Johnny O'Keefe
Encyclopedia
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One
Wild One (Johnny O'Keefe song)
"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked...

" (1958), "Shout!" and "She's My Baby". In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe released over 50 singles, 50 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

's and 100 albums.

Often referred to by his initials, "J.O.K." or by his nickname, "The Wild One", O'Keefe was the first Australian rock'n'roll performer to tour the United States, and the first Australian artist to make the local Top 40 charts, and he remains Australia's most successful chart performer, with twenty-nine Top 40 hits to his credit in Australia between 1959 and 1974.

Johnny O'Keefe was the younger brother of Australian jurist Barry O'Keefe (a former head of the New South Wales ICAC) and the uncle of comedian and TV presenter Andrew O'Keefe
Andrew O'Keefe
Andrew Patrick O'Keefe is an Australian entertainer, best known for being the host of the hit game-show Deal or No Deal. He is also the co-host of Weekend Sunrise....

. His father Alderman Ray O'Keefe was Mayor of Waverley Council
Waverley Municipal Council
Waverley Municipal Council is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- History :...

 in the early 1960s

'She's My Baby' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2007.

Early life

O'Keefe was born in the eastern Sydney suburb of Bondi Junction
Bondi Junction, New South Wales
Bondi Junction is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Junction is located 6 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the Waverley....

 on 19 January 1935. He was the second of three children of Raymond Moran O'Keefe and Thelma Edna Kennedy. He was raised as a Catholic and attended the local Catholic primary school, followed by secondary schooling at Waverley College
Waverley College
Waverley College is a Roman Catholic, secondary, day school for boys, located at Waverley, in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

 in nearby Waverley
Waverley, New South Wales
Waverley is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council....

.

Johnny had a solid musical background and listened to the radio almost constantly at home although he did not often sing around the house. His parents were both good singers, his mother was an excellent pianist and his father occasionally played in a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 band.

O'Keefe made his stage debut at the age of four when he played the role of 'Dopey' in the Waverley College production of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Being unable to read or memorise the script, the young O'Keefe improvised his part.

The young O'Keefe was intelligent and perceptive, with a great sense of humour, although his school grades fluctuated due to his misbehaviour and the fact that he was easily distracted; Sydney radio personality Gary O'Callaghan, who was a classmate, later recalled that O'Keefe was often in trouble. During his time at high school Johnny joined the school cadets, where he made good progress learning trumpet, and he (reluctantly) sang solo in the school choir. He was also a keen swimmer, surfer and sailor and often sailed with the Vaucluse
Vaucluse
The Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...

 Juniors sailing club.

He matriculated
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...

 in 1951, gaining an 'A' in French and a 'B' in English, mathematics, physics and economics. In 1952 he enrolled in a part-time economics degrees course at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

, but soon abandoned it and enrolled in a short course at the College of Retailing in Sydney, after which he went to work in his father's furniture store in Pitt Street, Sydney.

He had already begun performing at dances and 'socials' while at high school, but his interest in music blossomed after he left school. A strong early musical influence was the American singer Johnnie Ray
Johnnie Ray
Johnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality.-Early life:John Alvin Ray was born in...

, who toured Australia to great acclaim in the 1950s and O'Keefe began his singing career as a Ray impersonator.

During this period he met and became good friends with Alan Dale, also an aspiring singer, who was then employed at the O'Keefe's furniture business. In December 1952 Dale and O'Keefe were called up for National Service. Dale went into the Army and O'Keefe went into the RAAF. Johnny was stationed at Richmond
Richmond, New South Wales
Richmond is a town in New South Wales, north-west of Sydney, in the Local Government Area of the City of Hawkesbury. It is located at a latitude of 33° 35' 54" South and a longitude of 150°45' 04" east, 19 metres above sea level on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats, at the foot of the Blue...

 in western Sydney, and served his six-month period in two blocks, from December–February 1952 and December–February 1953.

Musical career

The first turning point in O'Keefe's career was in early 1953, when he began singing with the quintet of jazz accordionist Gus Merzi at charity dances. During these appearances, O'Keefe would sing his specialty, Johnny Ray's "Cry", while wearing a pair of trick glasses which would squirt water over the audience. Radio personality Harry Griffiths, who met O'Keefe at this time, remembered him as "a bad-tempered ratbag" who often argued with Merzi, although Merzi commented that they never clashed over music.

Recognising Johnny's potential, Merzi began tutoring him on piano, encouraging him to broaden his repertoire and helping him to refine his stagecraft. O'Keefe became a regular singer with the Merzi quintet and performed with them every Sunday at the charity shows they performed at the Bondi Auditorium. The tenacious O'Keefe performed his routine no matter how small the audience, sometimes braving the rotten eggs and fruit thrown at him by local louts.

After his second stint of National Service he began singing with Merzi two nights a week, playing at university college dances, 21st birthdays and private parties and Merzi also managed to get O'Keefe a regular spot on the 2UW live radio show Saturday Night Dancing. Up to this point he had performed for free, simply to gain experience, but his first paid engagement as a singer was as a Johnny Ray impersonator, performing on the Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...

 radio station 2BS, for which he was paid £17 plus expenses.

Rise to stardom

Johnny O'Keefe's life changed irrevocably after seeing and hearing Bill Haley
Bill Haley
Bill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock".-Early life and career:...

 singing "Rock Around the Clock
Rock Around the Clock
"Rock Around the Clock" is a 12-bar-blues-based song written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954...

