Happy birthday Ross Wilson. The Australian rock legend is 70 years old today (18 November 2017).
Ross Wilson has been part of the Australian soundtrack for over 50 years. His first record with The Pink Finks was released in 1965. That band kicked off a remarkable musical partnership with Ross Hannaford that would continue on and off until Hannaford’s death in 2016.
Wilson and Hannaford formed The Party Machine next and drove that bus from 1967 to 1969. That band included Mike Rudd. Ross, Ross and Mike formed Sons of Vegetal Mother’s next. When they split, Rudd went on to form Spectrum and the Ross’s formed Daddy Cool.
Elton John heard ‘Eagle Rock’ on his first Australian tour and loved it. The Daddy Cool song was the inspiration for his ‘Crocodile Rock’. “I thought that band was one of the most impressive band I ever, ever heard. Eagle Rock is still one of my favourite songs of all time,” Elton said on a 1975 episode of Countdown. He said that when he first heard it he went into a record store in Sydney and bought 15 copies to take back to his friends in England.
Daddy Cool had a short life. After two studio albums and a live record it was over for decades. Hannaford and Wilson then formed the short-lived Mighty Kong.
Ross Wilson dabbled in production around this time recording Skyhooks debut ‘Living In The 70s’ and the follow-up ‘Ego Is Not A Dirty Word’ and then ‘Straight In A Gay Gay World’. He also produced the ‘Don’t Waste It’ and ‘Whip It Out’ albums from Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons in 1976 and 1977.
Mondo Rock came along in 1976. It would be Wilson’s most commercially successful band. Mondo Rock will reform for shows in 2018.
Daddy Cool reformed in 194 for a stadium tour with Skyhooks that never happened. However, they did release two new songs ‘$64000 Question’ and ‘Ballad of Oz’. They got back again in 2005 for the tsunami benefit. Another new song ‘The Christmas Bug’ was released followed by the DVD featuring the tsunami concert in 2006. They also released the album ‘The New Cool’, the third Daddy Cool studio album in 2006.
Ross is also successful as a solo artist. His last album ‘I Come In Peace’ featured the title track written with John Brewster of The Angels.
The song was covered by Joe Cocker on his 2012 album ‘Fire It Up’.
