Jimmy Doyle (musician)

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Jimmy Doyle
Jimmy Doyle Live.jpg
Jimmy Doyle performing with Ayers Rock, 1981
Background information
Birth nameJames Vivian Alfred Doyle
Born(1945-10-14)14 October 1945
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died5 May 2006(2006-05-05) (aged 60)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres Blues, pop, rock, jazz rock fusion
Occupation(s)Musician, radio presenter, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active1960–2006
Labels Mushroom, A&M

James Vivian Alfred Doyle (14 October 1945 –5 May 2006) was an Australian musician, radio presenter and songwriter. He was the founding mainstay guitarist in Ayers Rock (1973–81), a jazz fusion, progressive rock band. [1] [2] As a member of Ayers Rock, Doyle appeared on all three of their studio albums, Big Red Rock (1974), Beyond (1976) and Hotspell (1980). They toured both nationally and internationally including through the United States, where they supported Bachman–Turner Overdrive (July 1975) at a stadium concert with an audience of 35,000 people in Seattle. [3] For the group's third album, Hotspell, Doyle wrote or co-wrote four tracks. [4]

Contents

Biography

Doyle's musical career began at the age of 15, spanned 45 years, and covered a wide range of music from blues to pop rock to jazz. He was musical director and guitarist for Winifred Atwell, for two years, [5] and a member of the backing bands for the Delltones, and Dig Richards. [4] Doyle was a member of the Soulmates (1967), [6] Col Nolan and the Soul Syndicate, [7] Aesop's Fables (1968–69), [8] [9] and Moonstone (1970). [4] [10] Aesop's Fables had formed in 1968 in Sydney as a pop vocal group with Doyle on guitar (ex-Telstars), Sheryl Blake on lead vocals, Russell Dunlop on drums, Michael Lawler on bass guitar and Gary Moberly on organ (ex-Ramrods, later worked with Bee Gees). [8]

In September 1970 King Harvest were formed as a progressive rock group with Doyle on guitar, Leo de Castro, on vocals and guitar, Mark Kennedy on drums (ex-Spectrum), Duncan McGuire on bass guitar (ex-Phantoms, Epics, Questions, Doug Parkinson in Focus, Rush) and Steve Yates on keyboards (Rush, Expression). [4] [10] Doyle was soon replaced by Billy Green (ex-Doug Parkinson in Focus). [4] [10]

Doyle was the founding mainstay guitarist of Ayers Rock, a jazz fusion, progressive rock band, which formed in August 1973 in Melbourne. [4] [9] Over the following years other members included Burton, Kennedy, McGuire, Col Loughnan (on trumpet) and Dunlop. [9] The group released three studio albums, Big Red Rock (November 1974), Beyond (February 1975) and Hotspell (May 1980) before disbanding in 1981. [9] For the group's final album Doyle wrote or co-wrote four tracks. [4]

Leon Isackson, in his book Behind the Rock and Beyond (2010), recalled that "Jim was a young 'Humphrey Bogart look-alike' with an excellent style on Gibson guitar. His suave appearance ... earned him the salubrious nickname of 'Diamond Jim'". [6] Elvin Bishop, a United States blues musician, was backed by Doyle during Bishop's first tour of Australia in 1986, "Jimmy Doyle is a hell of a guitar player — I love him". [11] Later in that decade, touring English jazz singer and keyboardist, Georgie Fame, invited Doyle to join the Aussie Blue Flames, which were Fame's backing band on his Australian tours. [12] Doyle later presented a regular radio program, In the Deep with Jim, on North Shore's FM99.3 (2NSB), a community radio station in Sydney.

Doyle, the founding mainstay member of Ayers Rock (1973-81), taken in 1990. Jimmy Doyle musician 1990.jpg
Doyle, the founding mainstay member of Ayers Rock (1973–81), taken in 1990.

