By Derek Mead
One of Australia’s first female musical superstars, Judith paved the way…
Judith Durham
Judith Durham was born Judith Mavis Cock in Essendon, Victoria, Australia on July 3, 1943.
Until 1950, she lived in Essendon and attended primary school there. From early 1950 she lived in Taroona, Hobart, Tasmania, before returning to Melbourne in 1956.
There, she attended Ruyton Girls School before enrolling at RM1T, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, an internationally acclaimed university.
Judith planned to be a pianist, and in concert, she played as a ragtime pianist and sang blues gospel and jazz.
Judith was born to sing and with the encouragement of her sister Beverley, she became excited about the expanding jazz revival of the early 1960s in Melbourne. Meeting many of those involved with music and song, and with the many jazz followers, frequenting the numerous venues.
Two of the most important events of her early life were firstly when she began her singing career aged 18 with the University Jazz Band at the Memphis Club in Melbourne, where she also sang with Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers.
In 1963, she recorded for W&G Records, her first EP ‘Judy Durham with Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers’ the first occasion on which she sang as Judy Durham, using her mother’s maiden name, and later Judy was to become Judith.
A new powerful name had been introduced to the world of music.
Read the full article by Derek in our 2019 January issue of the Beat. Back copies can be ordered via our website.