Musicians

Kev Carmody

Origin
Goranba, Bundjalung country, Queensland, Australia
Genre/styles
Folk
About Kev

Kev Carmody was born in 1946 to a Murri mother and Irish-Australian father. He grew up on the Darling Downs, west of Brisbane. He is a member of the Stolen Generations, taken along with his brother from his parents when he was ten years old.

In 2009 Carmody was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Music Awards, and in 2021 into the National Indigenous Music Awards Hall of Fame.

Portrait of Kev Carmody
Kev Carmody

Kev Carmody taught himself guitar from a book he found at the dump. At 33 he entered university to study history and music but struggled because he couldn't read or write well, finally coming to an agreement with his lecturers to present his tutorials in song, more in line with his Aboriginal heritage of communication through oral storytelling.

He now holds a PhD in history and has been introduced into the Aria Hall of Fame.

My songs came from what my grandmother, my mother, father, aunty and uncles told me. I'm just a conduit of stories.

— Kev Carmody

The highlight of my career has not been awards—it's been sharing the music.

— Kev Carmody

Discography

Album formats explained

Album formats

  • 10": 10 inch vinyl records were played at 45 or 33 1/3 rounds per minute (rpm). The former could hold 9, the latter 12 minutes of music per side.
  • 7": 7 inch records (often referred to as 45s) were played at 45 rpm or 33 1/3 rpm, with about 4:30 or 6 minutes of music per side.
  • LP: Long play, is a vinyl record played at ​33 1⁄3 rpm with a 12 or 10-inch diameter.
  • EP: Extended play, are vinyl records that allowed two or even three songs on each side.

Jack Deelin (7")

Sorry, no image for: Kev Carmody - Jack Deelin (7")
Released
1988
Tracks
  1. Jack Deelin
  2. Jack Deelin (2nd version)

Pillars of Society

Released
February 1989
Tracks
  1. Pillars of Society
  2. Jack Deelin
  3. Flagstone Creek
  4. Attack Attack
  5. Thou Shalt Not Steal
  6. Black Deaths in Custody
  7. Black Bess
  8. Comrade Jesus Christ
  9. Twisted Rail
  10. White Bourgeois Woman
Notes

"The greatest protest record ever made in Australia." —Sydney Morning Herald


Eulogy (7")

Sorry, no image for: Kev Carmody - Eulogy (7")
Released
1990
Tracks
  1. Eulogy (For a Black Person)
  2. Cannot buy my Soul

Thou Shalt Not Steal (7")

Sorry, no image for: Kev Carmody - Thou Shalt Not Steal (7")
Released
1990
Tracks
  1. Thou Shalt Not Steal
  2. Pillas of Society

Eulogy (For a Black Person)

Released
November 1990
Tracks
  1. Elly
  2. I've been Moved
  3. Eulogy (For a Black Person)
  4. Cannot buy my Soul
  5. Sexual Teaser
  6. Tom Shane
  7. Blood Red Rose
  8. River of Tears
  9. Droving Woman

From Little Things Big Things Grow (7")

Sorry, no image for: Kev Carmody - From Little Things Big Things Grow (7")
Released
1991
Tracks
  1. From Little Things Big Things Grow
Notes

Kev Carmody co-wrote this song with Paul Kelly. It is based on the story of the Gurindji Strike (Wave-Hill Walkoff) and was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's 'Sounds of Australia' in September 2010. It was originally intended as a demo for a documentary about Carmody's life, rather than a track for an album [1].


Cannot buy my Soul (7")

Sorry, no image for: Kev Carmody - Cannot buy my Soul (7")
Released
December 1991
Tracks
  1. Cannot buy my Soul

Blood Red Rose (7")

Sorry, no image for: Kev Carmody - Blood Red Rose (7")
Released
April 1992
Tracks
  1. Blood Red Rose
  2. Elly

Living South of the Freeway

Sorry, no image for: Kev Carmody - Living South of the Freeway
Released
October 1992
Tracks

Sorry, no tracklisting available.


Street Beat

Kev Carmody - Street Beat
Released
December 1992
Tracks
  1. Living South of the Freeway
  2. Darkside
  3. Street Beat
  4. Rider in the Rain

Freedom (7")

Kev Carmody - Freedom (7")
Released
July 1993
Tracks
  1. Freedom
  2. Freedom (Radio edit)
  3. Thou Shalt Not Steal

Bloodlines

Released
July 1993
Tracks
  1. Freedom (Carmody/Willoughby)
  2. Asbestosis
  3. Rider In The Rain
  4. The Messenger
  5. Bloodlines
  6. Darkside
  7. Sorry Business
  8. B.D.P. (Bourgeois, drop-out progeny)
  9. Living South Of The Freeway
  10. On The Wire
  11. Earth Mother (Instrumental)
  12. Bloodlines (Return) (Instrumental)
  13. From Little Things Big Things Grow (Carmody/Kelly)
  14. Revelations Addendum Chapter 23 Verses 1.35

On the Wire (7")

Sorry, no image for: Kev Carmody - On the Wire (7")
Released
May 1994
Tracks
  1. On the Wire
  2. The Messenger
  3. Sorry Business

