Little Boy Lost (song)
Encyclopedia
Little Boy Lost, was an Australian hit song, recorded by Johnny Ashcroft
. He composed this song from a lyric idea put forward by DJ, Tony Withers.
, five thousand people and seven aircraft searched the rugged New England Ranges
of New South Wales, Australia, for a four-year-old farm boy, Steven Walls, the Little Boy Lost. They found him alive and well.
in the U.S. and Michael Holliday
in the UK. Notable Australian artists recorded Little Boy Lost, among them were Jimmy Little
, Slim Dusty
, the Singing Kettles and Evelyn Bury.
schoolboy Graham Thorne became Australia’s first kidnap victim, later found murdered. Purely because of connotations associated with the title, Little Boy Lost, Johnny Ashcroft had his song removed from Australian airplay, thereby avoiding extra trauma for Graham Thorne’s family and friends. Today, he is the only songwriter/recording artist, at least in Australia, to deliberately kill the airplay of his own hit record.
had its world premiere at Armidale – in Australia’s wild New England Ranges. Johnny Ashcroft and Gay Kayler
recorded a brand new version of Little Boy Lost for the movie sound track, as well as some moving vocal sequences. Bob “Beetles” Young composed the movie theme.
The Little Boy Lost movie, which received the Catholic Award for Decency in Germany, starred Nathan Dawes as Steven Walls, Lorna Lesley and John Hargreaves
as his parents, Tony Barry
as Constable Jack O’Dea and Steve Dodd
as William Stanley, the Aboriginal tracker. It was directed by Terry Bourke and released worldwide. Later, the Little Boy Lost movie became available on video
and DVD
.
The DVD of Little Boy Lost was re-released in 2005 and again in 2007.
Johnny Ashcroft
Johnny Ashcroft is an Australian country music entertainer, songwriter, recording artist and musician.- Early roots :...
. He composed this song from a lyric idea put forward by DJ, Tony Withers.
Historic event
The song accurately relates the saga of Australia’s greatest land and air search. For four days and three nights, in February 1960, William Stanley, an Aboriginal trackerAboriginal tracker
In the years following British settlement in Australia, aboriginal trackers or black trackers, as they became known, were enlisted by settlers to assist them in navigating their way through the Australian landscape...
, five thousand people and seven aircraft searched the rugged New England Ranges
New England (Australia)
New England or New England North West is the name given to a generally undefined region about 60 kilometres inland, that includes the Northern Tablelands and the North West Slopes regions in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:The region has been occupied by Indigenous...
of New South Wales, Australia, for a four-year-old farm boy, Steven Walls, the Little Boy Lost. They found him alive and well.
An Australian all-time great
Little Boy Lost was the top Australian hit-song of 1960. And in its day, it became one of this country’s all-time greatest hits, awarded the first 45rpm Gold Record struck in Australia and also, in 1961, New Zealand’s first 45rpm Gold Record.Worldwide success
A Johnny Ashcroft TV performance of Little Boy Lost was released worldwide as a film clip (there were no videos then). That film clip was a forerunner of the video and DVD clips of today. ‘Covers’ by world renowned artists were released, notably by Jimmy DeanJimmy Dean
Jimmy Ray Dean was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand, he became a national television personality starting in 1957, rising to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit "Big Bad...
in the U.S. and Michael Holliday
Michael Holliday
Norman Alexander Milne, known professionally as Michael Holliday was a British crooner popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s....
in the UK. Notable Australian artists recorded Little Boy Lost, among them were Jimmy Little
Jimmy Little
Jimmy Little AO , is an Australian Aboriginal musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose career has spanned six decades. For many years he was the only Aboriginal star on the Australian music scene...
, Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty
David Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning nearly eight decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson that represented the Australian Bush...
, the Singing Kettles and Evelyn Bury.
