Singer/songwriter Col Millington has had an impressive career in entertainment. He has released 40 albums and written over 200 songs and his music has covered a wide range of styles including Rock, Pop, Jazz, Blues, Country, Swing and Dance. In his 50-year career in the music business he has not only been involved in entertaining, but has also worked in record producing, marketing, artist promotion and he established his own record label – Rich River Records.
Colin Millington was born in Richmond, Melbourne on January 13th, 1949 and was the third oldest in a family of four children. In 1953 the family moved to Northcote where Col grew up and developed his music career. A few other budding musicians lived in this part of town including Normie Rowe, Doug Trevor (the Cherokees) and Mal Clarke (the Blue Jays). Col’s father had been a Staff Sergeant in the Australian Air-Force and had served overseas in World War II. When he returned from the war he got a job at Kodak, where he stayed until he retired.
Growing up, Col spent many Saturday afternoons at the matinee session at the Westgarth Picture Theatre. He loved the cowboy movies that would always have a dramatic ending to entice the kids to return the following week to watch the next episode. Col loved the cowboys and the songs they sang and there is doubt that these movies strongly influenced his interest in country music throughout his life. He attended Westgarth Central Primary School then went to Heidleberg Tech, a place Col describes as “a school that was too tough too die.” But he survived and learnt a lot about life. He left school at 15 and started work as an apprentice engineer. But he found that this job was not for him and he left after 12 months. He worked at various jobs after this including washing cars and as a Junior Salesman at Myers.
But Col had other interests which dominated most of his spare time. Inspired by his older brother Gary, who was six years older, he started playing the guitar. Gary bought a guitar and started playing it at home. Col took an immediate interest in his brother’s guitar and asked him to show him a few chords, which he was happy to oblige. Gary invited a few of his mates from the local area home to play music and before long they formed their own band, which they called the Crickets. But the band needed a bass player, so Gary discarded his guitar and bought a bass. The Crickets hired the local church hall and ran their own dance and became very popular in their local area. Later they would be the featured band at a lot of Toorak up-market parties.
With Gary now playing bass, his guitar was not being used. So Col picked it up and started to develop his guitar playing skills much more seriously. Gary then joined the Saxons who at the time were one of the most popular bands in Melbourne and played at some of the bigger dances around town including the Preston Circle Ballroom and the Canterbury Ballroom. Having an older brother in a ‘big time’ band worked out well for Col. He attended all the dances that the Saxons played at and got to know all the other musicians.
Gary started experimenting with a new type of bass amplifier. He was dissatisfied with the bass amps currently available and he thought he could build something better. So he built an amp and when it was perfected, other musicians heard the sound he was getting and they all wanted one as well. So in 1968, Gary left the Saxons and set-up a business to sell his amplifier which he named Eminar. He also started a booking agency and asked Col to run it. Eminar amplifiers became very popular in Melbourne and for a while it seemed everyone wanted one of Gary’s amps. Working in the agency resulted in Col joining his first band.
Col became a member of Nature’s Own a band that were having problems with their line-up. Even though he was a competent guitarist, the band needed a drummer, so he went on drums. Another member of Nature’s Own was Ronnie Beaumont, who was the original drummer, but when the band had their line-up crisis, he went on bass. Col and Ronnie would continue working together in various bands together for the next five years. Nature’s Own became quite successful due to Col’s agency connections. He was able to secure gigs for them and they were soon working five nights a week. One of the most memorable gigs they performed was backing Johnny Farnham, who at the time was Australia’s top teenage sensation. They backed Farnham at the Mechanics Hall in Frankston in front of a hall full of screaming teenages. Col recalls,
“The hall was just packed with screaming kids. They were screaming at the front of the stage and I was on stage playing drums and I go, ‘Wow, look at this, this is fantastic.’ “
Another memorable show during this time was backing Normie Rowe. Normie was in the army at the time, but when he got some leave, Col was asked to organise a short concert tour to put him back in touch with his fans and to make some money. One of the shows was played at the White Elephant in Broadmeadows. Col recalls,
“Normie played at the White Elephant in Broadmeadows, that was a huge Town Hall. We got about 1000 people, but that was only half full because the hall is that big. It was standing only, so by the time they all crunched down to the front of the stage, there was half the hall empty.”
The next band Col joined around 1970 was Midnite Special. As the name suggests the music of Creedence was a big influence in the style of music the group played. Then in 1972, Col joined Bluestone. Bluestone was formed by Terry Dean who was well-known from his days as a solo performer on the ‘Go!! Show’ and singles on the Go!! Label. The band played the country rock music of the Eagles and Rick Nelson & the Stone Canyon Band and featured the pedal steel guitar playing of Mike Burke. Col played drums on the 6-track demo tape the band recorded at Laurie Arthur Studios at East Brunswich, but had left the band when they recorded their debut album.
