Wiggles songs added to NFSA’s Sounds of Australia

Midnight Oil’s Power and the Passion, Christine Anu’s Island Home and The Wiggles’ Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car are three of the 10 recordings added this year to the NFSA’s Sounds of Australia registry.

Sounds of Australia is the ultimate selection of culturally, historically and aesthetically significant sounds.

They have made history and become part of our national identity.

Inclusion in Sounds of Australia means that these recordings will live on at the NFSA, for future generations to discover and enjoy.

Christine Anu said: ‘It’s an incredible honour to be selected alongside Anthony Field, Peter Garret and my other fellow inductees, with a song so embedded in the Indigenous world of music, that it went on to symbolise what “home” and “belonging” mean to every Australian. It’s incredible to see the song acknowledged.’

To mark the occasion, The Wiggles recorded an acoustic version of their song, they said: ‘We’ve been making music for children all around the world for 25 years now. It’s been lots of fun! We’re very honoured to hear that Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car has been added to Sounds of Australia.’

Marking its tenth year in 2016, Sounds of Australia was established by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia to recognise the contribution of recorded sound to our nation’s evolving identity – from AC/DC to Waltzing Matilda, 19th century recordings of extinct Indigenous languages to unforgettable jingles and theme songs, the registry is a celebration of Australian sound.

The 10 additions for Sounds of Australia 2016 are, in chronological order: 
 

1912 – When Father Papered the Parlour, by Billy Williams – popular song
1937 – Life Without Love, by Frank Coughlan’s Trocadero Orchestra – jazz
1968 – Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, by Eric Jupp – television theme
1971 – And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, by Eric Bogle – popular song
1978 – C’mon Aussie C’mon, by The Mojo Singers – popular song
1982 – Power and the Passion, by Midnight Oil – popular song
1985 – Sounds of Then (This is Australia), by GANGgajang – popular song
1992 – Antarctica: Suite for Guitar and Orchestra, by Nigel Westlake – classical
1995 – Island Home, by Christine Anu – popular song
1998 – Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car, by The Wiggles – popular song 

About the songs:

1971 AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA, BY ERIC BOGLE – POPULAR SONG

This iconic anti-war ballad was created by Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle, as an oblique response to the Vietnam War. Ostensibly about Gallipoli, it was intended as a veiled attack on Australian participation in Vietnam, which Bogle opposed. The song has gone on to be covered by numerous domestic and international musicians, and become Bogle’s most recognised track. In 1986 it was given a Gold Award by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), and in May 2001 APRA named it one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. 

1978 C’MON AUSSIE C’MON, BY THE MOJO SINGERS – POPULAR SONG

This chart-topping single was originally written as a 60-second jingle by Mojo advertising executives to promote the second season of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket for the Nine Television Network. Written by Mojo directors Alan Morris (‘Mo’) and Allan Johnston (‘Jo’) and other creative staff in 1978, it eulogises prominent cricket players of the period. The popularity of the jingle led Mojo to recut the track, which was performed by the Mojo Singers (Mojo staff and recording studio personnel). It went on to top the charts for two weeks in February 1979. 
 

1982 POWER AND THE PASSION, BY MIDNIGHT OIL – POPULAR SONG

The most popular single from Midnight Oil’s breakthrough fourth studio album, 10,
9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
. As one of the band’s most famous songs, it has been performed on every Midnight Oil tour since its release. The video was filmed in 1982 amongst the ‘Woolloomooloo Mural Project’ in Sydney. The song highlights disparities between those ‘living in paradise’ and those falling behind, and references Australian symbols and places, from panel vans to Pine Gap. The track came to symbolise the passionate performance style of the band and its lead singer Peter Garrett. It peaked at No. 8, with the album peaking at No. 3, and remained in the charts for 171 weeks. In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association named the song as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. 
 

1985 SOUNDS OF THEN (THIS IS AUSTRALIA), BY GANGGAJANG – POPULAR SONG

Released as a single from GANGgajang’s self-titled debut album, this song became
their most recognisable track. Written by Mark Callaghan to capture the culture
shock of moving from England to Bundaberg, Queensland, it incorporates many of
the iconic sights, sounds and smells of Australia. The single peaked at No. 35 on the Australian singles chart in February 1986. While the song has been a constant feature of GANGgajang’s live shows, it has also featured as Nine Network’s station ID promotion in 1996, and in a Coca-Cola commercial. 
 

1992 ANTARCTICA: SUITE FOR GUITAR AND ORCHESTRA, BY NIGEL WESTLAKE – CLASSICAL

Composed by Nigel Westlake in 1992 as a commission for the ABC’s 60th birthday,
the work began life in the cinema, as the score for John Weiley’s IMAX film Antarctica (1991). Performed by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra with guitar soloist Tim Kain, it was recorded in The Ballroom, Government House, Hobart. The four movements
of Antarctica are drawn from the primary themes of the film, covering the ‘desolate grandeur of the pole, the life it sustains, and human presence in the region, both historically and today’. 
 

1995 ISLAND HOME, BY CHRISTINE ANU – POPULAR SONG

Christine Anu’s, Island Home was released in 1995, as the second single from her debut studio album, Stylin’ Up. It is a cover of a track written by Neil Murray, and originally released by the Warumpi Band as a single from their album Go Bush in 1987. Anu’s version made some changes to the lyrics; rather than moving to the desert, she compares island life to the city life, and tells the story from a female perspective. The work won Song of the Year at the 1995 Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Awards, and was listed in APRA’s Top 30 Australian songs of all time in 2001. 
 

1998 TOOT TOOT, CHUGGA CHUGGA, BIG RED CAR, BY THE WIGGLES – POPULAR SONG

Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car is the title track from the ninth album by The Wiggles, Toot Toot, released in 1998. One of The Wiggles’ most popular songs, it describes the band riding in their Big Red Car, and what each Wiggle does in it. The song and its accompanying video clip showcase the rhyming and associated dance that is so important in childhood development, and features strongly throughout The Wiggles’ music. The album was released during the band’s push into international markets, in particular the USA, where they performed in venues from church halls to Disneyland. The album went on to win the 1998 ARIA Music Award for Best Children’s Album. 

Each year, the Australian public nominates new sounds to be added, with final selections determined by a panel of industry experts, including radioinfo’ Steve Ahern. They can be popular songs, advertising jingles, famous speeches, radio broadcasts, or any other sound recording – as long as they’re Australian and more than 10 years old. 

Nominations are now open for 2017.

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