Mallee Boy

Mallee Boy
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1986
StudioTrafalgar Studios; Sydney, Australia.
LabelGumleaf Records, Festival Records
ProducerJohn Williamson
John Williamson chronology
All the Best
(1986)
Mallee Boy
(1986)
Boomerang Café
(1988)
Singles from Mallee Boy
  1. "True Blue"
    Released: September 1986
  2. "Raining on the Rock"
    Released: January 1987
  3. "Cootamundra Wattle"
    Released: April 1987

Mallee Boy is the sixth studio album by Australian country music artist John Williamson. The album was released in November 1986 and peaked at number 9 on the Kent Music Report; becoming Williamson's first top ten album.[1]

At the inaugural ARIA Music Awards of 1987, the album won ARIA Award for Best Country Album.[2] At the 1987 Country Music Association of Australia, the album won Album of the Year. At the 1988 awards, the album won Top Selling Album.[3]

Reception and legacy[edit]

In 2014, Chris Johnston from Sydney Morning Herald said "The best John Williamson songs on his best album Mallee Boy are among the finest representations of (and romances with) Australia in our culture." adding "Mallee Boy's wonderful "Galleries of Pink Galahs", "Raining on the Rock", "True Blue" and "Cootamundra Wattle" are superb, poignant songs about the beauties and paradoxes of this country.".[4]

Track listing[edit]

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mallee Boy"John Williamson3:18
2."Galleries Of Pink Galahs"Williamson3:59
3."Back at the Isa"Williamson2:18
4."Raining on the Rock"Williamson4:27
5."Three Rivers Hotel"Stan Coster3:26
6."Cracker Night"Williamson, Tony Dennett2:55
7."True Blue"Williamson4:00
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Humpin' My Bluey"Williamson3:03
2."The Budgie Song"Williamson2:36
3."I'm in the Mood"Williamson2:55
4."Cootamundra Wattle"Williamson3:48
5."Paint Me a Wheelbarrow"Williamson2:40
6."Diamantina Drover"Hugh McDonald2:58
7."Show Me a Better Way"Williamson3:24

Chart positions[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (1986/87) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[5] 9

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (1987) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[5] 24

Release history[edit]

Country Date Format Label Catalogue
Australia November 1986 Gum Leaf, Festival Records RML 53221

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Year by Year". John Williamson. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  2. ^ "ARIA Awards – Search Results for 'John Williamson'". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  3. ^ "About the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia". Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA). Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  4. ^ "The Crate: John Williamson's Mallee Boy". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.