Jimmy Little by Frances Peters-Little

Author:Frances Peters-Little [Frances Peters-Little]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hardie Grant Books
Published: 2023-02-11T00:00:00+00:00

From Jimmy’s point of view, he never thought of himself as offering Christian healing to anyone, but sang the song because it was marketable at the time and he liked it. He had no reason to dislike Christian songs or gospel music and grew up watching his mother and his siblings singing hymns on Sundays and considered it a good thing. On the other hand, his father Kunkus may have been less convinced of the healing powers of church music, but he did not mind his children getting a Christian education.

I don’t remember early day preaching in and around Woorigee when I was there. But back at Cummeragunja we would go to Sunday school fairly often, because of the missionary school. But then I always had a sense of religion in my mind and my heart, in my dealing with nature on a daily basis. I remember things like animals and insects and flowers and trees and birds and sky and rain, and all these things were nature’s gift. To me, they in themselves were a spiritual comforting from the creator. So I always felt that in my surroundings I was living in a spiritual stream of respecting life for what it was. I didn’t have to read the Bible or hear about it in hymns to be conscious about the fact that I was living a spiritual life. It all felt natural just to be appreciative of all that creativity around me. But certainly, when we did sing gospel songs on those few occasions that I witnessed and participated in, I was certainly deeply involved in trying to understand a deeper level of Christianity.

The tide of success and fame was thrust upon an eager and perhaps naive Jimmy, but at no time did he shy away from the responsibility. He had not taken himself too seriously as a star, but, throughout his career, he always managed to maintain a generosity, kindness and humility for which he will forever be remembered. His Australian pop star friends (like Australian pop and country music singer Judy Stone104) described Jimmy as someone who had a still presence when he went out on stage, and who single-handedly quietened the audiences after she and others had the crowds dancing in their seats. Jimmy’s other contemporary, Australian rockabilly pioneer Lonnie Lee,105 said that Jimmy’s performances, whether he was doing country, pop or gospel, always had a truthfulness about them. And when people like pioneer rock singer-songwriter and musician Col Joye106 and his band, the Joy Boys, toured with Jimmy, they were the ones who would confront the club managers if, on learning that Jimmy was Aboriginal, the managers refused to have Jimmy enter their premises – they would perform at jails, nursing homes and institutions that detained Aboriginal children, such as the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls.107

The Aboriginal girls’ home in Cootamundra – Col and I went up there to entertain. We went to hospitals together, the town halls and shows. We felt the same about our craft as being, belonging to the people.

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