" in the film Blackboard Jungle
Blackboard Jungle
Blackboard Jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an inner-city school. It is based on the novel of the same name by Evan Hunter.-Plot:...

in June 1955. He realised immediately that this was the style of music he wanted to perform, and from this point on he dedicated himself single-mindedly to becoming a rock 'n' roll singer and a star.

Although he was perhaps an unlikely candidate for stardom, he pursued it relentlessly for the next two decades and it is a tribute to his tenacity that, in large measure, his dream was achieved—by 1960 he had become the most popular and successful singer in Australia and a major TV star. Australian rock historian Ian McFarlane succinctly described O'Keefe's qualities in his article on the singer in the Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop:
"J.O'K was the first to admit that he was a limited singer, but he possessed an incredible drive, a fierce ambition to succeed, a tireless facility for self-promotion, a tremendous flair for showmanship and a larrikin spirit that was irrepressible."

The Dee Jays

In September 1956 O'Keefe and his friend Dave Owen (an American-born tenor sax player)
formed Australia's first rock'n'roll band, The Dee Jays. The original lineup of the
group was John Balkins (baritone sax), Kevin Norton (guitar), Keith Williams (bass) and
Johnny 'Catfish' Purser (drums). Norton left soon after the band formed and he was replaced by Indonesian-born guitarist Lou Casch.

Casch was a remarkable figure and his contribution to O'Keefe's sound, both live and on record, was considerable. He was born in Ambon in 1924, grew up in Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...

 and Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

, began playing guitar at an early age, and became a dedicated jazz musician. He came to Australia under the Colombo Plan
Colombo Plan
The Colombo Plan is a regional organization that embodies the concept of collective inter-governmental effort to strengthen economic and social development of member countries in the Asia-Pacific Region...

 in 1952 to study Medicine at the University of Sydney. He was introduced to O'Keefe by Keith Williams, whom he had known from a jazz trio in which they played. At their first meeting O'Keefe played Casch a selection of rock'n'roll records and asked him to imitate the guitar playing, which he was easily able to do. Impressed, O'Keefe offered him the job and handed him a pile of records, saying "Here, learn these. The dance is on Saturday night."

Their first performance was at Stones Cabaret in the beach side suburb of Coogee
Coogee, New South Wales
Coogee is a beachside suburb of local government area City of Randwick. It is located 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is also a part of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney....

, and by early 1957 they were playing four dances a week and also performing on Saturdays in the interval between films at the Embassy Theatre, Manly
Manly, New South Wales
Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Manly is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:Manly was named...

. O'Keefe and the Dee Jays quickly attracted a strong local following, due in large measure to O'Keefe's magnetic personality and his dynamic stage performances.

O'Keefe's 'trademark' was his flamboyant stage attire, which included gold lame jackets and brightly coloured suits trimmed with fake fur. Many of these outfits were made for him by Sydney 'showbiz' costumier Len Taylor, although one famous red suit trimmed with leopard-print velvet cuffs and lapels (now in the collection of the Powerhouse Museum
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, the other being the historic Sydney Observatory...

, Sydney) was reputedly made by his mother Thelma.

At the time Casch joined the band, they were promoting their own dances at local venues such as the Balmain
Balmain, New South Wales
Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located slightly west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....

 Workingmen's Institute and Stone's Cabaret. The enterprising O'Keefe was involved in every aspect of the group's career including hiring the halls, placing ads in the local newspapers and putting up posters.
"O'Keefe was the promoter, singer, bouncer, door attendant, sold the ice creams, mixed the drinks and cleaned the halls, while working during the days at his father's furniture store."


These dances could often be wild affairs. One event (recounted in Peter Cox's article on Lou Casch) took place at a dance in Newtown
Newtown, New South Wales
Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....

. O'Keefe and the Dee Jays were playing upstairs, while an Italian wedding reception was underway downstairs. Some of the dance patrons came to blows with wedding guests in the men's toilets, and within minutes the fight had erupted into a full-scale riot that spilled out into the street, with police eventually calling in the Navy Shore Patrol to help restore order. It was this incident, according to Cox, that inspired O'Keefe to write his signature tune, "Wild One".

"Wild One" was revived in 1986 and recorded by Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

 as Real Wild Child
Wild One (Johnny O'Keefe song)
"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked...

. A cover by Christopher Otcasek was used on the soundtrack for the movie "Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...

" starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. It was also recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...

, Everlife
Everlife
Everlife is a pop rock band made of three sisters, Amber, Sarah, and Julia Ross.-Early:Everlife originated in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The band were formed in the winter of 1997 with Sarah on the drums, Amber on the guitar, and Julia on keyboard....

, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Glamour Camp
Glamour Camp
Glamour Camp is an American rock band formed by Christoper Ocasek. He was able to score a deal with EMI as a second-generation Ocasek rocker.Glamour Camp's self-titled debut album’s leadoff single, “She Did It” garnered some light rotation MTV play...

, Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his song "Someday, Someway".-Biography:...

, Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...

, and Wakefield
Wakefield (band)
Wakefield is a 4 piece rock band from Mechanicsville, Maryland. The band consists of singer Ryan Escolopio, his brother and former Good Charlotte drummer, Aaron Escolopio, their cousin and bass player Mike Schoolden , and guitarist J.D. Tennyson.-Early years:Ryan, JD, and Mike formed the band with...

 and Jet
Jet (band)
Jet are an Australian rock band formed in 2001 while attending St Bede's College Mentone in Melbourne, . The band consists of lead guitarist Cameron Muncey, bassist Mark Wilson, and brothers Nic and Chris Cester on vocals/rhythm guitar and drums respectively...

