Ross Wilson - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica. Wayne Duncan - Fender Jazz Bass, Vocals. Ross Hannaford - Lead Guitar, Artwork, Bass Vocals. Gary Young - Drums, Vocals.
DADDY COOL ONLINE STORE: CLICK BELOW
Influences
Blues, old time R&B, Doo Wop, anything rootsy, country, ragtime, boogie & jump, early rock'n'roll, reggae, soul
Sounds Like
Richard Berry & The Pharoahs meet John Lee Hooker & The Treniers.
Dig it - the complete & up to date DC history & bio. Daddy Cool, established 1970 & rockin' again in the 21st C with 'The New Cool' 2007 tour edition; 16 studio cuts + a bonus disc of 7 live classics, none heard on a Daddy Cool album til now!
THE DADDY COOL STORY
What happened was...
In late 1970 Daddy Cool burst onto the scene in Melbourne, Australia, delivering a vibrant upbeat mix of blues, doo wop & crazy mixed up retro rock, via underground rock music events at the T F Much Ballroom (Cathedral Hall) & by summer's end were primed for sellout shows at the Melbourne Town Hall. Witnessing the happy mayhem firsthand producer Robie Porter signed them to his Sparmac indie label, cut an album in 2.5 days & took it back to his hometown Los Angeles for mixing. The first single 'Eagle Rock' b/w 'Bom Bom' was a sensation spending 11 straight weeks at No.1 on the national Top 40 singles chart with both tracks getting massive airplay. Their album 'Daddy Who? Daddy Cool' also hit No.1 & became the highest selling Australian artist rock album to that time (60,000 copies) in an era when Gold = 10,000. DC's success led to ARIA rewriting the rules & now it takes 35,000 sales in Oz to achieve Gold Album status. By Sept 1971 Daddy Cool had played in LA, scored an international deal with Warner-Reprise Records, & at year's end was on the road touring the US with labelmates Fleetwood Mac & Deep Purple.
Back in Oz they continued to have hits with 'Come Back Again' & the 'Lollipop' EP. The 2nd album 'Sex, Dope & Rock&Roll:Teenage Heaven' in early 1972 spawned controversy & yet another classic single 'Hi Honey Ho'. A 3rd US tour in support of the renamed 'Teenage Heaven' on Reprise found them grooving with Captain Beefheart, Little Feat, REO Speedwagon, Linda Rondstat, Ten Years After & Earth-Wind-&-Fire and consolidating new audiences in LA & the mid-west. Then suddenly it was all over. Tour pressure, lack of empathy with US management, tall poppy syndrome in Oz, whatever...Wilson pulled the plug & in August 1972 the band played a final concert at their birthplace Cathedral Hall. Recorded & released in 1973 as the magnificent double album 'The Last Drive-In Movie Show' its arguably the best OzRock live album ever (with the worst cover!). Desiring to put a less retro combo together Wilson & Hannaford formed Mighty Kong who recorded one highly regarded album then promptly disbanded.
By this time Wilson had begun mentoring & championing the group who was to become the NextBigThing, smashing DC's sales records & taking Aussie music to a new level. We're talking about Skyhooks, whose Ross Wilson produced debut album 'Living In The 70s', was released in late 1974 & went on to sell 250,000 within 12 months - a phenomenal figure for that time. DC were lured back on stage at the 3rd Sunbury Rock Festival in 1974 & stuck around for another year enduring lineup changes & infighting with their record company & releasing a mere 2 new singles before calling it quits again. Wilson went on to produce 2 more mega successful Skyhooks albums, Hannaford began a long love affair with his Reggae muse, while Young & Duncan hit a rockabilly groove with Hot Dog & later the Rocking Emus. Gary Young filled the drum chair with Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons in the late 70s & early 80s as Wilson fronted the equally popular Mondo Rock. In other words they were BUSY pretty much til the end of the 80s & fended off the many requests for a DC reformation until around 1993 when Shirl & Greg from Skyhooks approached DC about a double bill arena tour. It sounded pretty good & both bands entered the studio & started cutting tracks for albums to go with the tour. A double single was released but didn't get much action causing the tour promoters to downgrade the tour to smaller venues which didn't please either of the acts & so the dream bill evaporated & the 7 completed DC tracks were shelved.
Fast forward to Boxing Day 2004 & the Sth E Asian Tsunami disaster. Alan Howe, editor of the Sunday Herald-Sun newspaper, called DC about headlining a benefit concert at the Myer Music Bowl. Playing to over 10,000 peeps suddenly Daddy Cool was back with great reviews & footage which lead to a 5hr 'history of' DVD 'The Complete Daddy Cool' (Aztec International) released in Nov 2005. There was also a new recording 'The Christmas Bug' cut for charity & boppin' & funny & swingin' as hard as ever. Had it really been over 30 years since their last album?
OK, you wanted em back, so in late 2006 SHAZAM! there they were with a brand new album 'The New Cool' & a couple of big festival performances to their credit. "Daddy's Back & that's cool, extra cool"; so cool that The Beach Boys & Christopher Cross asked DC to tour Australia with em in Nov 2007. Maybe you were there? Whether Y or N get down to your store or click online for "The New Cool", the best Daddy Cool album of the 21st Century - 16 studio tracks plus a bonus 'live' disc of 7 more - that's 23 trax of perfectly Cool sounds to fill YourSpace. Need a cap & shirt to go with that? Can do, just follow the prompts. Stay Cool.
I realise I'm pushing a very cool comment down a notch, but you said I am a bit cool too, so I feel like I'm a little bit qualified to put a cool comment on your way cool comment board. Maan, I'm hot. Has someone left the oven on?
Arohanui, from The Land of the Long White Cloud. I saw you guys perform open air at Carlaw park in Auckland- early to mid 1970s?? If memory serves me right with Status Quo...the show had a big impact on me. kindness Peter
Dear MySpace Friend.. My New Album "Tell Me Tomorrow" is now Available on ITUNES!! Please click the link to view and Purchase..
Billy Lofton's new album "Tell Me Tomorrow" is here. With one of those voices that feels like velvet wrapped in silk, Billy has delivered an album that will suit all musical styles. With a mixture of Adult Contemporary, R&B and Dance tracks this is one of those albums that is sure to be a global hit.
Ciao, Daddy Cool ,Thank you for the add and the friendship. you are very good, I like your stupendous music a lot,and stupendous voice. you are fantastic ..really. you are a myth for me;-) talk to you soon, and all of my best wishes to always listen to your good music. all the best.. from italy neal
'Hair Today' @ Melbourne Propaganda Windows New video work by Jenny Hall Venue:Melbourne Propaganda Windows and Michael Koro Galleries -(Blender Studio Art Complex) 110 Franklin St Melbourne Opening Time:6:00PM Friday, May 29th
The Melbourne Propaganda Window is a multimedia project that turns Franklin Street into an outdoor multimedia art space every night at sunset. 'Hair Today' will be showing every night in June.
Have a Great Week... Cheers & Support from Us Here & ALL Our Media/Music Concerns in AUSTRALIA & Overseas... Love & Peace. Paul & The OzMuso Team. ♫OzMusoWorx♫ p.s. keep in touch...k.