Lee Kernaghan
Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021,[1] has won 38 Golden Guitars at the Country Music Awards of Australia (second to Slim Dusty).
Lee Kernaghan
Lee Raymond Kernaghan
Singer, songwriter, musician
Vocals, guitar
1977–present
He was the 2008 Australian of the Year, in recognition of his support for rural and regional Australia.[2][3] Kernaghan was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2015 ARIA Awards, for Spirit of the Anzacs.[4]
Biography[edit]
1965–1990: Early years[edit]
Lee Kernaghan was born on 15 April 1964 in Corryong, Victoria and is the son of country music singer and truck driver Ray Kernaghan. Lee spent his formative years growing up in Albury New South Wales. His grandfather was a third generation drover of sheep and cattle.[5]
In 1986, Kernaghan traveled to the United States to represent Australia at the Nashville 'Fan Fair' country music festival.
1990s[edit]
In 1992, Kernaghan released "Boys from the Bush" which became his first number one on the country chart.[5] Kernaghan said "When Garth (Porter) and I first wrote 'Boys from the Bush' I had no idea it would ever be a hit. It was just a song about me and my mates, working on the land, going to the pub and tearing around in utes. I didn't think anyone would be that interested in us... we were just kids from the bush but Garth said 'this record (The Outback Club) has to be about your life and where you come from so we wrote that song and several others and before long I had a band and we were out on the road performing them live."[5]
In May 1992, Kernaghan released The Outback Club. The album debuted at number 94 on the ARIA Charts.[6] At the 1993 Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA), the album won Album of the Year the ARIA Award for Best Country Album.[7] The album re-entered the chart later peaking at number 58 in May 1994.[6]
In August 1993, Kernaghan released his second studio album, Three Chain Road. The album again won the CMAA Album of the Year and the ARIA Award for Best Country Album.[7]
In July 1995, Kernaghan released his third studio album, 1959, which peaked at number 9 on the ARIA Chart, becoming Kernaghan's first top ten album.[6] The album won Kernaghan his third Album of the Year at the CMAA of 1996.[7]
In February 1998, Kernaghan released his fourth studio album, Hat Town. The album peaked at number 7 on the ARIA Chart[6] and won his fourth Album of the Year at the CMAA of 1999.[7]
Kernaghan's fifth studio album was The Christmas Album in November 1998. The album peaked at number 31 on the ARIA chart.[6]
2000s[edit]
In January 2000, Kernaghan released his sixth studio album, Rules of the Road. This was followed by Electric Rodeo in July 2002 which won Album of the Year and Top Selling Album of the Year at the 2003 CMAA.[7] Electric Rodeo peaked at number 5 on the ARIA chart.[6]
Kernaghan was part of The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular in 2002.
In October 2004, Kernaghan released his first greatest hits collection titled, The Big Ones: Greatest Hits Vol. 1. The album peaked at number 16 on the ARIA charts and was certified platinum.[6]
In April 2006, Kernaghan released his eighth studio album, The New Bush. The album peaked at number 6 on the ARIA Charts and won Album of the Year and Top Selling Album of the Year at the 2007 CMAA.[7]
In July 2007, Kernaghan released his ninth studio album, Spirit of the Bush. The album's title track peaked at number 11 on the ARIA singles chart, becoming Kernaghan's highest charting single. The song won three awards at the 2008 CMAA.[7]
In November 2009, Kernaghan released his tenth studio album, Planet Country.
In 2009 Kernaghan was named the biggest hit-maker of the last twenty years on the Australian Country Tracks chart, beating musical greats from Australia and international.[5]
2010s[edit]
In September 2011, Kernaghan released his second greatest hits collection, Ultimate Hits. The album peaked at number 8 on the ARIA chart.[6]
In October 2012, Kernaghan released his eleventh studio album, Beautiful Noise. The album peaked at number 9 on the ARIA chart.[6]
During a visit to the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in 2013, Kernaghan's friend and AWM Director Dr. Brendan Nelson introduced Kernaghan to letters that were written by Australian service men and women during various wars dating back to the landing at Gallipoli during the First World War. These letters were held in the vaults at the AWM.[8] The power of the letters affected Kernaghan deeply and the experience at the Australian War Memorial that day was the catalyst that saw these letters put to music in what would become the Spirit of the Anzacs (album) in March 2015. Upon release, the album peaked at number 1 on the ARIA charts, becoming Kernaghan's first chart topper. It was the highest selling Australian artist album for 2015.[4]
2015 also saw the release of Kernaghan's first book, The Boy from the Bush, These Are My Songs, These Are My Stories.
In March 2017, Kernaghan released his fourteenth studio album, The 25th Anniversary Album. The album peaked at number 2 on the ARIA chart.[6]
In 2019 Kernaghan released his fifteenth studio album, Backroad Nation with the title track staying four weeks at #1 on the country singles charts.[9]
2020s[edit]
In 2022 Kernaghan is set to celebrate his 30th anniversary as an artist. In January 2022, he released a 3-CD greatest hits collection titled The Very Best of Lee Kernaghan: Three Decades of Hits on 14 January 2022 which peaked at number 17 on the ARIA charts.[10]