Ritchie Yorke facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ritchie Yorke
Ritchie Yorke in 2008
Born	(1944-01-12)12 January 1944 Brisbane, Australia
Died	6 February 2017(2017-02-06) (aged 73) Brisbane, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Citizenship	Australian
Occupation	Author broadcaster historian journalist

Ritchie Yorke (born January 12, 1944 – died February 6, 2017) was an Australian writer, radio host, historian, and music journalist. He was known for his work in many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Ritchie Yorke became famous for writing about music and for his work with famous musicians like John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Ritchie Yorke's Life Story

Early Years in Australia (1962–1966)

Ritchie Yorke was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1944. He started his career in July 1962, writing a weekly music column called Teen Topics for TV Week magazine.

From 1964 to 1965, he worked at a radio station in Tamworth. One day, he received a song called "Fingertips Pt. 2" by a young, blind artist named Little Stevie Wonder. Ritchie was very impressed and played the song on his show. However, his bosses told him not to play that kind of music.

To protest, Ritchie played "Fingertips Pt. 2" eight times in a row the next week! He was quickly removed from the studio and fired. After this, he moved back to Brisbane to continue writing and plan his future travels.

Moving to the United Kingdom (1966–1967)

In 1966, Ritchie Yorke left Australia and moved to London, England. He worked for Sunshine Records as an international operations director. He helped Australian pop star Normie Rowe with record deals.

In December 1966, Ritchie joined Island Records. He became the international promotion manager for the Spencer Davis Group. His job was to promote their song "Gimme Some Lovin'" outside of England. During this time, Ritchie's first book, Lowdown on the English Pop Scene, was published.

Later, when Stevie Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group to form a new band called Traffic, Ritchie was offered the job to manage them. But he decided to go on a tour across Europe instead.

Life in Canada (1967–1973)

Ritchie Yorke arrived in Toronto, Canada, in 1967. He quickly found work with the Toronto Telegram. He then became the first full-time rock music writer for Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. He also worked as the Canadian editor for Billboard magazine from 1970 to 1980 and Rolling Stone magazine from 1969 to 1970.

Working for Peace with John Lennon

In late 1969, Ritchie Yorke helped John Lennon and Yoko Ono with their famous "War Is Over!" peace campaign. He helped plan the Montreal bed-in, where John Lennon's peace song "Give Peace a Chance" was created. He also helped with the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival concert.

Ritchie was one of many volunteers who put up "War Is Over!" posters all over Toronto. He even traveled with musician Ronnie Hawkins on a 52,000-mile world tour. They were the Lennons' official peace messengers, carrying and displaying the posters. They even took the posters illegally across the Chinese border near Hong Kong. There, they were stopped by Red Guards and warned to leave.

Music Production and Canadian Music Laws

During this time, Ritchie also produced the first album for the band Edward Bear, called Bearings. He also played the anvil and tambourine on songs for the band Crowbar.

Ritchie Yorke played a big part in creating the Canadian Content legislation in 1971. This law made sure that Canadian radio stations played a certain amount of Canadian music. He argued that this law was needed to help Canadian musicians and the music industry grow.

In 1971, he published Axes, Chops & Hot Licks. This was the first book to cover Canadian music and the new content laws. It was also the first book about a music scene outside of the United States or England. Later that year, Ritchie was named Canadian Journalist of the Year at the Juno Music Awards in Toronto.

In 1972, Ritchie helped organize the Maple Music Junket. This event invited many writers, radio and TV people, and filmmakers to see five concerts in Montreal and Toronto.

London and Canada (1973–1986)

In 1973, Ritchie Yorke focused more on writing books. He had become friends with the band Led Zeppelin years earlier. He moved to London to write their first official biography. He returned to Toronto in 1974. In 1975, he published his next book, Into the Music: The Van Morrison Biography.

In early 1976, he released his well-known book The History of Rock ’n’ Roll. This book came out at the same time as a documentary he worked on with the same name. He also published The Led Zeppelin Biography that year.

Return to Australia (1986–2017)

In 1986, Ritchie Yorke moved back to his hometown of Brisbane, Australia. He continued his work in broadcasting and journalism. He worked for ABC Radio from 1987 to 1989. He also wrote for Brisbane's Sunday Mail newspaper until 2007.

During this time, he kept working with Yoko Ono on different projects. In 1991, he updated and re-released his Led Zeppelin book, calling it Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography. In 2013, he married his third wife, Minnie. In 2015, he published his last book, Christ You Know It Ain’t Easy: John and Yoko’s Battle for Peace. This book was about his friendship with John Lennon and his part in the peace campaign. Yoko Ono wrote the introduction for this book.

Ritchie Yorke passed away in a hospital in Brisbane on February 6, 2017. He died from problems related to a lung disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Ritchie Yorke's Journalism Career

Ritchie Yorke wrote for many different publications. He was the Canadian Editor for Rolling Stone (1969–70) and Billboard (1970–80). He was also the Senior Music Writer for the Brisbane Sunday Mail for 20 years (1987–2007).

He wrote biographies about Led Zeppelin and Van Morrison. He also wrote for magazines and newspapers like TV Week Australia, The Courier-Mail, Go-Set, Juke Magazine, Melody Maker, New Musical Express, The Globe and Mail, and The Toronto Telegram. His work was published in many countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Film and TV Appearances

Ritchie Yorke also appeared on television and contributed to documentary films. In 1986, he wrote the documentary The Real Patsy Cline. He was also featured in the documentary John & Yoko's Year of Peace.

In 2010, he was a guest on the music quiz show Spicks and Specks. In 2011, he was interviewed for the documentary Yonge Street: Toronto Rock & Roll Stories. This film was about Toronto's music scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Awards and Recognitions

Ritchie Yorke received several awards for his work:

• 1972 – Juno Music Awards – "Canadian Journalist of the Year"
• 2021 – SOCAN Awards – "SOCAN Guardian Award"

Queensland Music Awards

The Queensland Music Awards celebrate talented artists from Queensland, Australia.

Ritchie Yorke's Books

Books Written by Ritchie Yorke

• Lowdown On The English Pop Scene, 1967.
• Axes Chops & Hot Licks (The Canadian Rock Music Scene), 1972.
• Into The Music: The Van Morrison Biography, 1975.
• The Led Zeppelin Biography, 1976.
• The History Of Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1976.
• Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography, 1991.
• Christ You Know It Ain't Easy, 2015.

Books Ritchie Yorke Contributed To

• Montreux Jazz, 1976.
• The Ballad Of John And Yoko, 1982.
• A Little Bull Goes A Long Way, 2001.
• Memories Of John, 2005.
• Hendrix On Hendrix, 2012.
• Rock Country, 2013.
• Led Zeppelin On Led Zeppelin: Interviews And Encounters, 2014.