.

Meeting with Lee Gordon

Johnny O'Keefe first met Bill Haley during his tour in 1957 in Australia.
Haley was impressed by O'Keefe, giving him a song to record ("You Hit The Wrong Note, Billy Goat") and recommending him to Ken Taylor, A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 manager of leading local record company Festival Records. Taylor, however, failed to act on Haley's advice, so O'Keefe then famously took matters into his own hands and began telling the local press that he had in fact been signed to Festival. Anxious not to lose face, Taylor auditioned O'Keefe and signed him to the label.

O'Keefe's debut single (issued as a 78rpm record), "You Hit The Wrong Note, Billy Goat" b/w
"The Chicken Song", was released in July 1957 but it failed to chart and sold poorly, as did
the follow-up, "Love Letters In The Sand" -- which O'Keefe later described as the worst
record of his career.

By this time O'Keefe had become a close friend of Lee Gordon
Lee Gordon (promoter)
Lee Gordon was an American entrepreneur and rock and roll promoter who worked extensively in Australia in the late 1950s and early 1960s...

 and their popularity really took off when O'Keefe and the Dee Jays were installed as the featured support act for Gordon's famous "Big Show" concert bills at the Sydney Stadium
Sydney Stadium
The Sydney Stadium was a sporting and entertainment venue in Sydney, New South Wales, which formerly stood on the corner of New South Head Road and Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay...

. These "Big Show" concerts were landmarks in Australian popular entertainment, being among the first tours to feature leading overseas rock'n'roll stars, including Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...

, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...

, Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...

 and Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...

; Gordon also toured many top jazz acts of the day, including the first visits to Australia by black jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

, who had been prevented from touring Australia in previous years because of the White Australia Policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....

.

Commercial breakthrough

O'Keefe and the Dee Jays' first major break was a support spot on Lee Gordon's first "Big Show" rock'n'roll tour, which starred Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...

, Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...

, and Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...

. When Gene Vincent and his band were stranded in Honolulu on their way to Australia, Gordon contacted O'Keefe and asked him to fill in for Vincent for the first night of the tour in Wollongong. This was followed by another support spot on the second all-star Big Show, which included The Crickets (with lead singer Buddy Holly on his first and only Australian tour), Jerry Lee Lewis and Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...

.

During this period The Dee Jays also acted as the backing band for many of the international acts that Gordon toured, since they were at the time the only rock'n'roll band in the country who could read music—according to Lou Casch, they backed acts including Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...

, The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...

, Fabian
Fabian (entertainer)
Fabiano Anthony Forte , known as Fabian, is an American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.-Early life:Fabian was the son of Josephine and Domenic...

, Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter is an American actor, singer, former teen idol and author who has starred in over forty major films.-Background:...

, Jimmie Rodgers
Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer)
James Frederick "Jimmie" Rodgers is an American singer. He is not related to the country singer of the same name.-Career:...

 and Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...

, and on his 1960 tour, Nelson was booed by fans of O'Keefe's whom he had reputedly planted in the audience. Their skill and energy and O'Keefe's frantic performances also saw them upstage many of the visiting performers. Casch recalled that he actually played behind Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...

, whose own backing musicians were so daunted by the Dee Jays' performance that they got too drunk too play.

Their first EP, Shakin' At The Stadium, included JOK's signature tune "Wild One", co-written by O'Keefe with Greenan, Owens and top Sydney DJ Tony Withers. This became his first hit in March 1958, peaking at #20 on the newly established Sydney Top 40 (at this time there was no national pop chart in Australia). Although it was claimed that it was recorded live at the Stadium, it was in fact a studio recording, overdubbed with the sound of a real Stadium audience.

O'Keefe issued three more singles during 1958 -- "Over The Mountain" b/w Lawdy Miss Clawdy",
a cover of The Cuff Links
The Cuff Links
The Cuff Links were an American rock/pop studio group from Staten Island, New York. The band had a U.S. No. 9 hit in 1969 with "Tracy", with rich harmonised vocals provided entirely by Ron Dante...

 "So Tough" b/w "That'll Be Alright" -- which reached #12 in
Sydney—and "I Ain't Gonna Do It" b/w Could This Be Magic?"

O'Keefe married Marianne Renate Willimzik, a 23-year-old hairdresser, at St Therese's Catholic Church, Dover Heights, on 2 August 1958. They had three children, but their relationship eventually collapsed under the pressure of O'Keefe's career demands and mental health problems, and they were divorced in 1966.

O'Keefe had played a few dates in New Zealand in 1958, but in early 1959 rising NZ promoter Harry M. Miller
Harry M. Miller
-Early career:Born in New Zealand, Miller grew up in Grey Lynn, Auckland, and moved to Australia in 1963, where he established a company called Pan Pacific Productions with Keith and Dennis Wong, owners of the noted Sydney nightclub "Chequers"...

 organised a two-month tour. O'Keefe took the staid NZ music scene by storm, although he was banned from playing at some halls and faced problems getting airplay. At that time the NZBC had a monopoly on radio, they had only one J.O'K. record in their library, and they refused to play his new single "Wild One" -- although a hastily issued version by NZ rocker Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin, born John Lockett Devlin , was an influential early New Zealand rock musician, sometimes called "New Zealand's answer to Elvis Presley"....

 was played. O'Keefe also toyed with the local press, playing on Lou Casch's exotic appearance by telling journalists that Casch was the son of an Arrernte
Arrernte people
The Arrernte people , known in English as the Aranda or Arunta, are those Indigenous Australians who are the original custodians of Arrernte lands in the central area of Australia around Mparntwe or Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The Arrernte tribe has lived there for more than 20,000 years...

