Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu 22 january 1971 25 july 2017, also referred to since his death as dr g yunupingu, was an indigenous australian musician. Internationally acclaimed blind aboriginal singer dr g yunupingu chose to stop having dialysis treatment and went to a beach to spend time with his family, knowing full well he would very likely. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu indigenous australian singersongwriter. Aboriginal owned and led, we are guided by strong cultural principles and a passion for quality storytelling. Finding a book when youve forgotten its title by gwen glazer, communications november 22, 2017. A soundtrack to a documentary of the same name, buried country is a twodisc set that covers the late 50s through the 90s and a myriad of country music styles. Though new as a solo artist, gurrumul is no stranger to the world stage. Indigenous singersongwriter geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, on tour in melbourne with missy higgins, was refused a taxi in st kilda after performing at the palais theatre. A gifted aboriginal singer who was born blind and brought up in poverty has taken australia by storm, topping the mainstream music charts and earning plaudits for his sublime voice. The track gurrumul history i was born blind also won a deadly for single of the year. These aboriginal artists work in traditional and contemporary art forms such as soapstone, woodcarving, mask making, weaving, leather and painting.
The blind, largely selftaught musician produced the bestselling indigenous album in australian history and played in concert halls around the world. The heart of canadian culture, canadian aboriginal art is varied from the haida of the west coast to the inuit of the north. One of the most remarkable compilations in recent memory, buried country. Why gurrumul is australias most important documentary nitv. The most beautiful song ever written australian aboriginal. Geoffery gurrumul yunupingu is the blind indigenous singer best known in australia for his unique voice, aria nominations, two number three. The dreaming in essence, the worldview of indigenous australian culture contains dozens of stories that explain the creation process of the world around us. Ukraine was, formerly, designated by little russia.
Yunupingu 19712017 was a blind aboriginal singersongwriter. From concert halls to recording studios and into aboriginal heartlands. Gurrumuls producer, collaborator and friend michael hohnen talks about the aboriginal and blindfrombirth musician who was described by. He nonetheless achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in australia and performed at queen elizabeth iis diamond jubilee concert among huge stars such as paul mccartney and fellow blind musician stevie wonder. Additionally, he was extremely shy and spoke little english. Check out selected results from nypl title quest 2019, held august 2, 2019, as well as title quest 2018. As it happened, the week yunupingu died, i had bought a copy of a beautiful new biography of his nephew. Reclaiming indigenous voice and vision marie battiste. Sydney ap a blind aboriginal musician renowned for singing in his native yolngu language with a heartrending voice and a unique guitarplaying style. Dreamkeepers is subtitled, a spiritjourney into aboriginal australia. From concert halls to recording studios and into aboriginal heartlands, thi. If gurrumuls life and music comprise an invitation to his country, his culture and their unexplained mysteries, this book is a gracious act of acceptance. As a teenager, he was, for a time, a member of yothu yindi, the groundbreaking aboriginal ensemble fronted by gurrumuls uncle, the singersongwriteractivist mandawuy yunupingu.
Blind aboriginal singer gurrumul refused taxi in melbourne. New documentary on the late aboriginal musician gurrumul at the. The 46yearold singer and songwriter made an indelible contribution to australian. The blind musician is a novel by the ukrainian writer vladimir korolenko. The essays in reclaiming indigenous voice and vision spring from an international summer institute held in 1996. This is an update of a previous post by sharon rickson.
Gurrumul bio highlights impact of aboriginal musicians. Worldrenowned indigenous singer gurrumul has died after a long battle with illness aged 46, his management said wednesday, as australians hailed his contributions to music. Elton john asked gurrumul to open the veteran artists dates at the sydney opera house. This song has been hailed by critics and millions over the world as. Books australian institute of aboriginal and torres. On november 23, 2012 the album was certified silver in the united kingdom for sales of 60,000 copies.
The 6 best books about aboriginal and torres strait. Gurrumul and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. This was the first time in colonised history that aboriginal people made their voices heard to the public, from street rallies to newspaper coverage and letters and. Indigenous singing legend dr g yunupingu has died just 46. The blind, largely selftaught musician produced the bestselling indigenous. Australias most prominent indigenous music artist dr g yunupingu has died aged 46 and is being mourned by family and friends as a genius and wonderful human being. Phillips is a lecturer and industrytrained book editor, where she worked with magabala books, university of. His first album as an acoustic artist, gurrumul, was released in australia in 2008 and went double platinum. Blind from birth and raised in the community of galiwinku on elcho island, gurrumul was brought up learning the stories and history of his people, through song and dance, the rhythms of life. This recording features songs by aboriginal tribes from western australia, north queensland, and the torres strait.
