Stan Coster

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Stan Coster
Bust of Stan Coster, Bicentennial Park, Tamworth, NSW.
Bust of Stan Coster, Bicentennial Park, Tamworth, NSW.
Background information
Genres
  • Australian country music
  • rough rider
  • construction worker
  • station hand
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1956–1996
LabelsGidgee Records

Stan Coster OAM (27 May 1930 – 25 March 1997) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter. His songs were regularly performed by Slim Dusty and other singers. He is the father of country music singer Tracy Coster.[1]

Early life[edit]

Statue of the "Cunnamulla Fella" erected as a tribute to songwriter Stan Coster and singer Slim Dusty. The Shire of Paroo hall in Cunnamulla (which was later rebuilt after this photo was taken in 2010) is in the background.

Stan Coster was born at Casino on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia in 1930. One of seven children, each of whom were musically talented. He left school at the age of 14 and worked for a local butcher in Woolgoolga, NSW.[2] By the age of 16, he was cutting sleepers for train tracks and at 18 years of age he went to work as a station hand before moving to Sydney and in 1948 moved to Cooma, New South Wales, to work on the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

In 1950, at age 20, Coster joined a travelling rodeo as a rough rider and in 1951 he married Dorothy Aileen Milto, with whom he had three children, including country music singer Tracy Coster.

Musical career[edit]

In 1956, Coster began writing songs and met Slim Dusty in 1960 at Longreach, Queensland.[2] Dusty recorded his first Coster song, "Return of the Stockman" in 1962. Dusty went on to record another 70 of Stan Coster's tracks. In 1977, Coster won the Golden Guitar for APRA Song of the Year with his composition "Three Rivers Hotel", recorded by Slim Dusty.[2] While on the land Coster worked as a ringer, fencer, slaughterman, horse-breaker, kangaroo shooter, and shed hand and was able to draw these experiences into his bush ballads. Popular compositions such as his "Three Rivers Hotel", which tells the story of building a train line into a remote nickel mine, were based on his own life experiences and brought to popular attention through performances and recordings by Slim Dusty and other artists.[3]

In the late 1970s, where he began his singing career at Joe Maguire's Pub (now known as the Tatersall's Hotel).[4] He appeared in the 1984 feature film The Slim Dusty Movie and in that year formed his own record label, "Gidgee Records".

In the 1980s Coster held his Stan Coster Show at the Tenthill Hotel in Upper Tenthill, Queensland to crowds too large to be accommodated in the hotel.[5][6]

In 1987, Coster won another Golden Guitar for APRA Song of the Year for "He’s a Good Bloke When He’s Sober". In 1989 he was awarded an OAM for "Services to Country Music" and was in 1990 inducted into the Australian Roll of Renown at Tamworth.[7] He won the 1995 Golden Guitar (Heritage Award) for Bush Ballad Song of the Year with "Lawson’s Loaded Dog" and in 1996 released his last album Come Back to the Bush.

Other than Dusty – Buddy Williams, Joy McKean, John Williamson, Gordon Parsons and many other music artists have performed Stan Coster songs.[4]

Later life[edit]

In later life, Coster moved to Tamworth, New South Wales and then to nearby Manilla. Stan Coster died from cancer on 25 March 1997 at Manilla.

Legacy and awards[edit]

Stan Coster memorial, carpark of the Tenthill Hotel, 2006

In 1999, a bronze bust featuring his image was unveiled in Tamworth's Bicentennial Park (31°05′35″S 150°55′45″E / 31.0931°S 150.9291°E / -31.0931; 150.9291 (Stan Coster memorial, Tamworth)).[2][8] On Sunday 18 January 1998, another memorial was erected in Manilla (30°44′52″S 150°43′13″E / 30.7477°S 150.7202°E / -30.7477; 150.7202 (Stan Coster monument, Manilla)).[9]

Two memorials were erected in Queensland. On Tuesday 4 April 2000, a memorial was erected at Centenary Park, Mowen Street, Clifton (27°55′56″S 151°54′19″E / 27.9322°S 151.9053°E / -27.9322; 151.9053 (Stan Coster monument, Clifton)).[10] On Saturday 27 May 2000, another memorial was unveiled by Bob Katter at the Tenthill Hotel Carpark in Upper Tenthill (27°38′04″S 152°12′51″E / 27.6344°S 152.2142°E / -27.6344; 152.2142 (Stan Coster monument, Upper Tenthill)).[6]

Coster's daughter, Tracy Coster released a tribute album to her father in 2004, entitled "Coster Country" which also featured duet performances with John Williamson, Adam Harvey, Lee Kernaghan and Anne Kirkpatrick.[11]

In 2005, in tribute to the iconic song "Cunnamulla Fella" performed by Dusty with lyrics by Stan Coster, an eponymous statue was unveiled in the Queensland town of Cunnamulla.[12] The song recalls Coster's days working as a sheep-shearing "ringer" around Cunnamulla in the 1950s. Dusty recorded the song and it became an enduring country music hit, later covered by Lee Kernaghan. The statue was unveiled by country music personalities Anne Kirkpatrick (Dusty's daughter), Jayne Kelly and Tracy and Russell Coster.[13]

The Annual Tenthill Turnout is held at Ma Ma Creek in May on the Saturday closest to Coster's birthday, 27 May, to celebrate Coster's music.[5]

Australian Roll of Renown[edit]

The Australian Roll of Renown honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to Country Music. It was inaugurated in 1976 and the inductee is announced at the Country Music Awards of Australia in Tamworth in January.[14]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1990 Stan Coster Australian Roll of Renown inductee

Country Music Awards of Australia[edit]

The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.[15]

Year Nominee / work Award Result (wins only)
1977 "Three Rivers Hotel" (written by Stan Coster) recorded by Slim Dusty APRA Song of the Year Won
1987 "He's a Good Bloke When He's Sober" (written by Stan Coster) recorded by Slim Dusty APRA Song of the Year Won
1995 "Lawson's Loaded Dog" (written by Stan Coster) Bush Ballad Heritage Song of the Year Won

Tamworth Songwriters Awards[edit]

The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. They commenced in 1986.[16] Stan Coster has won one award.[17]

Year Nominee / work Award Result (wins only)
2003 "The Ghost of Three Rivers" by Keith Jamieson and Stan Coster Traditional Bush Ballad of the Year Won

Further reading[edit]

  • Stan Coster Autobiography : "Travelling My Own Track"; ISBN 1-876285-61-3

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Stan Coster | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Australian Country Music Roll O". Countrymusichalloffame.com.au. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Slim Dusty – Chronicler of the Bush". Historyofcountrymusic.com.au. 19 September 2003. Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Stan Coster's display at the ACMF :: Saturday Night Country". Abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Annual Tenthill Turnout celebrates legacy of Stan Coster". Gatton, Lockyer and Brisbane Valley Star. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Stan Coster". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Roll of Renown". TCMF. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Stan Coster". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Stan Coster". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Stan Coster". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Tracy Coster Launches her album Coster Country :: Saturday Night Country". Abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 1 January 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  12. ^ "Cunnamulla Fella – Things To See and Do". Queensland Holidays. 18 November 2005. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  13. ^ "Bronzed Aussie president over Cunnamulla". Smh.com.au. 13 November 2008. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  14. ^ "Roll of Renown". Tamworth Country Music Festival. Retrieved 29 October 2020.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Past Award Winners". Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Tamworth Songwriters Association". Tamworth Songwriters Association Online. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Tamworth Songwriters Association Past Winners". Tamworth Songwriters Association Online. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
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