Buddy Williams

Buddy Williams was one of the earliest Australian country artists to record, waxing his first sides in 1939. He was a pioneer of the Australian bush ballad, Australia's counterpart to American Western music, and had a long recording career as one of the preeminent practitioners of hillbilly music down under. Regal Zonophone Collection is a three-disc set that covers his career from 1939 through the early '60s. (A separate volume, Under Western Skies, covers 1960-1964.) Williams' early recordings were usually performed with only an acoustic guitar for accompaniment and with frequent yodeling breaks (heard most spectacularly on "The Australian Hillbilly"). Because Australia's country artists were frequently emulating years-old American country & western recordings, Australian country music often sounds anachronistic next to American country from the same period. With 70 rare sides and brief but informative liner notes, Regal Zonophone Collection is the ultimate tribute to Buddy Williams. ~ Greg Adams, All Music Guide