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11 - A History of Popular Indigenous Music

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2013

Andrew King
Affiliation:
Queensland University
Belinda Wheeler
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor of English at Paine College, Augusta, Georgia
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Summary

We're talking about building bridges, and

there's nothing like music to unite people.

—Mandawuy Yunupingu

Since the invention of recording technologies like the phonograph in the late 1800s, Indigenous music has been performed and recorded across Australia for a wide range of audiences. In the early twentieth century, for instance, music was recorded by anthropologists keen to capture the sounds of a culture that was believed to be in rapid decline (Thomas). Individual performers were not considered important in these recordings; their music was produced for scientific posterity rather than popular pleasure. And even though Aboriginal participation in local music festivals, touring vaudeville shows, and community gatherings was well documented throughout the twentieth century, it was not until the 1950s that Indigenous “pop stars” began to sell records for mass consumption (Dunbar-Hall and Gibson). Yet, with the persistence of recording artists like Jimmy Little over the past sixty years, Indigenous musicians have steadily gained prominence in Australia's mainstream. This has been particularly true of the past twenty years, especially since the Sydney Olympics, where promotional strategies have brought about a new popular pride in musical achievements, based upon a celebrated history of diverse sounds and voices.

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Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2013

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