An unenviable record
Some months after Steven Walls was found alive, SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
schoolboy Graham Thorne became Australia’s first kidnap victim, later found murdered. Purely because of connotations associated with the title, Little Boy Lost, Johnny Ashcroft had his song removed from Australian airplay, thereby avoiding extra trauma for Graham Thorne’s family and friends. Today, he is the only songwriter/recording artist, at least in Australia, to deliberately kill the airplay of his own hit record.
2007 release
The original Johnny Ashcroft recording of Little Boy Lost has been available continuously, in various catalogues, since 1960. This hit version of the song was re-released on 4 August 2007 on a 28-track Rajon Music double CD set, Johnny Ashcroft, Here’s To You, Australia!1978 film
In 1978, the Little Boy Lost movieLittle Boy Lost (1978 film)
Little Boy Lost is a 1978 Australian drama film starring Nathan Dawes as Stephen Walls, John Hargreaves as Jacko Walls, Lorna Lesley as Dorrie Walls, Tony Barry as Constable O'Dea and Steve Dodd as William Stanley, the Aboriginal tracker....
had its world premiere at Armidale – in Australia’s wild New England Ranges. Johnny Ashcroft and Gay Kayler
Gay Kayler
Gay Kayler is an Australian country music entertainer and recording artist. Gay used her maiden name in her professional career until 1978, when she changed the spelling to Kayler to maintain a consistency of pronunciation.- A blossoming career :Gay comes from a musical family...
recorded a brand new version of Little Boy Lost for the movie sound track, as well as some moving vocal sequences. Bob “Beetles” Young composed the movie theme.
The Little Boy Lost movie, which received the Catholic Award for Decency in Germany, starred Nathan Dawes as Steven Walls, Lorna Lesley and John Hargreaves
John Hargreaves
John Hargreaves is the founder and chairman of the large UK out-of-town discount clothing and homeware chain Matalan. He went into the retail business when he was only 16, and opened the first Matalan store in Preston in 1985...
as his parents, Tony Barry
Tony Barry
Tony Barry is an Australian actor who has performed in 55 feature films and 45 television series, across a four-decade career.-Filmography:He is known for his roles in the 2008 film Australia, Return to Snowy River, Never Say Die, the 1988 film Surfer and The Coca-Cola Kid.After acting in...
as Constable Jack O’Dea and Steve Dodd
Steve Dodd
Steve Dodd , is an Indigenous Australian actor, notable for playing indigenous characters across seven decades of Australian film. After beginning his working life as a stockman and rodeo rider, Dodd was given his first film roles by prominent Australian actor Chips Rafferty...
as William Stanley, the Aboriginal tracker. It was directed by Terry Bourke and released worldwide. Later, the Little Boy Lost movie became available on video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
The DVD of Little Boy Lost was re-released in 2005 and again in 2007.
50th Anniversary
The massive search for Steven Walls has become part of Australian folklore. The longevity of the Little Boy Lost song played a major part in this circumstance. In 2010,the 50th Anniversary of that historic 4-day event fell on exactly the same days and nights as the actual saga, which commenced at 9:00am on Friday, 5 February (when Steven became lost) and ended at 2:00pm on Monday, 8 February (when he was found).External links
- Johnny Ashcroft Official website
- Gay Kayler
- Johnny Ashcroft's Little Boy Lost with movie clips on YouTube
- The Menzies Era No.1 Hits 1960s
- Song listing in National Film & Sound Archives
- Little Boy Lost turns 50! ABC Article
- IMDb link to the 1978 film
- Movie listing in National Film & Sound Archives
- History of Country Music–In 1960…“Little Boy Lost… topping charts nationwide”
- Ray Hadley, 2GB Sydney, interviews Johnny on 50th Anniversary of the Little Boy Lost search 5 Feb 2010
- Kelly Fuller, ABC New England North West, interviews Johnny on 50th Anniversary 7 Feb 2010
- Spencer Howson, ABC Brisbane, interviews Johnny on 50th Anniversary 5 Feb 2010
- Tim Cox, ABC Hobart, blog re Johnny and 50th Anniversary 11 Feb 2010