 Aboriginal chieftain from Ayers Rock (Uluru
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....

) and that Casch's hand-built guitar was made from mulga wood.

Six O'Clock Rock

The event cemented O'Keefe's status as Australia's top pop star came just after the NZ tour ended. In early 1959 ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

 hired Johnny O'Keefe & The Dee Jays as the resident band for its new one-hour live television show Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian Rock and Roll television show which showed on ABC Television from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings....

which featured local artists. The show was a rather daring departure from the ABC's otherwise rather staid entertainment programming, as its charter obliged it to cater to a mainstream audience and its radio and TV outlets had until then, featured little of the new rock'n'roll craze.

Six O'Clock Rock premiered on 28 February 1959 and was originally hosted by Ricki Merriman, but after six episodes O'Keefe took over as host, marking the beginning of the most successful phase of his career. O'Keefe quickly took over the running of almost every aspect of the show, selecting guest artists, choosing their material, supervising the rehearsals and conducting the band.

No doubt assisted by his high profile, O'Keefe scored two more Top 20 hits in the first half of 1959 with the singles "What Do Ya Know?" b/w "Peek-A-Boo" (#12, March 1959) and "Why Do They Doubt Our Love?" b/w "You Excite Me" (#9, May 1959).

At this point O'Keefe switched to Festival's new subsidiary Leedon Records
Leedon Records
Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by American entrepreneur Lee Gordon in early 1958.-Establishment and early releases:...

. The former
independent label had been established by Lee Gordon, and was distributed by Festival. It had had some minor success but by 1959 Gordon was in financial trouble and he sold the label to Festival. From this point until the late 1960s, all O'Keefe's recordings came out on the Leedon label. He scored another hit in late 1959 with his first Leedon single, "Swanee River" / "The Steady Game" (#12, Oct. 1959).

Boosted by his TV profile, O'Keefe's next two singles became two of the biggest and most enduring hits of his career. His second Leedon single was a cover of The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...

' "Shout!" (b/w "What'd I Say"), which reached #3 in November 1959, and it was followed by his first #1 single, "She's My Baby" / "Own True Self", in January 1960.

O'Keefe and The Dee Jays had a regular gig in Sydney each Wednesday and Saturday night at the Leichhardt Police Citizen's Boys Club during 1959. Many of the "bodgie" (male) and "widgie" (female) patron's arrived on motor bikes (cycles). During one talent quest teenager Ray Hoff won the event with his version of the Ronnie Self
Ronnie Self
Ronnie Self was a United States rockabilly singer and songwriter. His solo career was unsuccessful, despite being signed to contracts with Columbia and then Decca from the late 1950s through the early 1960s. His only charted single was "Bop-A-Lena"; recorded in 1957 and released in 1958, it...

 single 'Bopalena.' Hoff went on to become a successful performer with his own rock band, Ray Hoff and the Off Beats. Another night saw a crew cut disc jockey Bob Rodgers handing out records while being filmed for a documentary. Leather jackets were banned in an effort to reduce fights mostly outside the premises, and if patrons were caught fighting within the club, the two police officers (John and Reg) on duty and in uniform, would force the culprits to don boxing gloves and get into a boxing ring downstairs.

Many fans would attend the live Saturday "Six O'Clock Rock" TV show at ABC's Gore Hill studios then go direct to The Leichhardt Dance. Eventually JOK was replaced by a more sedate Johnny Rebb and the Rebels at The Leichhardt Dance. Johnny Rebb wore a toupee and was escorted through the crowd to the bandstand accompanied by a bodyguard-manager. JOK was more at ease with tough wild kids.

At a packed 1959 Sydney Stadium big show starring American Lloyd Price backed by various Australian acts, JOK saved the show. Price had collapsed on stage a few songs before he was due to finish his performance. O'Keefe quickly jumped to the rescue as a semi conscious Price was being taken away leaving most of the audience bewildered. JOK then performed Price's number one hit 'Personality' giving the audience some value for money and cementing his star status.

Next morning a picture in the Sydney tabloid newspaper The Daily Telegraph showed O'Keefe accepting a piece of jewellery from the very appreciative Lloyd Price. The promoters were obviously even more happy as refunds would not have been necessary.

U.S. visits, 1959-60

"She's My Baby" had been recorded in Los Angeles with producer Ernie Freeman
Ernie Freeman
Ernie Freeman was an American pianist, organist and arranger.In 1935 he began playing in local Cleveland area nightclubs, and also formed a classical music trio for local social functions with his father and his sister Evelyn...

 during O'Keefe's first visit to the United States in October 1959. His decision to try his luck in the USA was strongly opposed by his friend and mentor Lee Gordon but the ever-ambitious O'Keefe had already set his sights on breaking into the American market, and in L.A. he met with record executive Mickey Shaw who signed him to a deal with Liberty Records
Liberty Records
Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...

.

In February 1960 O'Keefe returned to the U.S. for a promotional tour, where he was promoted
as "The Boomerang Boy", and much to his chagrin, O'Keefe was obliged to give boomerang
Boomerang
A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...


throwing exhibitions. According to Ian McFarlane, Liberty offered to pay $5 to anyone who
could throw further than the singer, but they had to pay out many times at one exhibition
when O'Keefe turned up drunk.

