Troy Cassar-Daley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Troy Cassar-Daley
Background information
Born	(1969-05-18) 18 May 1969 (age 56) Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia
Genres	Country
Occupation(s)	Songwriter, singer, author
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Sony Music, Liberation Music

Troy Cassar-Daley (born 18 May 1969) is a famous Australian country music singer, songwriter, and performer. He has been making music for over 30 years.

Troy has released many albums, including 13 studio albums. One of his albums, The Great Country Songbook with Adam Harvey, sold so many copies it went platinum! He has won many awards for his music. These include five ARIA Music Awards, forty Golden Guitars, and nine Deadly Awards (which celebrate Indigenous Australian artists). He has also been named Entertainer of the Year four times by the Country Music Association of Australia.

Troy's Early Life and Music Start

Troy Cassar-Daley was born on May 18, 1969, in Surry Hills, a suburb of Sydney. His dad was from Malta, and his mom was an Aboriginal woman from the Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung groups. When he was very young, Troy and his mom moved to Grafton in northern New South Wales.

When Troy was just eleven years old, he visited the Tamworth Country Music Festival. The next year, he went back to perform music on the streets for tips. By the time he was 16, Troy and his band, Little Eagle, were touring the North Coast of New South Wales. He even made it into the top 10 of the Toyota Star Maker Quest in Tamworth. In 1986, he won the "Search for a Star" competition. After that, he toured with musician Brian Young for seven months. This time helped him become a better songwriter. When he returned home, he joined The Blue Heeler Band as their new leader, taking over from James Blundell.

Troy's Solo Music Journey

By late 1993, Troy Cassar-Daley had written enough songs for his first album. His first song, "Dream Out Loud," came out on October 24, 1994. It quickly became the number-one country music song in Australia! His first album, Beyond the Dancing, was released in January 1995. This album won the ARIA Award for Best Country Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 1995. In 1996, Troy won Best Male Vocalist at the Country Music Awards in Tamworth. He also appeared briefly in the movie Race the Sun, where he sang a song in a bar scene.

In June 1996, Troy was part of an Australian Country Music Showcase in Nashville, USA. Other Australian stars like Lee Kernaghan and Gina Jeffreys were also there. Because of this, Troy went back to the US to record his next album, True Believer (1998). His next album, Big River (1999), won another ARIA Award for best country album. He continued to release successful albums like Long Way Home (2002), Borrowed & Blue (2004), Brighter Day (2005), and I Love This Place (2009). The last two also won ARIA Awards for best country album.

Troy sang the national anthem at the 2003 NRL grand final (a big rugby league game). In 2006, he joined actress Kate Ritchie on the singing show It Takes Two on Seven Network. He returned to the show in 2007 with Krystal Forscutt. Troy also appeared in Wiggles music videos for "Old Dan Tucker" and "Turkey in the Straw" in the same year.

On March 14, 2009, Troy performed with Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for Sound Relief. This was a big music concert to help people affected by the Victorian Bushfire Crisis. All the money raised from the Melbourne concert went to the Red Cross to help with bushfire relief.

Troy continued to release popular albums like Home (2012), The Great Country Songbook with Adam Harvey (2013), and Freedom Ride (2015). In August 2016, Troy released his first book, an autobiography called Things I Carry Around. It tells the story of his early life and music career. He also released an album with the same name. In 2017, Troy was honored by being the 50th person added to the famous Australian Roll of Renown. In October 2018, he released a big 42-song album called Greatest Hits, which also included a new song called "Wouldn't Change A Thing."

In June 2020, Troy signed a new deal with Sony Music Entertainment Australia. He had first signed with them back in 1995. He then released the albums Christmas for Cowboys in 2020 and The World Today in 2021. The World Today won the best country album award at the ARIA Music Awards that year.

Troy's Family Life

Cassar-Daley with his wife and children

Troy Cassar-Daley is married to Laurel Edwards, who is a radio and TV presenter. They have two children together. One of their children, Jem Cassar-Daley, is also a singer-songwriter.

In 2020, Troy was on the TV show Who Do You Think You Are? on SBS. On the show, he explored his family history. He learned about his father's roots in Malta and his mother's Aboriginal Australian ancestors.

Troy's Albums

Studio Albums

Live Albums

Compilation Albums

Extended Plays

Awards and Nominations

Troy Cassar-Daley has won many awards throughout his career. Here are some of the most important ones:

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Awards are Australia's biggest music awards. Troy has won five of these awards!

CMAA Awards (Golden Guitars)

The Country Music Awards of Australia are held every year in Tamworth. They are also known as the Golden Guitar Awards. Troy Cassar-Daley has won more of these awards than any other artist, with forty wins! In 2019, he was added to the Australian Roll of Renown, a very special honor.

Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards celebrated the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. Troy won nine Deadly Awards!

National Indigenous Music Awards

These awards recognize great Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians. Troy has won two of these awards.