Kelly Green (musician)

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Kelly Green
Kelly Green in concert in 2011.
Kelly Green in concert in 2011.
Background information
Birth nameElaine Annette Sherratt
Born (1947-07-20) 20 July 1947 (age 76)
OriginEngland
GenresRock & roll
Occupation(s)singer
Years active1958–present
LabelsCBS

Kelly Green (born Elaine Annette Sherratt, 20 July 1947) is an Australian singer. Born in the United Kingdom, she migrated to Australia in 1956, her singing career began in Sydney at the age of 15. Green grew up in a musical family – her father, Norman Sherratt, was a guitarist and her older twin sisters, Christine and Norma, were also singers. In the early 1960s Green appeared regularly on popular Australian music television shows, Bandstand, Six O'Clock Rock, and Sing, Sing, Sing, building a fan base. During April and May 1968, Green was the lead singer for the first Perth-based entertainment troupe to visit allied forces in Vietnam during the war there.

Biography[edit]

Elaine Annette Sherratt (later known as Kelly Green) was born on 20 July 1947 in the United Kingdom.[1] Her father, Norman Douglas Sherratt (born 16 January 1922), and her mother, Lillian Margaret (born 10 January 1921) also had twin daughters Christine Ann and Norma Lillian (both born 4 August 1944) and a fourth daughter, Carol Lyn (born 12 March 1955).[1] In 1956 Green and her family migrated to Australia.[1] By 1957 the family had settled in Perth, where Green attended Rosalie Primary School and Hollywood High School.[2] Norman played guitar for gypsy and country and western music – his band was sometimes joined by Lillian on vocals.[2] The twins, Christine and Norma, were local singers.[2] Green left school at the age of 14 years to work at a deli, and, with her father's musical backing, she recorded a demo tape. Pop singer and entertainer, Ian Turpie, was in Perth performing in a musical, Bye Bye Birdie, and recommended Green to send a tape to Sydney-based music TV show, Bandstand.[2][3] The following year, at the age of 15 years, she flew to Sydney – staying with family friends – and began her singing career on Bandstand.[3] After her first appearance on the show Green signed with Coronet Records and was managed by Sven Libaek.[3] This led to Green's appearance on other TV music shows, Six O'Clock Rock and Sing, Sing, Sing, thereby building her fan base.

In January 1963 Green issued her debut single, "I'll Never Be the Same"[4]/"Little Girl Lost" – which was one of the first 7-inch singles issued on CBS Records – which had taken over Coronet Records – by an Australian artist.[3][5][6] According to The Australian Women's Weekly's Ainslie Baker, Green's "Little Girl Lost" is "a slow romantic ballad, and [she] sings it sweetly".[6] However, Baker found "I'll Never Be The Same" to have "real teen appeal ... [t]he lyrics are cute and [Green] sounds cuter".[6] To promote the single, Green toured to Brisbane and Melbourne for TV appearances.[7] In between touring, Green was taking dancing lessons and studying singing and musical appreciation at the Sydney Conservatorium.[7] In September 1963 Green issued "So What", she was backed by surf rockers The Atlantics.[8]

In 1964, Green married fellow rock and roll singer and Bandstand regular, Barry Stanton, with whom she had two children – a son and a daughter – before divorcing shortly thereafter. The B-side of her third single "Tell Me That You Love Me Too" is written by Stanton.[2] In July to August 1964, Green and Stanton supported English rock and roll entertainer Screaming Lord Sutch's tour of Australia alongside Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, Digger Revell and Laurel Lea.[9] After her marriage ended in 1965, Green returned to Perth. Though a single mother of two, her career continued with local TV appearances on Telethon. In April and May 1968, Kelly was lead vocalist for the first Western Australian entertainment troupe to visit Vietnam during the war.[10]

Over her career, Green toured with various Australian artists including, The Bee Gees, Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, Digger Revell, Laurel Lea, Col Joye & the Joy Boys, Dig Richards, Lonnie Lee, and The Delltones. In 1999, Green was inducted into the Rock and roll Council of Western Australia's Hall of Fame, making her the first female in the state to be nominated. As of 2011 Green resides in Perth, where, in April 2012, she performed alongside Brenton Fosdike in Diamond: The Neil Diamond Tribute Show.[11] She hosts a radio program on Capital Radio 101.7FM playing rock and roll tracks from the 1950s and 1960s.

Discography[edit]

Singles[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Item details for: A1877, Sherratt N D". National Archives of Australia. 15 July 2004. Retrieved 5 June 2012. Sherratt Norman Douglas born 16 January 1922; Lillian Margaret born 10 January 1921; Elaine Annette born 20 July 1947; Christine Ann born 4 August 1944; Norma Lillian born 4 August 1944; Carol Lyn born 12 March 1955; departing UK under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme Note: If required user may need to initiate a new search. First select 'Home', then 'Search the collection', 'NameSearch'. Enter 'Sherratt' and select 'Immigration and naturalisation records' from drop down menu and find details for 'A1877, Sherratt N D'.
  2. ^ a b c d e Netolicky, Cecilia (31 August 2009). "Kelly Green: our Rock'n'Roll Cinderella". Perth Rocks. Archived from the original on 7 September 2009.. Archived at Pandora Archive for the National Library of Australia on 8 September 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d "Listen Here – Singer Plans New Band for the Old Rock". Teenagers' Weekly. The Australian Women's Weekly. 21 November 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 6 June 2012. Note: this article includes a photo of Green.
  4. ^ Music by Sven Libaek, lyrics by Lolita Rivera. This is not the 1932 song entitled "I'll Never Be The Same" with lyrics by Gus Kahn. See Kelly Green - "I'll Never Be The Same": discographical details at 45cat.com, including image of sheet music for the Australian song. Retrieved 4 August 2019
  5. ^ Kimball, Duncan (2002). "CBS Records (Australia)". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Baker, Ainslie (30 January 1963). "Listen Here – 'Big Bad John' was top pop for 1962 – Local Talent". Teenagers' Weekly. The Australian Women's Weekly. p. 7. Retrieved 5 June 2012. Congratulations to 16-year-old Kelly Green, whose first disc is among the first batch of local recordings to be issued by the new C.B.S. label. 'Little Girl Lost' is a slow romantic ballad, and Kelly sings it really sweetly, but the side with real teen appeal is the locally written 'I'll Never Be the Same'. The lyrics are cute and Kelly sounds cuter.
  7. ^ a b Baker, Ainslie (13 February 1963). "Singer Gets Break As TV Compere". Teenagers' Weekly. The Australian Women's Weekly. p. 7. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  8. ^ Kimball, Duncan (2002). "The Atlantics". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  9. ^ "Collector's List 135 2009 International & Australian Posters". Josef Lebovic Gallery. Archived from the original on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  10. ^ "EKT/68/0126/VN". Australian War Memorial. April 1968. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012. A large crowd of troops entertained by singer Kelly Green and the band of a Western Australian concert party. This is the first entertainment group out of Perth to visit Vietnam and conducted 14 concerts to allied bases across the whole country in April and May 1968. Sponsored by AFOF and TV Channel 9 Perth, the entertainers were Ron Blaskett and puppet Gerry Gee, teenage singers John and Shirley Ried, mannequin and singer Michelle Edwards, singer Kelly Green, comedian Peter Harries and musicians John Hunter, Guy Bart and Peter Pichini. Standing at left of photo and typical with hands on hips is the escort officer Lieutenant Ray Bowes.
  11. ^ "'Diamond to a Tee' – Neil Diamond Tribute Show". Theatre Australia. April 2012. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.