O'Keefe undertook a gruelling tour that visited 35 states, but he made little impact,
although "She's My Baby" reputedly sold more than 100,000 copies in the USA and his next single "It's Too Late" briefly reached #1 in New Orleans, but the tour eventually fizzled out as O'Keefe exhausted his finances.

Car accident

On his return to Australia, "It's Too Late" became his eleventh Australian hit, but O'Keefe
was totally broke and deeply depressed. To cover his US failure
he bought a bright red imported Plymouth Belvedere
Plymouth Belvedere
The Plymouth Belvedere was an American automobile produced by Plymouth from 1951-1970.-1951–1953:Introduced on March 31, the 1951 Plymouth Belvedere arrived as a two-door pillarless hardtop. It was Plymouth's first vehicle of such design and was built in response to Chevrolet's Bel Air...

 on hire purchase
Hire purchase
Hire purchase is the legal term for a contract, in this persons usually agree to pay for goods in parts or a percentage at a time. It was developed in the United Kingdom and can now be found in China, Japan, Malaysia, India, South Africa, Australia, Jamaica and New Zealand. It is also called...

 and began touring
relentlessly up and down the east coast of Australia to pay off the car and replenish his
finances, returning to Sydney every Saturday to present Six O'Clock Rock. JOK at one stage enjoyed low pressure in the car tyres as this made them squeal when turning corners.

Johnny O'Keefe insisted on driving himself and this almost cost him his life. In the early hours of 27 June 1960, O'Keefe, Johnny Greenan and Greenan's pregnant wife were driving back to Sydney from the Queensland Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...

. About 20 kilometres north of Kempsey
Kempsey, New South Wales
Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia and is the council seat for Kempsey Shire. It is located 15 kilometres inland from the coast of the Pacific Ocean where the Pacific Highway and the North Coast railway line cross the Macleay River...

 O'Keefe fell asleep at the wheel of the Plymouth and ploughed into a gravel truck. While the front of the large car bore the brunt of the very severe impact, all three were seriously injured. O'Keefe's face smashed into the steering wheel and he was thrown out of the car, landing six metres away in a paddock; Greenan's wife subsequently suffered a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...

. O'Keefe suffered multiple lacerations, concussion and fractures to his head and face; he lost four teeth, and his hands were also badly lacerated.

O'Keefe was air-lifted back to Sydney for treatment, but about six weeks later, and against doctors' orders, he returned to work on Six O'Clock Rock. He subsequently had to undergo many gruelling operations to reconstruct his face, which left his appearance permanently changed. Despite his ordeal, he continued recording and scored another #1 hit in August 1960 with "Don't You Know / Come On And Take My Hand" and the next single, "Ready For You" / "Save The Last Dance For Me" reached #4 in November, although many believe he never fully recovered from the accident and that it was the catalyst for his subsequent mental health problems.

In January 1961 O'Keefe attempted another tour of the United States, but it too was unsuccessful. By this time O'Keefe was reaching the limits of his physical and mental endurance, and in all probability he was suffering from the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...

. After the second US tour collapsed, on impulse he flew to London, but he blacked out at the Park Lane Hotel
Park Lane Hotel
The Park Lane Hotel is a 5 Star hotel on Piccadilly, London.The hotel was built in the 1920s in the Grand Art Deco Style by Sir Bracewell Smith. The building is a fine example with a mansard roof and Portland stone facade...

 and woke up three days later in St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital
Founded in 1733, St George’s Hospital is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It shares its main hospital site in Tooting, England with the St George's, University of London which trains NHS staff and carries out advanced medical research....

, London, where he had been admitted, suffering from "nervous collapse". By chance he was able to make contact with Lee Gordon, who happened to be in London at the time, and with Gordon's help (and that of O'Keefe's wife and his parents) he was released from hospital and returned to Australia.

His run of Australian hits continued in spite of his mounting personal problems -- "I'm Counting On You" became his second #1 hit in August 1961, followed by a third chart-topper, "Sing (And Tell The Blues So Long)" in March 1962 and "I Thank You", which reached #22 in December.

His tenure with Six O'Clock Rock ended in mid-1961, and in October he moved to ATN-7
ATN-7
ATN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax, was one of the first four licences to be issued for commercial television stations in Australia...

 as compere of the The Johnny O'Keefe Show. The show was a major success, but this only added to his already hectic workload and increased the pressure on him. In August 1962 he suffered another breakdown and spent two months in the psychiatric ward at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown...

 in Sydney, beginning what was to become a repeating cycle of much-publicised breakdowns, hospitalisation and recovery. During his convalescence the TV show was renamed Sing, Sing, Sing and he was temporarily replaced as host by folk singer Lionel Long
Lionel Long
Lionel Joaquin Paul Long, OAM was an Australian country, Western, folk singer and a television actor.Long became one of Australia's most successful and talented country/western/folk artists in the 1960s, recognised as one of EMI's most popular and successful artists releasing over a dozen LPs...

.

O'Keefe scored his fourth Australian #1 hit with "Move Baby Move" in July 1963, and also
"Shake Baby Shake" (#8, October '62) and "Twist It Up" which reached #32 in December '62.

