By PAUL MILLAR
JIMMY Little had a voice with a touch of velvet that carried him through an era of change.
Now the story and songs of the legendary indigenous performer will be revived in Geelong later this month.
Geelong Performing Arts Cetrnre (GPAC) will host the only Victorian performance of a Country Song, a fictional road-trip based on the life of an artist who became the standard bearer for many of his generation and a poster boy for Indigenous performers,
The show celebrates the healing power of music in the turbulent 1970s, featuring the songs of Little as well as fellow Aboriginal musicians Auriel Andrew and Bobby McLeod.
Once a smiling, cheeky child of Vaudevillians, Little, played by Michael Tuahine, takes the audience through the thoughts of an artist who must weigh up the political power of his voice.
Little, who died in 2012, was an adored musician, actor and advocate whose career spanned six decades. A Yorta Yorta man, he was raised on a mission in New South Wales.
Little recorded his first single in 1956 before rising to prominence as an Aboriginal entertainer throughout the 1960s.
He topped the charts and became a household name with Royal Telephone in 1963, which sold more than 75,000 copies and achieved gold status.
The cast of Country Song also includes Elaine Crombie, David Page, Bradley McCaw, Megan Sarmardin and Tibian Wyles.
The production is directed by renowned director Wesley Enoch.
The script for Country Song won a 2013 Rodney Seaborn Playwright’s Award for New Work, just one of many accolades for Reg Cribb.
GPAC’s Playhouse Theatre will host the show from 27 to 29 August.
