Chadwick William Morgan (11 February 1933 – 1 January 2025) was an Australian country music singer and guitarist known for his vaudeville style of comic country and western and folk songs, his prominent teeth and goofy stage persona. In reference to his first recording, he was nicknamed as "The Sheik of Scrubby Creek".
In February 2024, Morgan announced that he would retire following the final show of his Farewell to Australia. The final show was on 21 April 2024.
Early life
Chadwick William Morgan was born on 11 February 1933 in Wondai, Queensland, as the eldest of 14 children, to Dave and Ivy Morgan. From an early age he was raised by his grandparents, Bill and Eva Hopkins.
Career
From 1948, he worked on cattle farms near Rockhampton and began composing music. By November 1952 he had recorded that track together with "You Can Keep Your Wimmln and I'll Stick to My Beer". He signed with Regal Zonophone Records (a subsidiary of EMI), which issued his debut single, "The Sheik of Scrubby Creek", in December. He also undertook national service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at Amberley Base.
Morgan toured extensively during his career, including with the Slim Dusty Show, the All Star Western Show and the Chad Morgan Show. He released 18 studio albums and undertook regular live performances. At the 1987 Country Music Awards of Australia he was inducted into the Australian Roll of Renown, and was awarded an Order of Australia (OAM]) on Australia Day (26 January) in 2004 for "service to country music". Morgan appeared in the films Newsfront (1978) and Dimboola (1979). For the latter film he depicted Bayonet with "the full force of his unusual personality... [and] the lustre of his success in the entertainment world." He recorded a duet with John Williamson, "A Country Balladeer". He had platinum and gold album sales, and is one of Australia's most popular country music artists. Morgan performed at Sydney Opera House with Slim Dusty in April 1978. An album of the concert was released three years later, as On & Off the Road. It was released the same year as Sheilas, Drongos, Dills & Other Geezers, which contained 20 of Morgan's hits from the 1950s and 1960s. In 2009 he wrote a song about his Aboriginal heritage dedicated to his grandparents who raised him as a child, "The Ballad of Bill and Eva". It was recorded with his granddaughter, Caitlin Morgan.
Artists who have impersonated Morgan in their shows include Col Elliott and John Williamson. Barry Humphries used Morgan as his inspiration for Les Patterson's teeth.
Tex Morton once described Morgan as the only original country music artist in Australia.
In January 2023, Morgan was touring rural Victoria, his career having spanned over 70 years.
Morgan's biographical documentary film, I'm Not Dead Yet, was directed by Janine Hosking and released in 2011. The Australian writer Anna Rose published his biography, Chad Morgan − Seventy Years in the Making, in 2022.
Morgan died on 1 January 2025 at the age of 91.
Awards and honours
Australian Roll of Renown
The Australian Roll of Renown honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to country music. It was inaugurated in 1976 and the inductee is announced at the Country Music Awards of Australia in Tamworth each January.
|-
| 1987
| Chad Morgan
| Australian Roll of Renown
|-
| 2010
| Chad Morgan
| Lifetime Achievement Award
|
A bronze bust of Morgan was unveiled in Tamworth's Bicentennial Park in 2017.
Mo Awards
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (known informally as the Mo Awards) were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognised achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Morgan won one award during that time.
|-
| 2015
| Chad Morgan
| Country Male Act of the Year
|
Queensland Music Awards
The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.
|-
| 2018
| himself
| Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award
|
Tamworth Songwriters Awards
The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. They commenced in 1986.