It was around this time that O'Keefe finally parted ways with his faithful backing group The Dee Jays, as he devoted more and more time to TV which was in the shocking era of all major artists miming songs at outdoor locations such at Manly Beach's Fairy Bower in 1967. Live performances began to taper off. The Dee Jays stayed together, however, and continued performing until 1980.

Decline in popularity

Fearing that O'Keefe might have to be replaced as compere, the Seven network re-named O'Keefe's TV show as Sing Sing Sing in February 1963 but its popularity continued.

By late 1963, however, a new music trend from the UK known as Merseybeat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...

 was gaining momentum. Within a few months the emergence of the new wave of guitar/vocal groups led by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 ushered in a new era in popular music, and their advent signalled the start of a rapid decline in O'Keefe's career. These overseas acts in turn inspired a new generation of local 'beat' stars, spearheaded by Bobby & Laurie
Bobby & Laurie
Bobby & Laurie were a popular Australian singing duo of the 1960s, featuring Laurie Allen and Bobby Bright . Their regular backing band were The Rondells...

, Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs
Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian pop and rock group dating from the mid-sixties. The group enjoyed huge success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early seventies to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period...

, Ray Brown & The Whispers
Ray Brown & The Whispers
. For other uses of Whispers, see Whispers page.Ray Brown & The Whispers were a highly successful Australian rock band from 1964 to 1967...

, Tony Worsley & The Fabulous Blue Jays, Normie Rowe
Normie Rowe
Norman John "Normie" Rowe AM was a major male solo performer of Australian pop music in the 1960s. Known for his bright and edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence, many of Rowe's most successful recordings were produced by Pat Aulton, house producer for the Sunshine Records, Spin Records and...

, and The Easybeats
The Easybeats
The Easybeats were an Australian rock and roll band. They formed in Sydney in late 1964 and broke up at the end of 1969. They are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s, and were the first Australian rock and roll act to score an international pop hit with their 1966 single...

, who took the Australian pop scene by storm and (at least in Australia) soon came to rival the popularity of the biggest overseas acts.

Although he had helped the careers of many of his rock'n'roll contemporaries, O'Keefe was resistant to the changes in pop music and made himself unpopular amongst the new groups by banning "long-haired" acts (such as The Missing Links) from appearing on Sing, Sing, Sing. O'Keefe was alienated by the new developments in pop music, and he later described this period as "the biggest downer in my career".

Another major blow to O'Keefe was the sudden death of his partner and friend Lee Gordon, who died from a heart attack in London on 7 November 1963.

O'Keefe's last major hit of the Sixties came in April 1964 (two months before the Beatles toured Australia) when "She Wears My Ring" reached #2 on the singles chart. However the follow-up single charted significantly lower, peaking at a modest #30, and titles of the two songs seemed, in retrospect, to presage the downturn in O'Keefe's career—the A-side, "Rock'n'Roll Will Stand" was backed by a cover of the Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?".

In November 1964, O'Keefe had another spell in psychiatric hospital, which he came to jokingly refer to as his "holiday camp".

His popularity continued to decline and sales of his records fell. Sing, Sing, Sing was eventually cancelled in October 1965.

In January 1967, O'Keefe compered a new TV show called Where The Action Is. It was produced and broadcast by the newly-opened Channel TEN-10
TEN-10
TEN is the callsign of Network Ten's flagship Sydney television station. It was originally owned and operated by United Telecasters Sydney Limited , and began transmission on 5 April 1965 with the highlight of the opening night being the variety special TV Spells Magic.-History:TEN often lagged in...

 and filmed at various outdoor locations around Sydney, and O'Keefe released a 'spin-off' album also titled Where The Action Is during the year, but the series was not successful and budget problems and low ratings led to its cancellation in November 1967.

From 1968 onwards O'Keefe devoted most of his time to performing on the burgeoning Australian club and cabaret circuit, and aside from the 1969 live LP Live On The Gold Coast, his only album releases were compilations of past hits, mostly issued on Festival's budget label Calendar.

O'Keefe doggedly continued recording new singles during the later 1960s, but only three made it into the Top 40 -- "Sun's Gonna Shine Tomorrow"(#38, May 1966), "Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw" (#28, August 1966) and a re-release of "She's May Baby" which reached #22 in August 1969.

1970s

During the late Sixties and into the Seventies O'Keefe's personal life became increasingly
fraught. His drug and alcohol use escalated, he suffered a series of highly-publicised
breakdowns, and he was involved in driving offences and a charge of possession of marijuana ca. 1970. One of the biggest personal blows O'Keefe suffered—albeit one for which he was primarily responsible—was the breakdown of his marriage and the bitter 1966 divorce from his long-suffering wife Marianne, whom he had married in 1958, which resulted in him being denied access to their three children.

During 1969 O'Keefe toured Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 to entertain Australian troops stationed there. On the business front, he signed a new contract with Festival at the end of 1969 and continued to record and release singles, but it was not until July 1972 that he finally scored another hit with a re-recorded version of 1958 hit "So Tough", which reached #7 in September that year.

In January 1973 O'Keefe performed at the second Sunbury Pop Festival. MC Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan, AM is an Australian actor best known for his role as Michael "Crocodile" Dundee from the Crocodile Dundee film series, for which he won a Golden Globe award.-Early life and career:...

 introduced him as a "newcomer" and urged the crowd to "give him a go", and although he was at first greeted with some jeering and booing, by the end of his set he had completely won over the crowd.

