provided the first give-away charts in record stores, [9] with the first national chart, compiled for Go-Set magazine by rock journalist Ed Nimmervoll, appearing in October 1966. [9] [11] For 18 months, Kent researched Australian music charts and developed a ranking system based on radio station charts from around the country, and from May 1974 he compiled the Kent Music Report. [9] [12]

Kent's aims were to provide the Australian music industry with information on singles and albums, and to chronicle the history of music tastes. [9] [12] The Kent Music Report was sold commercially after July 1974, and it became the sole nationwide chart following the demise of Go-Set in August. [11]

Kent expanded his business and, from 1976, incorporated actual sales figures to supplement information from radio stations. [12] By 1977, major record companies used his chart information in their advertising. [12] Kent's staff sent surveys to retail stores, collated sales figures together with radio charts by states and then used his ranking system to assemble the national Kent Music Report. By 1982, retail sales by survey was the main source of Kent's reports. [12]

The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) was established by the six major record companies operating in Australia: EMI, Festival Records, CBS (now known as Sony Music), RCA (now known as BMG), WEA (now known as Warner Music) and Polygram (now known as Universal). [9] [13] ARIA licensed the Kent Music Report from mid-1983 to publish the ARIA Charts under its banner until the week ending 26 June 1988. [9] [13] ARIA had established its own research and chart publishing group and now competed with the Kent Music Report. [9] [13]

At the beginning of 1987, the Kent Music Report was renamed the Australian Music Report. It was used by major record companies in preference to ARIA's own charts. [9] [13] Kent continued production of his music reports until 1996, but sold off his interest in the Australian Music Report, which continued to the end of 1998, after which changes in technology, such as barcoding, enabled point-of-sale information to be sent directly to ARIA. [9] [14] This meant that Kent could no longer compile reliable sales information. [9] [14]

Publications

In 1993, Kent used his resources to compile charts dating back to 1970. He added information from the weekly Kent Music Report and the Australian Music Report to publish the charts in book form as Australian Chart Book, 1970–1992. [5] He followed that with Australian Chart Book (1940–1969) in 2005, [6] Australian Chart Book (1993–2005) in 2006, [7] The Australian top 20 book (1940–2006) in 2007, [8] and Australian Chart Chronicles (1940–2009). [15]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<i>Songs from the South</i> 1997 greatest hits album by Paul Kelly

Songs from the South, subtitled Paul Kelly's Greatest Hits, is a greatest hits album by Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly. It was released on 13 May 1997 by Mushroom Records. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Albums Chart. It was certified 7× platinum by 2017.

<i>Non Comprehendus</i> 2000 studio album by Testeagles

Non-Comprehendus is the debut album from the South Australian rock band Testeagles, which was released on 27 February 2000. It reached No. 8 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It provided two singles, "Turn that Shit Up", which reached No. 54 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and "Underdog" (October). The album was produced by Paul McKercher with mixing by American producer-engineer, Ulrich Wild.

"Jump in My Car" is a song originally recorded by Australian rock band Ted Mulry Gang in 1975. The song was written by Australian singer Ted Mulry and guitarist Les Hall, and was the first hit for the band in Australia. "Jump in My Car" was number one in Australia in 1976 for six weeks.

<i>...Live in Memphis 1997</i> 1998 video by Celine Dion

...Live in Memphis 1997 is the fourth home video by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released on VHS on 2 November 1998. The concert was filmed live in March 1997 during the Falling into You: Around the World tour in Memphis, Tennessee.

<i>Live à Paris</i> (video) 1996 video by Celine Dion

Live à Paris is the third home video by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on VHS on 8 November 1996 and on DVD on 17 November 2003. It was recorded live at the renowned Zénith Paris in Paris, France, in October 1995 before an audience of over 6,000 fans, during the D'eux Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Music Report</span> Australian music chart between 1974 and 1998

The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 1987. From June 1988, the Australian Recording Industry Association, which had been using the top 50 portion of the report under licence since mid-1983, chose to produce their own listing as the ARIA Charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I've Been Waiting for You (ABBA song)</span> 1974 single by ABBA

"I've Been Waiting for You" is a song recorded in 1974 by Swedish pop group ABBA, released first as the B-side to the single "So Long". It was included on their album ABBA, released April 1975.

"King Kong Song", written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, is the name of a 1974 recording by Swedish pop group ABBA, included on their album Waterloo. In 1974, the song competed in the Swedish radio chart show Tio i topp, where it stayed in the charts for four shows and peaked at number 4. Also in Sweden, "King Kong Song" was the B-side to "Honey, Honey".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Farnham discography</span>

John Farnham, billed under stage name Johnny Farnham from 1964 until 1979, is a British-born Australian pop singer who has released 21 studio albums, 6 live albums, 3 soundtracks, 19 compilation albums, 13 video albums, 3 extended plays and 74 singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Nelson discography</span>

Eric Hilliard Nelson, known professionally as Ricky Nelson until his 21st birthday when he officially dropped the "y" and simply became Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter. His discography comprises 24 original studio albums, one original live album, various compilation and archival projects, and 94 singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davy Jones discography</span>

The following is a list of albums, singles, music videos and extended plays by British singer Davy Jones, who was a member of the Monkees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandie Shaw discography</span>

This is the discography for the British pop singer Sandie Shaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding Ring (song)</span>

"Wedding Ring" is a song written by Stevie Wright and George Young. It was originally recorded by the Australian rock group the Easybeats in 1965, whose version reached #6 on the Australian charts.

The Seekers were an Australian folk music group formed in 1962 consisting of Athol Guy, Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Judith Durham.

"The Day That My Heart Caught Fire" is a pop song written by Harry Vanda and George Young. It was recorded by Australian pop singer John Paul Young. The song was released in August 1978 as the second single from Young's fourth studio album Love Is in the Air (1978). The song peaked at number 20 on the Kent Music Report in October 1978.

The discography of Australian rock band the Easybeats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis (Easybeats song)</span> 1969 song by the Easybeats

"St. Louis" is a song by Australian rock group the Easybeats, which was released in June 1969. It was co-written by its members Harry Vanda and George Young and recorded as their first single after signing to Polydor Records.

This article is the discography of New Zealand singer John Rowles.

References

  1. Mathews, Wallace H. Certified Copy of Register of Birth (Report). Perth: Western Australia District Registrar. 3rd February 1941, Ellesmere Rd., Mt.Lawley (sic)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lowe, Daniel (2003). "Australian Chart History". Archived from the original on 21 November 2005. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  3. "David Kent". nla.gov.au. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. "ARIA Charts FAQs". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  5. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  6. 1 2 Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book (1940–1969). Turramurra, NSW. ISBN   0-646-44439-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. 1 2 Kent, David (2006). Australian Chart Book (1993–2005). Turramurra, NSW. ISBN   0-646-45889-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. 1 2 Kent, David (2007). The Australian top 20 book (1940–2006). Turramurra, NSW: Australian Chart Book, 2007. ISBN   978-0-646-47665-0.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Top 40 Radio and the Pop Charts" . Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  10. 1 2 3 Kent, David. "Australian Chart Book history". Australian Chart Book. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  11. 1 2 "Go-Set Magazine Charts 1966–1974". Poparchives.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Lowe, Daniel (2003). "Australian Chart History, Part 1". Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Lowe, Daniel (2003). "Australian Chart History, Part 2". Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  14. 1 2 Lowe, Daniel (2003). "Australian Chart History, Part 3". Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  15. Kent, David (2009). Australian Chart Chronicles (1940–2008). Turramurra, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book, 2009. ISBN   978-0-646-51203-7.