Douglas Wesley Ashdown (born 29 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter who had a minor hit in Australia with "Winter in America", also known as "Leave Love Enough Alone", which also reached No. 13 on the Dutch Singles Chart in 1978.
Doug Ashdown | |
|---|---|
 Ashdown performing at the Mortlock Library, Adelaide in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Douglas Wesley Ashdown |
| Born | 29 July 1942 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Genres | Rock, folk, country |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | dougashdown.com |
Ashdown reached No. 46 on the Australian Kent Music Report with "The Saddest Song of All" released in August 1970.[1] In 1988, "Winter in America" was covered by Dutch singer René Froger, and in 1994 by Australian group The Robertson Brothers.
Biography
editDouglas Wesley Ashdown was born in 1942 in Adelaide, South Australia. At the age of 17 he travelled to England to play in a rock band. In 1961, he was back in Adelaide and played guitar alongside Bobby Bright as a vocalist in The Bowmen.[2] By 1965, as a solo singer-songwriter, he released his first album, This Is Doug Ashdown. His 1960s popular singles were "Something Strange" in 1968, and in 1969, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On", a cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis' hit.[3]
In 1970, he signed with the independent label, Sweet Peach, and issued "The Saddest Song of All" in August, which peaked at number 46 on the Kent Music Report.[1] The song was written by Ashdown and Jim Stewart, who became his long-term producer and co-writer.[4] The associated album, The Age of Mouse, was the first double LP album of original material released by an Australian.[2] Ashdown and Stewart relocated to the United States, living in Nashville. While there, the pair co-wrote "Just Thank Me",[5] for David Rogers, who released it in 1973. It peaked at No. 17 on the US Country Music Singles Chart.[6] They also co-wrote "Leave Love Enough Alone", which Ashdown released in 1974 after relocating to Sydney.[7] He had a minor hit with it when it was renamed "Winter in America" and released in 1976. It peaked at No. 3 in Brisbane, No. 14 in Melbourne and No. 30 in Sydney.[3]
In 1977, his album Trees won the King of Pop Award for "Best Album Cover" from TV Week, the Australian television entertainment magazine.[8] Ashdown also worked with science fiction writer/songwriter Terry Dowling on recordings of Dowling's song-cycle "Amberjack", about a stranded time traveller. Ashdown contributed lead vocals and guitar to six of the tracks of Dowling's song-cycle, which were broadcast by the ABC in 1977.
He continued to release singles and albums, and had minor chart success into the 1980s.[3] He co-wrote several original songs for the 1995 film Billy's Holiday.
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [1] | |||
| This Is Doug Ashdown |
|
- | |
| The Real Thing |
|
- | |
| Source |
|
- | |
| The Age of Mouse |
|
- | |
| Leave Love Enough Alone |
|
38 |
|
| Trees |
|
98 | |
| Empty Without You |
|
- | |
| The World for the Right Kind of Man |
|
- | |
| Love Lives |
|
- | |
| No Cheap Grace |
|
- | |
| Homesong |
|
- |
Live albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Doug Ashdown Live |
|
| Doug Ashdown and Friends Live – The Blues and Then Some |
|
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Really and Sincerely |
|
| A Career Collection 1965-2000 |
|
Charting singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [1] | |||
| 1970 | "The Saddest Song of All" | 46 | The Age of Mouse |
| 1976 | "Winter in America (Leave Love Enough Alone)" | 37 | Leave Love Enough Alone |
| 1981 | "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" | 40 | The World for the Right Kind of Man |
Awards
editAustralian Record Awards
edit| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975[10] | Leave Love Enough Alone | Easy Listening Male Album of the Year | Won |
References
edit- Specific
- ^ a b c d Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 20. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ a b Kimball
- ^ a b c McFarlane "'Doug Ashdown' entry". Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 13 September 2017.. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ^ "ASCAP ACE – Search Results for "Saddest Song of All"". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ^ ""Just Thank Me" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 359. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ Kruger, Debbie (July–August 2002). "They Wrote The Songs: Songwriters discuss the stories and inspirations behind their most famous songs". Aprap. Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Archived from the original on 15 June 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Kent Music Report No 453 – 28 February 1983 > Platinum Albums 1982 (Continued)". Retrieved 26 December 2022 – via Imgur.com.
- ^ "Australian Record Awards Announced" (PDF). Billboard. 29 November 1975. p. 58. Retrieved 12 November 2021 – via World Radio History.
- General
- Kimball, Duncan (2002). "Doug Ashdown". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Whammo Homepage". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 19 April 2010. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Marshall, Victor (2021). Fraternity: Pub Rock Pioneers. Melbourne, Australia: Brolga. ISBN 978-1920785109.