|-
| 2013
| Chad Morgan
| Songmaker Award
|
Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of studio albums
! scope="col"| Title
! scope="col"| Details
|-
! scope="row"| The Sheik of Scrubby Creek
|
- Released: 1958
- Label: Columbia (33MS 7571)
|-
! scope="row"| The Chad Morgan Songbook
|
- Released: 1962
- Label: Columbia (33OSX 7662)
|-
! scope="row"| The Artistry of Chad Morgan
|
- Released: 1967
- Label: (OCLP 7660)
|-
! scope="row"| Cock of the Walk
|
- Released: 1972
- Label: Columbia (SOEX.9828)
|-
! scope="row"| Here I Am
|
- Released: 1973
- Label: Columbia (OSX-7751)
|-
! scope="row"| Sings John Ashe
|
- Released: 1975
- Label: Columbia (OEX-10216)
|-
! scope="row"| One of the Mob
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- Released: 1976
- Label: Columbia (OEX-10319)
|-
! scope="row"| You Can't Keep a Good Man Down
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- Released: 1980
- Label: Astor (ALPS 1060)
|-
! scope="row"| They Call Me the "Sheik"
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- Released: 1981
- Label: Astor (ALPS 1067)
|-
! scope="row"| Chad Charms the Birds
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- Released: 1984
- Label: EMI (EMX.430012)
|-
! scope="row"| Double Decker Blowflies
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- Released: 1987
- Label: RCA Victor (VAL1 0690)
|-
! scope="row"| Don't Drink the Water (In the Outback Mate)
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- Released: 1990
- Label: RCA Victor (SPLP 1190)
|-
! scope="row"| Been There, Done That (Gonna Do It Again)
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- Released: 1995
- Label: Larrikin (LRF 391)
|-
! scope="row"| Muckin Round in Muckadilla
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- Released:
- Label: Chad Morgan
|-
! scope="row"| Songs My Old Mates Sang
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- Released:
- Label: Chad Morgan
|-
! scope="row"| Deadly
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- Released:
- Label: Chad Morgan
|-
! scope="row"| Family and Friends
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- Released:
- Label: Chad Morgan
|-
! scope="row"| Quarantined
|
- Released: 2021
- Label: Chad Morgan
|}
Live albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of live albums
! scope="col"| Title
! scope="col"| Details
|-
! scope="row"| On and Off the Road
|
- Released: 1982
- Label: Axis (AX 1148)
|-
! scope="row"| Booze Ballads and Broads <br> (with Terry Gordon)
|
- Released: 1986
- Label:
|-
! scope="row"| It's Only the Depth That Counts
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- Released:
- Label:
|-
! scope="row"| Live!
|
- Released: 2011
- Label: k-Tel
|}
Compilation albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of compilation albums
! scope="col"| Title
! scope="col"| Details
|-
! scope="row"| The Best of Chad Morgan
|
- Released: 1978
- Label: EMI (EMB.10409)
|-
! scope="row"| Sheilas, Drongos, Dills and Other Geezers − 20 Chad Morgan Greats
|
- Released: 1981
- Label: EMI (PLAY.1006)
|-
! scope="row"| At His Sunday Best
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- Released: 1984
- Label: J&B Records (JB172)
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! scope="row"| The Singles Collection − Regal Zonophone and Beyond
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- Released: 2001
- Label: EMI (5416522)
|-
! scope="row"| Cop This Lot: 50 Years, 1952 – 2002
|
- Released: 2002
- Label:
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Country Classics
|
- Released: 2011
- Label: Master Classics
|-
! scope="row"| The Dues are Paid: 60 Years
|
- Released: 2012
- Label: Chad Morgan
|-
! scope="row"| Worst of Chad Morgan
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- Released:
- Label:
|-
! scope="row"| More Worst of Chad Morgan
|
- Released:
- Label:
|-
! scope="row"| The A-Z of Chad Morgan − Volume 1
|
- Released: October 2017
- Label: Chad Morgan (3300300)
|-
! scope="row"| The A-Z of Chad Morgan − Volume 2
|
- Released: October 2017
- Label: Chad Morgan (3300301)
|-
! scope="row"| The A-Z of Chad Morgan − Volume 3
|
- Released: October 2017
- Label: Chad Morgan (3300302)
|}
Extended plays
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of EPs
! scope="col"| Title
! scope="col"| Details
|-
! scope="row"| Thoughts on Marriage
|
- Released: 1961
- Label: Columbia (SEGO 70053)
|-
! scope="row"| Chad Morgan in Person
|
- Released: 1962
- Label: Columbia (SEGO 70060)
|-
! scope="row"| In a Cemetery
|
- Released: 1967
- Label: His Master's Voice (7EGO-70075)
|}
References
General
Specific
External links
- Official website
- Morgan's induction into the Roll of Honour by the Australian Country Music Foundation
- IMDB website listing for I'm Not Dead Yet
- Chad Morgan digital story and oral history − State Library of Queensland