Death

Jimmy Doyle was diagnosed with liver cancer and died on 5 May 2006, at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney. [2] [4] A tribute concert in his honour, on 26 May, raised money for his family. [13] Musicians performing included Billy Field, Col Loughnan (ex-Ayers Rock) and Mother Earth featuring lead vocals by Renée Geyer. [13]

Related Research Articles

Spectrum are an Australian progressive rock band which formed in April 1969 and broke up in April 1973. The original line-up was Mark Kennedy on drums, Lee Neale on organ (ex-Nineteen87), Bill Putt on bass guitar, and Mike Rudd on guitar and lead vocals. In August 1970 Kennedy was replaced by Ray Arnott on drums. These members also performed under the alter ego, Indelible Murtceps, from 1971 to 1973. Spectrum had a number-one hit, "I'll Be Gone", on the Go-Set National Top 60 singles chart. After Spectrum and Indelible Murtceps disbanded, Putt and Rudd formed Ariel. In 1999 the pair formed Spectrum Plays the Blues, which later trimmed their name back to Spectrum. On 7 August 2013 Bill Putt died, after a heart attack.

The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, also known as Soapbox Circus or Matchbox, were an Australian jug band formed in 1969. It centred on Mic Conway on lead vocals, washboard and ukulele; and his brother, Jim Conway, on harmonica, kazoo and vocals. They issued four studio albums, Smoke Dreams, Wangaratta Wahine, Australia and Slightly Troppo (1978), before they disbanded in September 1980. The Conway brothers reformed the group in 2010 as Captain Matchbox Reignited and disbanded again two years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Ford (musician)</span> Australian musician

Douglas John Ford is an Australian rock guitarist and songwriter since the mid-1960s. He was lead guitarist of rock n roll group, the Missing Links (1965–66), then during 1968–72, he joined the pop-rock band, the Masters Apprentices. He established a writing partnership with that group's lead singer, Jim Keays. Ford participated in some of the reunions of the Masters Apprentices from 1988 to 1991 and 1997. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1998 the group were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Parkinson</span> Australian singer (1946–2021)

Douglas John Parkinson was an Australian pop and rock singer. He led the bands Strings and Things/A Sound (1965), the Questions (1966–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus, Fanny Adams (1970–1971), the Life Organisation (1973), Southern Star Band (1978–1980) and Doug Parkinson Band (1981–1983). Doug Parkinson in Focus's cover version of the Beatles' track "Dear Prudence" peaked at No. 5 on the Go-Set National Top 40. The follow-up single, "Without You" / "Hair" (October), also reached No. 5. Parkinson released solo material and performed in musical theatre productions.

Mississippi were an Australian soft rock band (1972–1975), which included Graham Goble on lead vocals and guitar, Beeb Birtles on lead vocals and guitar, and Derek Pellicci on drums. The band had started as Allison Gros in Adelaide in 1970 and moved to Melbourne in 1971 where they recorded as Allison Gros, Drummond and, early in 1972, became Mississippi. As Drummond they issued a cover version of "Daddy Cool", which peaked at No. 1 on the Go-Set National Top 40 for eight weeks. As Mississippi they reached No. 10 with "Kings of the World". In early 1975, with Birtles, Goble and Pellici aboard and the addition of Glenn Shorrock, the group were renamed Little River Band.

The Ferrets were an Australian pop band. They are best known for their song "Don't Fall in Love" and album, Dreams of a Love which were both released in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayers Rock (band)</span> Australian rock band

Ayers Rock were an Australian rock band which formed in August 1973. Ray Burton, Mark Kennedy (drums), and Duncan McGuire (bass), members of Leo de Castro and Friends, left to form the eponymous trio of Burton, McGuire & Kennedy. They added a guitarist, Jimmy Doyle, changed their name to Ayers Rock and invited Col Loughnan to join. The group signed with independent label Mushroom Records in December 1973. Burton left the following March, and he was replaced by Chris Brown. With live appearances, coverage in print media and word of mouth, the group had a high national profile despite little radio airplay, and journalists praised their musicianship, music, and live energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Orszaczky</span> Musical artist

Miklós József "Jackie" Orszáczky was a Hungarian-Australian musician, arranger, vocalist and record producer. His musical styles included jazz, blues, R&B, funk and progressive rock; he mainly played bass guitar – from the early 1990s he used a modified piccolo bass – but also various other instruments. In 2006 Orszaczky was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit by the Hungarian government. Also that year Orszaczky was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and died on 3 February 2008, aged 59.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan McGuire (musician)</span> Musical artist

