Feb 282020

Golden Guitar Awards are like heart of the journey for Australian artists in music! The award night is the biggest attraction that is found around Australia giving the fans a great opportunity to see all of their favourite music artists performing on a huge stage in the huge show. Sounds interesting topic right! Let us discuss about the great Australian Musicians who won these most prestigious award and also have a brief explanation on ‘Golden Guitar’ Awards.

Golden Guitar is otherwise called as CMAA, Country Music Awards of Australia which are originally known as Australasian Country Music Awards. This is the award night held every year in the month of January during Tamworth Country Music Festival, Tamworth, New South Wales. This outstanding event celebrates recording excellence of musicians and music artists from Australian Country music industry. Country Music Association of Australia, CMAA owns the whole event.

History of CMAA

These awards are been given out for Australian music industry champs since 1973. Over 500 Golden Guitars have won the Country Music Awards of Australia since 1973. Why are we highlighting 1973 often!? Because 1973 is the year since when the Australia country celebrating Australia’s longest running awards in music industry i.e. nothing but CMAA and highlights Tamworth Country Music Festival. Around the same time in 1973, the city Tamworth, has been recognised as a country music capital or Australia’s Home of Country Music. Since then the awards are playing major role in promoting and developing Australian Country Music.

The award ceremony honours all the musicians and artists from Australia with miniature Golden Guitars in recognition of their contributions, accomplishments, and achievements in country music genre. In simple words, Golden Guitar awards honor excellence in Australian Country music performance, recording, and song writing in a huge live event before several thousands of audience and broadcasts nationally on TV as well as ABC radio streamed on Ben Sorensen’s REAL Country and aired on other commercial and community radio stations.

Initially, the awards ceremony was staged in the historic and most iconic Tamworth’s Town Hall accommodating around one thousand audience. But over years, the venue has been shifted from school halls to a huge ‘Big Top’ or converted factory. Later in 1999, the award ceremony has been held at Tamworth Regional Entertainment & Conference Centre (TRECC) accommodating five thousand audience, fans, music artists, music industry professionals, and visitors.

Getting back to the year 1972, 2TM’s, John Minson and Mr Hoedown along with 2TM Station Manager, Max Ellis decided to honor the Golden Guitars with a trophy that looks like a ‘rock solid that represents Australia’s country music’. They have decided on the concept of bronze guitar and soon after Harry Frost, local artist, commissioned to design a detailed rock solid guitar miniature featuring both traditional modern designs of amplified electric guitar. Finally, Mr Frost produced a dual pick-up, semi cut-away, hollow boiled guitar trophy that stands 4 cm tall and 1.5kg weight. It was made out of fibre glass and wood plus steel reinforcements.

In the early years, John Minson, country music legend worked on final finishing’s of each and every Golden Guitar such as smoothing, polishing, etc. to turn it into a beautiful and gorgeous trophy. Today, the Golden Guitar miniature is most famous and recognised by all over the nation as a symbol of country music and Tamworth.

The Golden Guitar was first erected on Sydney road in front of the famous Longyard Hotel in 1988 and was make public by Australia’s most popular country music artist, Slim Dusty. It is located in Tamworth and is a symbolic representation of city’s recognition and celebration of Australia’s country music and its artists.

Did you know……?

Top Golden Guitar Award Winners

Slim Dusty                   – 38

Lee Kernaghan           – 36

Troy Cassar-Daley      – 33

John Williamson        – 26

Sara Storer                  – 18

Graeme Connors        – 14

Garth Porter               – 13

Adam Brand               – 12

Kasey Chambers        -11

Colin Buchanan         – 10

The McClymonts       – 10

James Blundell           – 9

Beccy Cole                  – 9

Hawking Bros            – 8

Adam Harvey            – 8

Bullamakanka          – 7

Allan Caswell            – 7

Duncan Toombs       – 7

The Flying Emus      – 6

Paul Kelly                  – 6

Anne Kirkpatrick    – 6

Joy McKean              – 6

Melinda Schneider – 6

Kasey Chambers & – 6

Shane Nicholson             

Peter Denahy           – 5

Gina Jeffreys            – 5

Norma O’Hara – 5

Murphy

Patsy Riggir              – 5

Arthur Blanch         – 4

Catherine Britt        – 4

Johnny Chester       – 4

Rex Dallas               – 4

Tania Kernaghan  – 4

Rod McCormack    – 4

Suzanne Prentice  – 4

Felicity Urquhart   – 4

1901                          – 3

Mick Albeck            – 3

Jewel Blanch           – 3

Lindsay Butler       – 3

Stan Coster              – 3

Davidson Brothers – 3

Dead Ringer Band  – 3

Steve Forde              – 3

Reg Lindsay             – 3

Denise Morrison    – 3

Shane Nicholson     – 3

Mark O’Shea           – 3

Reg Poole                 – 3

Dean Perrett           – 3

Jean Stafford          – 3

Ross Wood              – 3

Luke Austen           – 2

Adam Eckersley Band   – 2

Darren Coggan      – 2

Bella                        – 2

Jeff Brown              – 2

Dianna Corcoran   – 2

Smoky Dawson &   – 2

Trevor Knight

Ted Egan                  – 2

Luke O’Shea &        – 2

Drew McAlister

Lawrie Minson       – 2

Jetty Road                – 2

“Pixie” Jenkins        – 2

Alan Hawking        – 2

Hamilton Country – 2

Bluegrass Band

Michael Fix            – 2

Tommy Emmanuel – 2

Ian Quinn                 – 2

Brendon Walmsley – 2

Saltbush                    – 2

Webb Bros                – 2

The Wheel                – 2

Kirsty Lee Akers      – 1

Australian Family – 1

of Country Music

Sherrie Austin         – 1

Josh Arnold              – 1

Victoria Baillie        – 1

Lachlan Bryan,       – 1

Mat Duniam,

Shaun Ryan &

Rod McCormack

Rob Brown               – 1

Lachlan Bryan &    – 1

The Wildes         

Lyn Bowtell           – 1

Norm Bodkin         – 1

Wally Bishop          – 1

Kevin Bennett        – 1

Clint Beattie            – 1

Chelsea Basham     – 1

Jimmy Barnes         – 1

Tex Banes                – 1

Buckskin                 – 1

Evelyn Bury           – 1

Camille & Stuie     – 1

Michael Carr         – 1

Kasey Chambers  – 1

& Bernard Fanning         

Bill Chambers        – 1

Bill Cate                  – 1

Brian Caswell        – 1

Carter & Carter     – 1

Kev Carmody        – 1

Greg Champion    – 1

Jan Cooper &         – 1

Michael Roycroft

Helen Clemens      – 1

Darren Coggan     – 1

& Ken McBeath

Rod Coe                 – 1

Tracy Coster         – 1

Leanne Douglas   – 1

Kristy Cox              – 1

Nick Didia              – 1

Colin Dallas            – 1

Crosby Sisters        – 1

Ashleigh Dallas     – 1

Max Ellis                – 1

Nick Erby               – 1

Feral Swing Cats    – 1

Matt Fell                  – 1

The Flood               – 1

Barry Forrester      – 1

Mike Fox                 – 1

Grand Junction      – 1

Keith Jamieson     – 1

Wave Jackson        – 1

Jedd Hughes           – 1

The Hired Hands   – 1

Col Hardy                – 1

Happening Thang – 1

Great Divide          – 1 

Col Joye                  – 1

Merv Maltman      – 1

Jimmy Little          – 1

Christie Lamb      – 1

McAlister Kemp   – 1

Drew McAlister    – 1

Tina Martyn         – 1

Jane Maddick       – 1

Amber Lawrence – 1      

Vic Lanyon            – 1

Kevin Knapp         – 1

Arch Kerr              – 1

Samantha McClymont – 1

Nev Nicholls &        – 1

The Country Playboys – 1

Rod McCormack,

Troy Cassar-Daley,

Jeff McCormack              

Mustered Courage        – 1

Ross Murphy                  – 1

Amos Morris                  – 1

Chad Morgan                 – 1

John Minson                  – 1

Heather McKean           – 1

Don McGuire                 – 1

Shane Nicholson           – 1

& Nash Chambers         – 1                             

Slim Newton                  – 1

O’Shea                            – 1

Luke O’Shea & Peter    – 1

Gabrielides        

Tom Oliver                    – 1

Rocky Page                   – 1

Brent Parlane              – 1

Dolly Parton                 – 1

Steve Passfield            – 1

Dean Perrett &             – 1

Troy Cassar-Daley           

Cel Phillips                     – 1

James Reyne                 – 1

Redgum                         – 1

Rosemary Rae              – 1

Bob Purtell                    – 1

Keith Potger                  – 1

Richard Porteous     – 1

Dave Pincombe        – 1

Bill Robertson           – 1

Graham Rodger             – 1

Ray Rose                    – 1

Kylie Sackley             – 1

Ben Saunders           – 1

John Schumann       – 1

Eric Scott                  – 1 

Tanya Self                 – 1

Ian Simpson &          – 1

John Kane                 – 1

Travis Sinclair           – 1

Greg Storer &            – 1

Sara Storer                 – 1

Tamara Stewart            – 1

Jazzer Smith             – 1

The Sparnetts          – 1

Taylor Swift              – 1

Barry Thornton        – 1

Colleen & Paul Trenwith -1

Three Chord Wonders – 1

Roger Tibbs              – 1

Trev & Dennis          – 1

Doug Trevor             – 1

Chris Watson            – 1

Carrie Underwood – 1   

Trev Warner            – 1

Jenine Vaughn        – 1

Wallace/Hauritz      – 1

Manfred Vijars        – 1

Eric Watson         – 1

John Williamson,   – 1        

Warren H Williams

 & Amos Morris

Ron Wills               – 1

Glen Wilson          – 1

Clive Young           – 1

Talia Wittmann     – 1

Brian Young          – 1

Wolverines            – 1

Paul Wookey         – 1

Natalie Wood        – 1

Highlights of 2019 Golden Guitars

In 2019 Golden Guitars:

  • The Wolfe Brothers bagged the winner’s title by picking up a string of awards.
  • The Tasmanian trio bagged four gongs out of their five nominations.
  • The industry’s most prestigious award – the Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown is honoured to James Blundell.

Check out all of the 2019 Golden Guitar winners below:

Album Of The Year: The Wolfe Brothers – Country Heart

Top Selling Album Of The Year: Keith Urban – Graffiti U

Alt Country Album Of The Year: Andrew Swift – Call Out For The Calvary

Contemporary Country Album Of The Year: The Wolfe Brothers – Country Heart

Traditional Country Album Of The Year: Kasey Chambers & The Fireside Disciples – Campfire

Male Artist Of The Year:  Travis Collins

Female Artist Of The Year:  Beccy Cole

Country Music Capital News Group Or Duo Of The Year: The Wolfe Brothers

Regional Australia Bank Vocal Collaboration Of The Year: Bennett, Bowtell & Urquhart feat Karl Broadie

Qantas New Talent Of The Year:  Andrew Swift

APRA AMCOS Song Of The Year: The Wolfe Brothers – Ain’t Seen It Yet

Heritage Song Of The Year: Troy Cassar-Daley – Shadows On The Hill

Single Of The Year: Morgan Evans – Day Drunk

Bush Ballad Of The Year: John WilliamsonPlease Don’t Forget Me

Bluegrass Recording of the Year: Kristy CoxRicochet

CMC Video Of The Year: Fanny Lumsden –Elastic Waistband

Coca Cola Instrumental Of The Year: Tommy EmmanuelWheelin’ & Dealin’

I have also compiled few YouTube versions of our winners Albums, Have a look!

Single of the Year: Morgan Evans- Day Drunk

Female Artist of the Year: Beccy Cole- Lioness

Traditional Country Album Of The Year: Kasey Chambers & The Fireside Disciples – Campfire

2020 Golden Guitar Awards are successfully going to complete their 48th Anniversary. Amazing right! Over 48 years ago, it was just an idea but today, these awards night has become the center of attraction, happening event, and main highlight around the country. Around thousands of people enjoy seeing their favorite stars and music artists on this huge and prestigious stage.


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