Music is a unifying force that brings cultures together across both distance and time.
And if you think country/rock music is strictly an American art form, you have another thing coming.
Today’s FamilyFirst site is a poignant, excellent documentation of a group that you may have never heard of, but which had Top Ten singles on the British charts, and which toured Vietnam during the war years, entertaining troops.
The group is called The Four Ways. The website is a labor of love by the daughter of two members of the group, a wonderful person whom I am privileged to have met online recently.
The Four Ways got together in their native Australia in the early 1960′s. Joan Harvey, who came in second in the talent contest that launched Olivia Newton-John’s career, got together with her husband (a bass player), drummer Ken Lennon, and other members who came and went over the years.
By 1967, they were Australian stars, and set off to tour the world.
Perhaps you had never heard of them. I know that I hadn’t. But Johnny Cash offered to make Joan a star if she would leave the group. She declined, which is why you may not hear her mentioned alongside Tammy Wynette or Loretta Lynne.
The site tells the band’s story from the very unique perspective of a child’s eye view of what was going on. And you can also download one of their albums in mp3 format, though the Nazis, excuse me, I meant the RIAA, may not approve.
So enjoy today’s FamilyFirst site, and experience some great international music.
http://www.tinyd.net/fourways.html
