Judith Durham, the Australian folk music icon, was announced as dead by her record label on Saturday. She was also the leader singer of The Seekers. She was 79.
Durham has passed away “peacefully” on Friday evening in Melbourne due to complications from a long-standing chronic lung disease, Musicoast and Universal Music Australia wrote on The Seekers’ verified Facebook page.
Born Judith Mavis Cock, Durham started her professional career in the piano playing industry. Durham, age 19, recorded her first recording with The Seekers in 1963. They were a folk trio that included Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Athol Guy. That same year, she released a jazz and blues EP with the group Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers.
1964 was the year that The Seekers made their debut and quickly became an international phenomenon with hits like “I’ll Never Find Another You,” “A World of Our Own”, “The Carnival Is Over” and “Morningtown Ride.”
Their 1967 song “Georgy Girl,” the title song of the movie starring Lynn Redgrave James Mason, was nominated for an Oscar. It reached No. It reached No.1 on the U.S. charts.
Durham began a solo career in the next year. Durham began with “For Christmas With Love,”She released many albums and toured extensively in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. for the next 20 years.
In the mid-1990s, the Seekers reunited. They reunited again in 2013 for a 50-year anniversary tour.
“Our lives are changed forever losing our treasured lifelong friend and shining star,”Guy spoke on behalf of The Seekers. “Her struggle was intense and heroic – never complaining of her destiny and fully accepting its conclusion. Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share.”
Beverley Sheehan was her sister. “Judith’s joy for life, her constant optimism, creativity and generosity of spirit were always an inspiration to me.”
Her legions of Australian supporters also made Durham famous on social media.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese named Durham “a national treasure and an Australian icon.”
“Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists. Her kindness will be missed by many, the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten,”He wrote on Twitter.
Magda Szubanski, an Australian actress and comedian Submitted, “Her beautiful, crystalline voice was the naive but knowing siren song of my childhood. Deepest condolences to her loved ones.”
