Arts in Australia country music, which has developed a style quite distinct from its US counterpart, influenced by Celtic folk ballads and the traditions of Australian bush balladeers like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Pioneers of popular country music in Australia included Tex Morton in the 1930s and Smoky Dawson from the 1940s onward. Slim Dusty (1927–2003) was known as the "King of Australian Country Music". His successful career spanned almost six decades and his 1957 hit "A Pub With No Beer" was the biggest-selling record by an Australian to that time, the first Australian single to go gold, and the first and
The Slim Dusty Movie his 106th album for EMI Records. His wife Joy McKean and children Anne Kirkpatrick and David Kirpatrick are all accomplished country music singers who perform in the film on stage with Dusty. A number of Dusty's song writers and old friends appear in the film, including Stan Coster and Gordon Parsons. Directed by Rob Stewart (whose credits include 1983's For the Term of His Natural Life) and with cinematography by David Eggby (Mad Max, 1979), the film features Australian landscapes prominently and is essentially a biographical documentary. Shot in diverse locations, it includes live performances at the Sydney Opera House,