Duncan Hazlett McGuire, was an Australian musician, songwriter, recording engineer and producer. McGuire was a founding member of the jazz fusion band Ayers Rock from 1973 until he left in 1976. As a bass guitarist, he appeared in several of Doug Parkinson's groups, including the Questions (1965–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus (1968–1969) and the Southern Star Band (1978–1981). He went into music production in the early 1980s; in October 1980, he co-produced and engineered the debut self-titled album by Australian rock band INXS. Duncan McGuire was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he died in July 1989 of an associated brain tumour, aged 46.

Russell James Dunlop was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer-engineer. From the late 1970s he collaborated with Bruce Brown in a production company for albums and singles by Australian performers including Mental As Anything, The Reels and Machinations. As a musician he was a member of various groups such as Aesop's Fables (1968–70), Levi Smith's Clefs (1971), Southern Contemporary Rock Assembly (SCRA) (1971–72) and Ayers Rock (1976).

Levi Smith's Clefs, originally The Clefs, were an Australian R&B, pop rock group, which formed in Adelaide in 1963. Lead vocalist, Barrie "The Bear" McAskill, joined in 1965. In 1967 he took over and renamed the group after founding keyboardist, Winston "Tweed" Harris, left. They released a sole studio album, Empty Monkey, in March 1970 and underwent numerous line-up changes until they disbanded in 1972. After their time in the band various members formed the groups: Tully, Fraternity and Southern Contemporary Rock Assembly (SCRA). Winston Harris (1941–2004) died of throat cancer, aged 63. A drummer from 1970 to 1971, Russell Dunlop (1945–2009), died after a seizure, aged 63. Richard Lockwood, flautist and saxophonist in 1968, died in 2012 of bowel cancer.

Buster Brown was an Australian rock band, which featured vocalist Angry Anderson and drummer Phil Rudd, that was formed in Melbourne in 1973. Their sound was hard rock mixed with blues rock influences. Their first album, Something to Say was produced by Lobby Loyde and released in 1974. Rudd left to join an early version of AC/DC while Anderson continued with new line-ups and eventually disbanded the group in November 1975. Anderson joined Rose Tattoo which later included former Buster Brown bandmates, Geordie Leach on bass guitar and Dallas "Digger" Royall on drums.

Philip John Manning is an Australian blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. Manning has been a member of various groups including Chain and has had a solo career. As a member of Chain, Manning co-wrote their January 1971 single "Black and Blue" which became number one on the Melbourne charts and also Judgement, which reached number two in Sydney. The related album, Toward the Blues followed in September and peaked in the top 10 albums chart.

Southern Contemporary Rock Assembly or SCRA was an Australian jazz-rock group formed in mid-1971 by Sheryl Black on lead vocals, Ian Bloxsom on percussion, Russell Dunlop on drums, Dave Ellis on bass guitar, Greg Foster on trombone and harmonica, Mickey Leyton on lead vocals, Jim Kelly on lead guitar, Mike Kenny on trumpet, Peter Martin on guitar and vocals and Don Wright on tenor sax and flute.

Leo de Castro was a New Zealand funk and soul singer-guitarist. From 1969 to 1995 he worked in Australia in a variety of bands before returning to Auckland. He contributed to Rocco (1976), as a member of Johnny Rocco Band; Voodoo Soul – Live at The Basement, by Leo de Castro and Friends; a live album, Long White Clouds (2007), which had been recorded in January 1988 using two separate backing bands, The Dancehall Racketeers and Roger Janes Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Kennedy (musician)</span> Australian musician

Mark Kennedy is an Australian musician who has been the drummer for several artists including Spectrum (1969–70), Doug Parkinson in Focus (1971), Leo de Castro (1971–73), Ayers Rock (1973–76), Marcia Hines (1976–83), Men at Work (1985), Renée Geyer and Jimmy Barnes (2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Col Loughnan</span> Australian jazz saxophonist and composer

