Graham Rodger

Graham Rodger Winner of 39 Awards and 135 Final positions. Graham Rodger latest Album
The Fire Within Me won The People Choice Awards 2009 Tamworth for Best Album as well voted by The People as Best Male Vocal 2009.
He is No 15 in the Top Thirty European Charts, and No 53 in the Top 200 World Charts.

One of the proudest — and saddest — moments of Graham Rodger’s life was listening to his song “You Can’t Take Australia from Me” recited at Slim Dusty’s funeral.

But Slim — who recorded a number of Graham’s songs — would have been just as proud of the way this new-generation country singer is carrying the long tradition of the Aussie country ballads forward into the 21st Century.

His brand new album, The Fire Within Me, encapsulates everything Slim believed in: superbly crafted, heartfelt songs about our land and its characters, powerful messages of hope, an understanding of the human spirit, and above all a respect for the bush ballad form — its honesty and its authenticity — and an awareness of the need to keep it fresh and vibrant.

Over the past few years, Graham Rodger has established himself as one of the most respected and talented country singers of the twenty-first century. He’s released six previous albums and collected a swag of major awards, including 20 Tamworth Songwriting Awards for his songwriting, the Gordon Parsons Memorial Award, the Stan Coster Award and trophies at the Independent Country Music Awards, the TIARAs and the People’s Choice awards. He’s also been a Golden Guitar finalist six times.

In addition, he regularly tours Australia — often taking his music to the outback in the tradition of the early bush ballad pioneers — and plays to packed houses wherever he goes.

But The Fire Within Me marks a new era for Graham Rodger, for a number of reasons.

For a start, he enlisted the services of triple Golden Guitar winner Michael Fix to produce the album, resulting in a superbly crafted and extremely classy recording that combines the traditional bush ballad form with some innovative sounds and cutting edge styles that combine to create a fresh yet highly authentic and appealing sound.

Already, a number of tracks from The Fire Within Me have attracted significant attention. Graham’s latest tribute to the Vietnam veterans, “The Battle of Coral”, is being used in a documentary about the famous battle, and he’s been invited to perform at the Vietnam Veterans’ 40th anniversary celebrations in Townsville in May. Following this song, and Graham’s award-winning “The Battle of Long Tan”, he’s been embraced as the songwriter who can best express the experience of Australia’s Vietnam vets.

“A Saddle For A Throne” is the definitive bush ballad, Winning Bush Ballad of the Year, and “Give this hug to Daddy” won Best Country Song. The song has captured the attention of the listening audience and radio presenters alike.

The title of The Fire Within Me is self-explanatory when you listen to this exceptional album. It’s clear that Graham Rodger carries within him a passion for Australia, its heritage and its people that burns brightly. Luckily for us, he also has a rare ability to capture and convey all the nuances of this remarkable land through his memorable and powerful songs.

Graham is an experienced performer starting off in the rock n roll era and now into modern Australian country singing.