Despite making up only a small percentage of the countrys total population, the aboriginal tribes of australia are incredibly diverse and speak over 200 distinct languages. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, whose is now referred to by local media as dr. Yunupingu shot to fame on the strength of his haunting. Indian horse by richard wagamese, in search of april raintree critical edition by beatrice culleton, the truth abou. The australian has confirmed dr yunupingu died at royal darwin hospital at about 5pm on tuesday. Aboriginal singer tops australian independent music charts. And its sort of become the unofficial national anthem for the stolen generation. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is a blind aboriginal singersongwriter and guitarist from the gumatj clan of the yolngu people of australias north east arnhem land. He became the highestselling aboriginal artist in history, selling more than half a million copies of his albums, singing in yolngu and some english. Yunupingu, one of australias most treasured artists, has died after a long battle with chronic illness. Diana gurtskaya, pop singer from the exsoviet country of georgia.
Robert hillman joined mornings to discuss his book gurrumul. It represents the voices of the first generation of global indigenous scholars and converges those voices, their analyses, and their dreams of a decolonized world. Sydney ap a blind aboriginal musician renowned for singing in his native yolngu language with a heartrending voice and a unique guitarplaying style has died, his recording label said wednesday. Blind aboriginal singer gurrumul refused taxi in melbourne by simon leo brown awardwinning aboriginal singer geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu has been refused a. Here are 11 of the most fascinating myths and legends told by australias first peoples. Aboriginal rock is often heavily percussiondriven, incorporating traditional rhythms, but sometimes sounds more ethereal and atmospheric, if the didgeridoo is emphasized in the. Most of his songs are sung in galpu, gumatj or djambarrpuyngu, which are all languages of the yolngu people of northeastern arnhem land. In october 2010, it was listed in the top 30 in the book, 100 best australian albums. The pair, both of whom had been taken from their family homes and placed with white foster.
Geoffery gurrumul yunupingu is the blind indigenous singer best known in australia for his unique voice, aria nominations, two number three albums and. The album reached 3x platinum sales in excess of 210,000. Feb 19, 2020 an indigenous australian singer has topped the australian independent record charts with an album recorded mostly in his native yungul language. It can be tough to remember the title and author of a book you read a long time ago. Aboriginal and torres strait islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, an aboriginal australian singer. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is an indigenous australian musician, who sings in the yolngu language. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu 22 january 1971 25 july 2017, often known simply as gurrumul, was an indigenous australian musician. Ruby hunter, australian aboriginal singer and songwriter born 1955, south australia, australiadied feb. And as for the solo success of the year, it was, without question, geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, a blind aboriginal singer who comes from the remote territory of. Gurrumuls music, like all honest creative work, transcended language and cultural barriers, making him the highest selling aboriginal singersongwriter in australian history.
Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu simple english wikipedia. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is the lead singer of the saltwater band and the former keyboard player and guitarist of yothu yindi. Blind roosevelt graves american blues guitarist and singer, who recorded both sacred and secular music in the 1920s and 1930s. Five mustread books by indigenous authors books the. Yunupingu because of cultural sensitivities among northern australian aborigines around naming the.
Some material may contain terms that reflect authors views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded, but may not be considered appropriate today. Based in broome, western australia, we publish aboriginal and torres strait islander authors, artists and illustrators from all over australia. Aboriginal singer, actor, author, playwright and director leah purcell notes that run, daisy, run was the third song that i ever wrote and its about my grandmothers story. Magabala books is australias leading indigenous publishing house. Latest nigerian news nigerian newspaper, nigerian news, read nigerian news online, visit. From concert halls to recording studios and into aboriginal heartlands, this is. Ruby hunter australian aboriginal singer and songwriter. Thats important to emphasize because the spiritjourney is the authors, more so than the aboriginals. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu indigenous australian singer songwriter. The most remarkable feature of gurrumul, the recent first album by geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, is the blind australian indigenous singers extraordinary voice. This legend is the quintessential dreaming story, and easily the most widely known around. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu born blind aboriginal singer. The most amazing song ever wiyathul by geoffrey gurrumul. The story of aboriginal country music examines the contributions of aboriginal australians to the field of country music.
Harvey arden is a former editorwriter for national geographic and coauthor of wisdomkeepers, a book on native americans in the united states. Aboriginal singer beats poverty and prejudice to top australian charts the guardian, thursday 17 july 2008. He became the highestselling aboriginal artist in history, selling more than half. This song is called wiyathul and its by a blind aboriginal man called geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu.
This book seeks to clarify postcolonial indigenous thought beginning at the new millennium. In 1924, the first politically organised and united allaboriginal activist group was the australian aboriginal progressive association aapa, led by frederick maynard. The 37yearold singer, geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, has been blind since birth, but has already become an accomplished selftaught musician. Aboriginal singer beats poverty and prejudice to top.