Colin John Loughnan is an Australian jazz saxophonist, teacher, and composer, best known as a member of the Delltones, Ayers Rock, Judy Bailey quartet, and as a teacher of saxophone at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Although Loughnan has long been associated with jazz music, the first nine years of his career were spent as a non-instrumental vocalist with vocal harmony groups The Crescents, and The Delltones starting in 1958. In the 60s, he learnt to play the saxophone, performing as an instrumentalist with Col Nolan and The Soul Syndicate, and as a founding member of the Daly-Wilson Big Band. At this time Loughnan was proficient in saxophones, flutes, and clarinet.

Wayne Ian Duncan was an Australian rock musician. In 1970 he was a founding member of the doo-wop band, Daddy Cool, providing bass guitar and backing vocals. They were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006. During his career he had also been a member of the Rondells, Sons of the Vegetal Mother, Gary Young's Hot Dog, Jane Clifton and the Go Go Boys, the Black Sorrows, and the Hornets. In late November 2016 Duncan had a stroke and died a week later, he was survived by his domestic partner, Anne, and by two children. According to Australian music journalist, Ian McFarlane, "Duncan was never a sedate bassist. One only has to listen to some of the latter-day DC material... to hear how inventive his playing could be."

Raymond Terrence Charles Hough, who performed as Ray Hoff, was an Australian rock 'n' roll and R&B singer from the late 1950s to mid-1970s. He led Ray Hoff & the Off Beats from 1959 to 1967, which issued a self-titled album. During the early 1970s he was a member of Perth-based blues revival group, Likefun. After his music career he became an auto detailer. In 2005 he was diagnosed with cancer, subsequently he had two strokes and died on 19 March 2010, aged 67.

Raymond Charles Burton is an Australian musician and singer-song writer. He was briefly a member of rock 'n' rollers the Delltones (1965–66) on vocals, pop group the Executives (1968–69) on guitar and vocals, progressive rockers Leo de Castro and Friends (1973) on guitar, and jazz fusion band Ayers Rock (1973–74) on guitar and vocals. In 1971, Burton was working in the United States where he co-wrote "I Am Woman" with fellow Australian Helen Reddy, which became a number-one hit for her on the Billboard Hot 100 late in the following year. Another song written by the pair, "Best Friend", was sung by Reddy while she was also acting in a disaster film, Airport 1975. As a solo artist, Burton issued an album, Dreamers and Nightflyers, and two associated singles, "Too Hard to Handle" and "Paddington Green", in 1978 in Australia. He returned to the US, where he worked as a song writer.

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ Forester (1 April 1976). "Ayers Rock shows its solid face". The Age David Syme & Co. (Melbourne) Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 Kimball, Duncan (17 May 2006). "Farewells". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Archived from the original on 6 March 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. ↑ Shipway, Gary "Ayers Rock off to U.S. again". The News (Adelaide) News Ltd.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kimball, Duncan (2006). "Ayers Rock". MilesAgo: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ray Burton (contributor), Col Loughnan (contributor). ICE productions. Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  5. ↑ Kelton, Greg. "Chip of the Old Rock". The Advertiser (Adelaide).
  6. 1 2 Hayton, Jon and Isackson, Leon (2010). Behind the Rock and Beyond Glen Waverley, Vic.: Sid Harta Publications. p. 62. ISBN   1 921642 28 9.
  7. ↑ Whatever it's worth (media notes). Col Nolan and the Soul Syndicate. CBS Records Intl. SBP 233621.
  8. 1 2 McFarlane, 'Aesop's Fables' entry. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 McFarlane, 'Ayers Rock' entry. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 McFarlane, 'King Harvest' entry. Archived from the original on 18 May 2003. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  11. ↑ Rattray, James (12 September 1986)."Fooled Around man is sitting pretty" The Sydney Morning Herald John Fairfax & Co. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Speelman, Paul (19 January 1988). "Spirited Fame fans the musical flames" The Age John Fairfax and Co. (Melbourne). Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Jim Doyle Tribute Concert". Sydney Morning Herald . Fairfax Digital. 26 May 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
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.