Dougie Young facts for kids

Dougie Young was a talented singer and songwriter from South West Queensland, Australia. His father was Frank Young, and his mother, Olive Kathleen née McCarthy, was from the Gurnu people.

Before becoming famous for his music, Dougie worked as a stockman. This meant he helped look after cattle on large farms. During this time, he learned to play the guitar and started writing his own songs. He married Christina Johnson on December 11, 1955, in Wilcannia. In 1957, a riding accident meant he could no longer work as a stockman.

Dougie Young's Music Journey

In the early 1960s, a researcher named Jeremy Beckett met Dougie. Jeremy was an anthropologist, someone who studies human societies and cultures. He made special recordings of Dougie's songs. These were called "field recordings" because they were made where Dougie lived and performed.

First Recordings and Famous Songs

Many of these recordings were put on a special music release in 1965. It was called an EP, which is like a mini-album. The EP was titled Land Where the Crow Flies Backwards. The main song from this EP became very well-known. Other musicians like Gary Shearston and Chad Morgan later sang their own versions of it.

Dougie was recorded two more times. Once in Walgett in 1969, and again in Sydney in 1979. Even after some people thought he had passed away, he was still making music! Later, in 1993, many of his songs from these recordings were released by AIATSIS. AIATSIS is an important organization that studies and shares the cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The collection was called The Songs of Dougie Young.

Songs in Documentaries

Dougie Young also sang a song called "Cut A Rug." This song was about his travels and experiences during his time as a wandering musician in Wilcannia in the 1950s and 1960s. You can hear this song in a TV show called Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music. It also appeared on the music CD that went with the show.

National Recognition

In 2013, Dougie Young's song The Land Where the Crow Flies Backwards received a special honor. It was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry. This means it is recognized as a very important part of Australia's sound history.

Dougie Young's Music Releases

Here are some of the music releases that feature Dougie Young's songs:

• Land Where the Crow Flies Backwards (1965) Wattle
• Dougie Young's songs were also in the film "Backroads" (directed by Phillip Noyce in 1976).
• The Songs of Dougie Young (1993) AIATSIS