The Young Dancer Is Dead (7")

Kev Carmody - The Young Dancer Is Dead (7")
Released
1995
Tracks
  1. The Young Dancer Is Dead
  2. Eulogy
  3. On The Wire

Images And Illusions

Released
September 1995
Tracks
  1. Some Strange Strange People
  2. Images Of London
  3. Needles In The Nursery
  4. Travellin' North
  5. Fire and Wind
  6. River Road
  7. Jessica
  8. The Young Dancer Is Dead
  9. The Anti-Christ
  10. Sistem An' You
  11. I'm Still In Love With You
  12. Blue You
  13. Solar Wind
  14. Shades of Violet
  15. Eulogy

Messages

Released
2000
Tracks
  1. Pillars Of Society
  2. Flagstone Creek
  3. Comrade Jesus Christ
  4. Twisted Rail
  5. Thou Shalt Not Steal
  6. Elly
  7. Travellin' North
  8. I've Been Moved
  9. The Messenger
  10. I'm Still In Love With You
  11. On The Wire
  12. Freedom (Carmody/Willoughby)
  13. From Little Things Big Things Grow (Carmody/Kelly)
  14. Images Of London
  15. Jessica
  16. Eulogy

Mirrors

Released
2003
Tracks
  1. Dirty Dollar
  2. Are You Connected?
  3. Moonstruck
  4. Refugees
  5. Dubya Love Ya?
  6. Who Are They?
  7. Campfire Rain
  8. El Diablo Blanco
  9. Georgina River
  10. Milky Way
  11. You Beautiful
  12. Comin' Home

Cannot Buy My Soul: The Songs Of Kev Carmody

Released
February 2007
Tracks

CD/side 1

  1. I've Been Moved - Dan Kelly
  2. Thou Shalt Not Steal - John Butler Trio
  3. Elly - Bernard Fanning
  4. The Young Dancer Is Dead - Last Kinection
  5. From Little Things Big Things Grow - The Waifs
  6. River Of Tears - The Drones
  7. On The Wire - Troy Cassar Daly
  8. Cannot Buy My Soul - Archie Roach
  9. Moonstruck - Sara Storer
  10. This Land Is Mine - Dan Sultan And Scott Wilson
  11. Darkside - Tex Perkins
  12. Blood Red Rose - Clare Bowditch
  13. Comrade Jesus Christ - The Herd
  14. Images Of London - Steve Kilby
  15. Droving Women - Augie March / Missy Higgins / Paul Kelly
  16. Eulogy For A Black Man - The Pigram Brothers

CD/side 2

  1. I've Been Moved
  2. Thou Shalt Not Steal
  3. Elly
  4. The Young Dancer Is Dead
  5. From Little Things Big Things Grow
  6. River Of Tears
  7. On The Wire
  8. Cannot Buy My Soul
  9. Moonstruck
  10. This Land Is Mine
  11. Darkside
  12. Blood Red Rose
  13. Comrade Jesus Christ
  14. Images Of London
  15. Droving Woman
  16. Eulogy For A Black Man
Notes

CD 1: Tributes by various artists, CD 2: Best of Kev Carmody.


Recollections… Reflections… (A Journey)

Released
23 October 2015
Tracks

CD/side 1

  1. CD 1
  2. Back Block's Shire
  3. “Black Jimmy”?
  4. A 1930's Fam-Lily
  5. Charon
  6. Cometh the Desert Wind
  7. Just For You
  8. Organic Butterknife Boogie… Surfin' Cyberspace...Trying to Find I... Me Me's Identity… and Proper Coffee
  9. Chippin' the Cotton
  10. Ya Can't Rush an Old Rooster
  11. Kelly E.
  12. CD2
  13. Hometown
  14. Dajarra Night Wind
  15. Wollumbin (...The Cloud Gatherer)
  16. An Dubh ina Gheal (Assimilation)
  17. Haunted Man
  18. Terra Australis… Danu
  19. Earth Mother's Woman Child
  20. Didjeridu
  21. People's Captain Said
  22. A Tracker's Song (1930's)
  23. Droppin' the Weights

CD/side 2

  1. CD3
  2. An Ol' Man's Question
  3. Highway 1
  4. Building a Holy City
  5. Moonlight on the Desert Wind
  6. Month of May
  7. Vickery Parish
  8. Footsteps
  9. Cold Damp Air
  10. A Life Experienced Voice
  11. Bewdy Song
  12. CD4
  13. Livin' in the Country
  14. Travelin' Stranger
  15. Graves of the Unknown Soldiers and Civilians
  16. Doors of Love
  17. New Town Dogs
  18. Plain Song
  19. Slidin' Into Chaos
  20. Wizard of the Wind
  21. Emancipation… Incarceration????
  22. Chilli Pork an' Beans

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References

View article sources (2)

[1] 'Sound decision for song', Koori Mail 485 p.17
[2] 'Carmody to lend support', Koori Mail 498 p.10

Cite this page

Korff, J 2021, Kev Carmody, <https://stage.creativespirits.info/resources/music/kev-carmody>, retrieved 29 March 2024

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