Frank Ifield
Career[edit]
Early years[edit]
Frank Ifield was born in 1937 in Coundon, Coventry, England, to Australian parents Richard Joseph Ifield (1909–1982) and Hannah Muriel Ifield (c. 1916–2012), as one of seven sons.[2] His parents had travelled to England in 1936,[3] where his father was an inventor and engineer who created the Ifield fuel pump, for Lucas Industries, which was used in jet aircraft.[2][4][5]
The Ifield family returned to Australia in January 1948 aboard the Orion.[3] They lived near Dural, 50 km (31 mi) north-west of Sydney.[2][6] It was a rural district and he listened to hillbilly music (later called country music) while milking the family's cow.[2] He was given a guitar in 1949 by his grandmother and was self-taught;[6] he also taught himself to yodel, by imitating country stars, including Hank Snow.[2]
The family moved to Beecroft, a Sydney suburb.[6] At the age of 13 he performed his version of Bill Showmet's "Did You See My Daddy Over There?" and appeared on local radio station 2GB's talent quest, Amateur Hour.[6] This track was issued as his first single, in 1953, by Regal Zonophone Records.[7] By November of that year he appeared regularly on Brisbane radio station, 4BK's Youth Parade, playing guitar and singing, where, "All the artists in this programme are under 21 year of age."[8]
His third single was a cover version of "Abdul Abulbul Amir" (September 1954), which was backed by his own composition, "A Mother's Faith".[7][9][10] In 1956 he hosted, Campfire Favourites, on local TV station, TCN-9, which "was the first weekly 'Western' programme by a local artist on Australian television."[11] From that year to late 1957 he recorded six singles with a backing group, Dick Carr Buckaroos.[7]
In 1957 he recorded a track, "Whiplash", which was used as the theme song for the British/Australian TV series of the same title from September 1960 to mid-1961.[12] He toured the North Island of New Zealand in early 1959, where his single, "Guardian Angel", reached No. 1 on local radio charts.[11] Ifield had two top 30 hits in that year on the Kent Music Report, with "True" (September, No. 26) and "Teenage Baby" (November, No. 23).[13][14] He returned to the United Kingdom in November 1959.
1960s success[edit]
Ifield's first UK single, "Lucky Devil" (January 1960), reached No. 22 in the UK Singles Chart.[15] His next six singles had less commercial success, but he had his first UK number-one hit with a cover version of Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer 1941 composition,[16] "I Remember You" (May 1962), which topped the charts for seven weeks.[15] Known for Ifield's falsetto and a slight yodel, it was the second-highest-selling single of that year in the UK,[17] and became the seventh million-selling single.[18] It is Ifield's highest charting single on the United States Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 5.[19][20] It also reached No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report.[13][14]
His next single was a double A-side, "Lovesick Blues" and "She Taught Me How to Yodel" (October 1962).[7] "Lovesick Blues" was originally sung by Hank Williams and was treated in an upbeat "Let's Twist Again" style. The other track is a virtuoso piece of yodelling with the final verse – entirely yodelling – at double-speed. It also peaked at No. 1 in the UK,[15] No. 2 in Australia,[13][14] and reached No. 44 in the US Billboard Hot 100.[20] He had been told by his management not to yodel because it would brand him.[6] Nevertheless, he sang "She Taught Me to Yodel" as an encore for a Royal Variety Performance (November 1962),[21] at the specific request of the Queen Mother for a yodelling song.[6] His next single, "Wayward Wind", made him the first UK-based artist to reach No. 1 three times in succession on the UK charts.[15] The only previous artist to have done so was Elvis Presley.[15] In Australia it peaked at No. 16.[13][14]
His UK charting singles from 1963 were "Nobody's Darlin' but Mine" (April 1963, No. 4), "Confessin' (That I Love You)" (June, No. 1), "Mule Train" (October, No. 22) and "Don't Blame Me" (December, No. 8).[15] In 1963 he sang at the Grand Ole Opry, introduced by one of his heroes, Hank Snow. Many of his records were produced by Norrie Paramor. Ifield also was featured on Jolly What!, a 1964 compilation comprising eight of his tracks and four by the Beatles, which has been considered an attempt to cash in on Beatlemania.[22][23] (Vee-Jay Records had gotten US distribution rights to The Beatles along with Ifield) Despite changing trends Ifield continued to have further top 40 hits in that decade including, "Angry at the Big Oak Tree" (April 1964) "I Should Care" (July), "Paradise" (August 1965), "No One Will Ever Know" (June 1966), and "Call Her Your Sweetheart" (September).[7][15] Ifield twice entered the UK heats for the Eurovision Song Contest. He came in second in the 1962 heat with "Alone Too Long" (losing to Ronnie Carroll).[24] In the 1976 heat he tried with, "Ain't Gonna Take no for an Answer", finishing last of 12.[24]
Later years[edit]
In 1991, Ifield returned to the UK chart when a dance remix of "She Taught Me How to Yodel", renamed, "The Yodelling Song", was billed as Frank Ifield featuring the Backroom Boys, reached No. 40 in the UK Singles Chart.[15] In more than 30 years, it became his 16th appearance on that list. The song was mentioned by Victor Meldrew in the One Foot in the Grave episode, "Love and Death".
Personal life[edit]
Ifield married Gillian Bowden, a dancer at the London Palladium, on 6 July 1965 at Marylebone Register, London.[25] Ifield starred as Dave Kelly, and Bowden appeared as a dancer, in the comedy musical film, Up Jumped a Swagman (December 1965).[26][27] The couple had two children.[28]
In 1986, Ifield contracted pneumonia and required surgery to remove part of a lung. As a result, his vocal cords were damaged, which meant he could not sing or yodel for years until they recovered.[2] He and Bowden divorced in 1988 and he returned to Sydney to live.[29] In 1992, he married his second wife, Carole Wood, an airline hostess.[29]