Judith Durham was an Australian singer, songwriter and musician who became the lead singer of the Australian folk music group the Seekers in 1962. Durham at first planned to be a pianist and gained the qualification of Associate in Music, Australia (AMusA), in classical piano at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium. She had some professional engagements playing piano, had classical vocal training as a soprano, and performed blues, gospel, and jazz pieces. Her singing career began one night at the age of 18 when she asked Nicholas Ribush, leader of the Melbourne University Jazz Band, at the Memphis Jazz Club in Malvern, whether she could sing with the band. In 1963, she began performing at the same club with Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers, using her mother’s maiden name of Durham. In that year she also recorded her first EP, Judy Durham, with Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers for W&G Records.
The Seekers consisted of Durham, Athol Guy, Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger, an Australian Broadcasting Corp radio producer. Through Potger’s position the three were able to make a demo tape in their spare time. This was given to W&G Records, which wanted another sample of Durham’s voice before agreeing to record a Jazz Preachers’ album. W&G instead signed the Seekers for an album, Introducing the Seekers, in 1963. Durham, however, recorded two other songs with the Jazz Preachers, “Muddy Water” (which appeared on their album Jazz from the Pulpit) and “Trombone Frankie” (an adapted version of Bessie Smith’s “Trombone Cholly”).
In early 1964, the Seekers sailed to the United Kingdom on SS Fairsky on which the group provided the musical entertainment. Originally, they had planned to return after 10 weeks, but they received a steady stream of bookings through the Grade Agency because they had sent the agency a copy of their first album. On 4 November 1964 at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios, the Seekers recorded “I’ll Never Find Another You”, written and produced by Tom Springfield. In February 1965, the song reached number one in the UK and Australia. The group had further Top 10 hits with “A World of Our Own”, “Morningtown Ride” and “Someday, One Day”. “Georgy Girl” reached number two (Billboard chart) and number one (Cashbox chart) in the United States. “The Carnival Is Over” is still one of the top 50 best-selling singles in the UK.
Durham returned to Australia in August 1968 and her first solo television special, An Evening with Judith Durham, screened on the Nine Network in September. During her solo career, she released albums titled For Christmas with Love, Gift of Song and Climb Ev’ry Mountain. In 1970, she made the television special Meet Judith Durham in London, ending with her rendition of “When You Come to the End of a Perfect Day” by Carrie Jacobs-Bond. In 1975, Durham guest starred in “The Golden Girl”, an episode of the Australian television series Cash and Company. Along with husband Ron Edgeworth on piano, she performed six songs; “Oh Susanna”, “When Starlight Fades”, “Maggie Mae”, “Rock of Ages”, “There’s No Place Like Home” and “The Lord Is My Shepherd”. Durham staged a series of concerts at The Troubadour, Melbourne, in 1987 with Edgeworth, performing originals the two had written. They returned the following year.
In January 1992, Durham released “Australia Land of Today” which peaked at number 124 on the ARIA charts.” In 2003, Durham toured the UK in “The Diamond Tour” celebrating her 60th birthday. The tour included the Royal Festival Hall and a CD and DVD of the concert were issued. In 2006, Durham started modernising the music and phrases of “Advance Australia Fair”, the Australian national anthem; the Aboriginal singer-songwriter Kutcha Edwards also contributed lyrics. Durham first performed it in May 2009 at Federation Hall, St Kilda Road. It was released as a CD single. Durham recorded The Australian Cities Suite album with all proceeds to go to the charitable sector. The album was released in October 2008. This project was to benefit charities working with the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund, including Orchestra Victoria and the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Australia.
On 13 February 2009, Durham made a surprise return to the Sydney Myer Music Bowl when she performed the closing number at the RocKwiz Salutes the Bowl – Sidney Myer Music Bowl 50th Anniversary with “The Carnival Is Over”. On 23 May 2009, she performed a one-hour a cappella concert in Melbourne as a launch for her album Up Close and Personal. In October 2011, Durham signed an exclusive international deal with Decca Records. George Ash, president of Universal Music Australasia, said that “It is an honour to have Judith Durham join Decca’s wonderful roster of artists. When you think of the legends that have graced the Decca Records catalogue it is the perfect home to welcome Judith to, and we couldn’t be more excited to work with Judith on not only her new recordings but her incredible catalogue as well.” In June 2018, to celebrate Durham’s 75th birthday, a collection of 14 previously unreleased songs was released on the album So Much More.
