By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline SurferORLANDO, Fla. -- I am heartbroken over Friday's death of "Georgy Girl" singer Judith Durham of the Seekers at age 79.
The song was released in late 1966 and reached its peak on the radio in early 1967 when I was 5 years old.
It was No. 1 in Australia, the home country of the Seekers, No. 2 in the UK, and No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100; though it hit No. 1 on the long-since-discontinued US Cash Box Top 100.
"After a brief stay in the Alfred Hospital, Judith was admitted to Palliative Care on Friday 5 August, where she passed away peacefully that evening. Her death was a result of complications from a long-standing chronic lung disease," Musicoast and Universal Music Australia said in a statement shared on the verified Facebook page for The Seekers, according to CNN.
"Our lives are changed forever losing our treasured lifelong friend and shining star. Her struggle was intense and heroic -- never complaining of her destiny and fully accepting its conclusion. Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share," her former bandmates Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley, and Athol Guy added in the post.
Durham helped open the door for Australian artists to achieve international fame. The Seekers, formed in 1962, were considered the first Australian pop band to achieve mainstream success in the United Kingdom and the United States.
"Georgy Girl" was my favorite song among a handful from my early childhood between the ages of 4 and 6 that I connected with in what has become a lifetime love affair of music. "Georgy Girl" was my favorite back then because of Durham's folksy vocals and the genteel instrumentation that went with it. It was one of those feel-good songs I would sing aloud to when nobody was around, which was rare since I'm the second oldest of seven kids. I was 6 years old when I started first grade at the Israel Putnam Elementary School in Putnam, Connecticut, in 1968; and I would often sing this along under my breath while riding the school bus.
"Georgy Girl" was my favorite song among a handful from my early childhood between the ages of 4 and 6 that I connected with in what has become a lifetime love affair of music. "Georgy Girl" was my favorite back then because of Durham's folksy vocals and the genteel instrumentation that went with it.
It was one of those feel-good songs I would sing aloud to when nobody was around, which was rare since I'm the second oldest of seven kids. I was 6 years old when I started first grade at the Israel Putnam Elementary School in Putnam, Connecticut in 1968; and I would often sing this along under my breath while riding the school bus.
My mom always had her AM radio playing in the kitchen and from this, there was always a new song to absorb. By the latter 1970s, I really liked Top 40 music and would follow Kasey Casem's American Top 40 countdown every Sunday. Then in 1978, I became a fan of Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special on late-night TV and I recall the guest host introducing the debut single from a new band "from the Back Bay of Boston," and then the excited utterance, "here are The Cars!"
This was my introduction to new wave and power pop. I was hooked! My parents bought me a pocket-sized transistor radio (Am & FM) with an earplug and I was in my own world. Two years later, I graduated from high school and was off to college where the transistor radio gave way to a stereo system and a growing album collection. I was so into the Big '80s sound of synth-pop and the arrival of MTV.
All these years later, I am in the process of writing my first book, which is planned for publication next summer. The name of the book? "Just What I Needed," which was the name of that debut single by The Cars. But my introduction to music was borne out of the songs of early childhood, with "Georgy Girl," which is why I am heartbroken over the passing of Judith Durham.
Here are my Top 5 songs from way back in chronological order by year after the favorite:
• "Georgy Girl" by the Seekers (1967, No. 3 US; No. 2 UK).
• "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haaa" by Napoleon XIV (1966, No. 3 US; No. 4 UK).
• "Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers (1967, No. 1 US; No. 7 UK ).
• "Judy in Disguise (with Glasses" by John Fred & His Playboy Band (1968, No. 1 US; No. 3 UK).
• "Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat (1968, No. 1 US; No. 3 UK).
Previous Blog:
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008 along the I-4 tourism corridor in greater Daytona Beach to Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed 115 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. AWJ: