Lonnie Lee

In Australia's first wave of popular music, Lonnie Lee was the only serious challenger to Johnny O'Keefe and Col Joye.

He was also the first Australian to score a Number One hit in New Zealand. He was born David Lawrence Rix, and grew up on his parents' sheep station at Rowena in New South Wales where he started singing in the local church choir at the age of seven. His family encouraged him to take up the guitar and by his early teens he would sing at parties doing Johnny Ray impersonations. Working as a bank clerk after he left school, his real ambition was to be a singer, and his first chance came when he came second to an opera singer on Radio 2UE's Amateur Hour. It was enough to land him bookings at several small clubs in Sydney.

In February 1957, as Laurie Rix, he entered and won a high profile competition held at Sydney's Trocadero Ballroom looking for "Australia's Elvis Presley", compered by local rock hero Johnny O'Keefe. More bookings resulted, and his career seemed to be on the rise, until suddenly he was forced to return to his parents' property for a year following the death of his grandfather.

When he returned to Sydney in January 1959 everyone had forgotten him already. He unsuccessfully approached Festival Records about a record contract. Unperturbed, the singer formed the group, Laurie Lee and the Leeman, and started performing regularly around Sydney. Johnny O'Keefe hadn't forgotten and in July 1959 J'OK agreed to come and see the group perform. Impressed, he renamed the singer Lonnie after British rock legend Lonnie Donegan, and arranged for Lonnie Lee to make appearances on the 'Six O'Clock Rock' TV show. Audience reaction was immediate, Lonnie Lee became a regular, and he was offered a five-year contract with Lee Gordon's Leedon Records.

The first single coupled a Bobby Freeman song 'Shame On You Miss Johnston' with a song Lonnie and Johnny O'Keefe had written, 'Ain't It So'. It was the B-side which generated the interest, and became a national hit. He followed it with 'Starlight Starbright', 'Yes Indeed I Do', and 'I Found A New Love', all major national hits. He became a favourite in women's magazines and was the only performer to gain more votes than Johnny O'Keefe in a popularity contest conducted by ABC TV. Lonnie Lee would also become the first Australian to achieve a Number One hit in New Zealand.

He started concentrating on his own songwriting, and when the hits started drying up in the early sixties Lonnie moved to the backroom helping the new breed of singers make their way, while moving his own musical focus towards country music. In late 1966 he went to work in clubs in England, Europe and South-East Asia, re-established himself on the Australian cabaret circuit when he returned in 1969. In the mid 70s he went to America to work as a TV producer, promoter, writing songs for and with Roy Orbison, returning to Australia again in 1985.

Related Artists
Bee Gees
Col Joye
Johnny O'Keefe

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