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
Not So Dusty (album) Not So Dusty (album) Not So Dusty is a compilation album of Slim Dusty songs covered by Australian musicians. It was released in Australia by EMI in 1998. It was nominated for a 1999 ARIA Award for Best Country Album. "Not So Dusty" received positive reviews and was certified gold. Gary Tippet of the Sunday Age gave it 3 stars and Peter Lalor of the Daily Telegraph gave it 7/10 although he noted that most of the Australian country outfits on the album "seem to bland out with their attempt at authentic outings". Keith Glass writing in the Sunday Herald