In early 1974 he scored his last big hit with a version of the old Inez and Charlie Foxx
Inez and Charlie Foxx
Charlie Foxx and his sister Inez Foxx were an African-American rhythm and blues and soul duo from Greensboro, North Carolina. Inez sang lead vocal, while Charlie sang back-up and played guitar.Their most successful record was with their novelty composition, "Mockingbird"...

 hit "Mockingbird", recorded as a duet with vocalist Margaret McLaren. It became his 29th Australian hit, reaching #8 nationally in April 1974. It fared well against stiff competition from the better-known James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....

-Carly Simon
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...

 version, which was rush-released in Australia to compete with it, but many of O'Keefe's supporters claim that O'Keefe's version was deliberately ignored by some commercial radio stations, in favour of its US rival.

In August 1974 O'Keefe put together a package tour called "The Good Old Days of Rock'n'Roll" which featured many of his old friends including Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin, born John Lockett Devlin , was an influential early New Zealand rock musician, sometimes called "New Zealand's answer to Elvis Presley"....

, Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee is an Australian singer. He was raised on sheep property in Rowena, New South Wales and has been performing since the mid 1950s. At the peak of his career, Lee had eight national #1 hits and produced five Gold Records...

, Jade Hurley, Barry Stanton, Tony Brady and Laurel Lee. It premiered at St George Leagues Club in Sydney and continued successfully for the next four years. O'Keefe continued to issue singles, including a cover of the Harry Vanda
Harry Vanda
Harry Vanda , is a Dutch-born Australian popular music singer, guitarist, songwriter and record producer.-Career:...

-George Young song "Saturday Night", originally recorded by The Easybeats
The Easybeats
The Easybeats were an Australian rock and roll band. They formed in Sydney in late 1964 and broke up at the end of 1969. They are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s, and were the first Australian rock and roll act to score an international pop hit with their 1966 single...

.

On 14 February 1975 (St Valentine's Day) at the Masonic Hall, Waverley, O'Keefe married for the second time to Maureen Joan Maricic, a 29-year-old fashion consultant. They opened a boutique, J. O'K Creations, at Paddington in 1978.

Death and legacy

By the late 1970s O'Keefe had become a heavy consumer of a wide range of drugs, and he reportedly carried a briefcase containing a large quantity of many types of prescription medications. These drugs were treatment for his bipolar disorder. It was also reported that he was deeply depressed by the death of his idol Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 in August 1977, and that he had repeatedly remarked to friends "I'll be next".

O'Keefe's last public appearance was on Seven Network's Sounds
Sounds (TV show)
Sounds was a popular Australian television series featuring pop and rock music. It was broadcast on Saturday mornings on the Seven Network from the late 1970s to the late 1980s....

program, taped on 30 September 1978.

Johnny O'Keefe died six days later, on 6 October 1978, from a heart attack induced by an accidental overdose of prescribed drugs. He was buried at Northern Suburbs Cemetery in Sydney.

Since his death, O'Keefe's stature has continued to grow, and he has been posthumously accorded the recognition he did not receive in his lifetime. The first major biography on O'Keefe was published in 1982, and several others have been written since including The Wild One by Damian Johnstone and Johnny O'Keefe - The Facts written in 2008 by Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee is an Australian singer. He was raised on sheep property in Rowena, New South Wales and has been performing since the mid 1950s. At the peak of his career, Lee had eight national #1 hits and produced five Gold Records...

 and released by Starlite Records. Besides being a great showman himself, he is also credited for nurturing other Australian talent, like Barry Stanton and Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee is an Australian singer. He was raised on sheep property in Rowena, New South Wales and has been performing since the mid 1950s. At the peak of his career, Lee had eight national #1 hits and produced five Gold Records...



In 1986 the Seven Network produced the successful 'docu-drama' mini-series based on his life, Shout! The Story of Johnny O'Keefe, which starred actor-singer Terry Serio as O'Keefe.

In 1986 punk legend Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

 recorded a cover version of O'Keefe's signature tune "Wild One" under the title "Real Wild Child
Wild One (Johnny O'Keefe song)
"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked...

", which was included on his album Blah Blah Blah and released as a single. Samples from the Iggy Pop version were incorporated into the theme music for the ABC's long-running late-night music video show Rage
Rage (TV program)
Rage is a popular all-night Australian music video program broadcast on ABC1 on Friday nights, Saturday mornings and Saturday nights. It was first screened on the weekend of Friday, 17 April 1987. With Soul Train no longer being produced, it is the oldest music television program currently still...

, which premiered in 1987, and the opening credits of the show include footage of O'Keefe on stage.

In 1988 Johnny O'Keefe was posthumously inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

In 1994 the Powerhouse Museum
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, the other being the historic Sydney Observatory...

 in Sydney recognised O'Keefe's contributions in a major exhibition of Australia's rock and pop history titled Real Wild Child and a comprehensive CD-ROM based on the exhibition was later released with the same title.

In 1998 Australia Post
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...

 issued a special stamp edition celebrating the early years of Australian rock'n'roll; the first stamp in the series commemorated Johnny O'Keefe's rise to stardom in 1958.

Johnny O'Keefe's life story and career also inspired the stage musical, Shout! The Legend of The Wild One, with book by John-Michael Howson
John-Michael Howson
John Michael Howson OAM, born in Melbourne, Australia in 1936, is an Australian writer, reporter and entertainer and 3AW commentator...

, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow and featuring music made famous by O'Keefe and other hits of the 1950s.

