1. Reginald John Lindsay OAM was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality.
27 Facts About Reg Lindsay
1. 2.
Reg Lindsay won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 songs in his 50-year music career.
3.
Reg Lindsay was born in Waverley, New South Wales in 1929, his parents were Jim and Ellen Reg Lindsay.
4.
Reg Lindsay was two years of age when his father gave him a harmonica which he quickly mastered.
5.
Reg Lindsay's father taught him to play, "The Wheel on the Wagon Is Broke", on harmonica by the age of four.
6.
Reg Lindsay subsequently learned the banjo, mandolin, guitar and fiddle.
7.
Around 1946 Reg Lindsay started singing around the Adelaide area with a mate Dave Burchell.
8.
Reg Lindsay was listening to country music on 2SM with Tim McNamara promoting a radio talent quest.
9.
In November 1950 Reg Lindsay travelled to Sydney via a motorcycle to compete, in the following year, which launched his career as a singer-songwriter.
10.
Reg Lindsay was signed to Rodeo Records in 1951, which issued his early material.
11.
Radio station 2CH had him present, The Reg Lindsay Show, in 1951 to showcase his own country music.
12.
Reg Lindsay continued issuing singles and presenting a radio show into the early 1960s.
13.
Reg Lindsay returned to Australia in 1964, and hosted a TV show on the Nine Network in Adelaide called The Country and Western Hour, which ran for seven-and-a-half years, until 1972.
14.
Reg Lindsay travelled to the United States in 1968, to record material for his TV show, while there he was asked to appear on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
15.
Reg Lindsay was so successful in this debut he was invited back for the ultimate encore, the Saturday night show.
16.
Reg Lindsay was the first Australian ever to do so and was the first of many Grand Ole Opry appearances.
17.
Reg Lindsay was best known for his single, "Armstrong", a tribute to the historic 1969 Moon landing by American astronauts, particularly Neil Armstrong.
18.
Reg Lindsay won the same category in 1978 for "Silence on the Line".
19.
Reg Lindsay supported charities and appeared on TV telethons to raise money for various community organizations.
20.
Reg Lindsay's first marriage was to Heather McKean was born on 1932 and on 13 February 1954 in Granville.
21.
Reg Lindsay had a heart attack in January 1996 and had triple bypass surgery.
22.
Reg Lindsay died of pneumonia on 5 August 2008 in Newcastle, aged 79.
23.
Reg Lindsay is survived by his wife Roslyn; his three daughters from his first marriage, Dianne, Sandra and Joanne; and his grandchildren.
24.
March 2015, the Reg Lindsay statue was unveiled at East Cessnock Bowling Club.
25.
In 2019 the first Reg Lindsay DVD was released titled 'Country All The Way' and in January 2021, Roslyn Lindsay released the first ever Reg Lindsay pictorial book 'Setting The Pace' a collection of photos throughout his career with rare photos including McKean Sisters, Slim Dusty, Kenny Sole, Judy Stone, Chad Morgan, Buddy Williams, Lily Connors and many others.
26.
Reg Lindsay became the first Australian to appear at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry in June 1968; he is officially recognized with a plaque on Nashville's Walkway of Stars.
27.
Reg Lindsay has won three Golden guitar awards and was inducted into the Roll of Renown at the Tamworth Country Music Awards of Australia.