A portrait of O'Keefe by Australian artist Ivan Durrant, titled "A Little Bit Louder Now", is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

On Thursday 10 June 2004 a 5 metre tall Monument titled "The Wild One", created by sculptor Dr. Alex Sandor Kolozsy CDVA, was unveiled at the Coolangatta/Tweed Heads, Twin Towns Services Club in memory of the King of Australian Rock and Roll.

On Thursday 18 June 2009, Waverley College
Waverley College
Waverley College is a Roman Catholic, secondary, day school for boys, located at Waverley, in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

 in conjunction with St. Clare's College premiered Shout! The Legend of The Wild One at NIDA
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. NIDA is located adjacent...

 to commemorate the former student on his achievements as well as the legacy that he has left on Australian Rock 'N' Roll. In October 2010, his 1958 album, Wild One, was listed in the top 40 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books...

.

Discography

Date Cat No Festival Records

7/57 FS-1532 Billygoat (You Hit The Wrong Note)/I’m Still Alive (The Chicken Song)*

8/57 SP-45-1562 Am I Blue/Love Letters In The Sand*

11/57 SP-45-1632 Cathedral In The Pines (Richard Gray-Vocal-With Johnny O’Keefe and The Dee Jays)*

3/58 Wild One

4/58 FS-2004 Lawdy Miss Clawdy/Over The Mountain

12/58 FK-3037 That’ll Be Alright/So Tough

12/58 FK-3053 Could This Be Magic?/Ain’t A Gonna Do It

2/59 FK-3066 Peek A Boo/What Da Ya Know?

7/59 FK-3081 Why Do They Doubt Our Love?/You Excite Me

Date Cat No Lee Gordon
Lee Gordon
For the rock and roll promoter see Lee Gordon Lee "Stubby" Gordon was a jazz musician and the Cleveland bandsman who conducted the Rhythm Masters orchestra and wrote the music for songs such as "Tell Me Dreamy Eyes" , "Worryin' Blues" , and "Rippin' It Off." He was the first to broadcast...


8/59 LS-568 Swanee River/The Steady Game

11/59 LS-575 Shout Pts.1&2/What’d I Say

12/59 LS-582 She’s My Baby/Own True Self

4/60 LS-595 It’s Too Late/Jubilee

7/60 LS-600 Don’t You Know? /Come On And Take My Hand

11/60 LS-607 Ready For You/Save The Last Dance For Me

Date Cat No Leedon Records
Leedon Records
Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by American entrepreneur Lee Gordon in early 1958.-Establishment and early releases:...


5/61 LK-49 Swing Low Sweet Chariot-I Believe

8/61 LK-113 I’m Counting On You-Right Now

1/62 LK-184 Sing-To Love

9/62 LK-272 Yes Indeed I Do-Keep A’Walking

11/62 LK-298 I Thank You-Heaven Sent

5/63 LK-378 Move Baby Move-You’ll Never Cherish a Love So True (Until You Lose It)

9/63 LK-454 Shake Baby Shake-Good Luck Charm

11/63 LK-493 Twist It Up-Twist and Shout

3/64 LK-574 She Wears My Ring-Let’s Love Tonight

5/64 LK-636 Shout Parts. 1 & 2 (remake)-Come On And Take My Hand (remake)

10/64 LK-770 Rock ‘n’ Roll Will Stand - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

2/65 LK-886 Cry Cry Baby-Nobody Loves Me

3/66 LK-1293 The Sun’s Gonna Shine Tomorrow-Mansion Over The Hilltop

6/66 LK-1416 Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw - My Heart Belongs To Only You

9/66 LK-1533 Hey Girl-Don’t Be Cruel

1/67 LK-1653 Ooh Poo Pah Doo Parts 1 & 2 (remake) - Ecstacy

3/67 LK-1716 Where The Action Is-Buzz Buzz Buzz

8/67 LK-1974 Just A Closer Walk With Thee-Why Do They Doubt Our Love?

8/69 LK-3220 She’s My Baby-She Wears My Ring

Date Cat No Festival Records
10/69 FK-3355 Come On And Take My Hand-Right Now

1/70 FK-3493 Confessions Of A Lonely Man- To Love Somebody

1/71 FK-4098 I Am Blessed-I’m Counting On You

10/71 FK-4482 (You’ve Got Me) Dangling On A String/Keep On Smiling

7/72 FK-4774 So Tough (remake)-Holly Holy

11/72 FK-4917 High Rollin’ Man-My Lady By The River

7/73 FK-5177 Soul shake-Mockingbird (with Margaret McLaren)

11/73 K-5392 Rock ‘n’ Roll Music-Mary Lee

8/74 K-5583 Saturday Night-Over And Over

1/75 K-5795 On The Road-Rock ‘n’ Roll Boogie

9/75 K-6114 Full Blooded Natural Man-Taste the Wine

6/76 K-6433 I Thank You-Move Baby Move

10/77 K6921 One Of Those Nights-Rock ‘n’ Roll Will Stand (remake)

10/78 K-7274 High Rollin’ Man-I’m Counting On You

11/81 K-8593 Ready For You-Billygoat (You Hit The Wrong Note)

4/86 K-9999 Sing-Billygoat (You Hit The Wrong Note) 10”

6/86 K-45 Mockingbird-She’s My Baby

Print sources

  • Caswell, Robert (1986) Shout! : the story of Johnny O'KeefeSydney : Currency Press,ISBN 0-86819-140-X (pbk.) Discography: p. 158-160.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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