Col’s next band was Something Special who had a residency at a 55-seat restaurant five nights a week. The band’s line-up was constantly changing but with the consistent work provided by this band, Col was able to save enough money to buy his first home. Every second week the band backed vocalist Eddie Storm who was quite a sensation on the cabaret circuit at the time. Interestingly, now in his 80s, Eddie still performs to this day. He lives in Perth and regularly sings at Senior’s functions and Morning Melody shows.
Sometime in 1974, Col was asked to join the Rondells. The Rondells first formed in 1964 and were well known as Bobby & Laurie’s backing band and had played on their huge hit, I Belong To You. The band’s line-up had continually changed since then and there were several changes during the time Col was part of the group as well. Col recalls,
“When I got recruited into the Rondells, there were only three of them, so I made four. Then after a few months one of the ex-Rondells wanted to come back to the band. I said, ‘Come on, we’re making money, there’s four of us and you want to get someone in to take my job. There will be five of us, what am I gonna do?’ They said, ‘Well you play guitar, so go back on guitar.’ “
Col was happy to be playing guitar again but did not stay with the Rondells much longer. By around 1975 his song-writing had developed to the stage where he wanted to have a band to promote his original songs. He formed Bass Strait which included some of the members of the Rondells including Mick Cocks lead guitar), Peter Cooper (lead guitar), David (bass), John Henry (drums). Col reflects,
“The band were a little before their time, playing a lot of my original songs. It was a stepping stone for my first album.”
The band’s repertoire included half of Col’s original songs and half covers. With twin lead guitarists - Peter Cooper and Mick Cocks the band played music of the Doobie Brothers and the Eagles. Mick Cocks later joined Rose Tattoo.
“The guys worked really hard and did great arrangements of my songs and it was good. But I needed to go further and I needed to learn more, so that’s when the big change came in my life.”
Col had friends in Echuca, where he often spent weekend’s waterskiing. So he moved to the northern Victorian town and started his solo career. When Col wrote a song about the Echuca South Football Club he decided to issue it himself, on his own label. It was the beginning of Rich River Records.
“Nobody wanted to release a football song. So I thought, I’ll stick it out on a single myself, because it’s a footy song and all the locals will buy it. But I sent it to a lot of people. It picked up a lot of attention in Melbourne and Sydney and got The Col Millington Band
airplay for the joke side of it.” .
Col’s next release was another single, I’ll Sing You A Love Song/Husband And Wife in 1977. Both of these songs were written by Col and were included on his first album, ‘Goin’ Back To The Country’ which was recorded at Bruce Adderley Studios, West Melbourne. Released in 1978, it contained all self-penned songs and had a laid-back country flavour. The players included Ramon Raphael, Col, Peter Cooper and Ronnie Beaumont.
Col formed the Col Millington Band (L-R in photo: Rob Lahn, Neil Vernon, Col, Peter Cooper (sitting)and toured country Victoria to promote the album. He soon learnt, however, that people wanted to hear songs they knew and were not that keen to listen to original songs. The album did receive quite a bit of airplay though on various radio stations around the country, as this Facebook comment confirms,
“Album No. 1 was my all time favourite. Played most tracks on 3BO Bendigo. We had to get a second copy, wore out the first. Very very popular in our country music request show.” (Randell Jones - Facebook comment)
The lack of interest in his original songs prompted his decision to record songs that were well known. ‘Red Roses For A Blue Lady’ released in 1979 includes 14 classic songs including Blueberry Hill, Ghost Riders In The Sky and From A Jack To A King. Col advertised the album on country radio and TV stations in the areas he played and the album was a huge success selling over 20,000 copies. Col also sold the albums at his shows and he found people were much more willing to buy an album of songs they knew.
The next album “Midnight Flyer’ had a trucking/travelling theme and contained half originals and half covers. The cover songs Col chose for the album including Travellin’ Man and 24 Hour From Tulsa turned out to be good choices, because they led to him getting work on regional and national television shows like ‘The Reg Lindsay Show’. To Col’s credit, the songs he wrote for this album held their own alongside the better-known songs. Highway No.One and Ned Kelly were released as a single. Col continued touring mainly around northern Victoria and southern NSW in clubs, pubs and Town Halls, wherever he could get a booking. Not all of their shows attracted big crowds but they often played to packed houses,
“Some were pretty bad, drew 10 people but there were a lot of good shows. We had 150 people jammed into a club. We’d start doing the show part and then they’d start dancing and you’d do some covers and stuff like that. All of a sudden you’d have people dancing all over the floor and it’s feedback. Then you fire up and the audience goes even crazier.”
In 1982 Col was still living in Echuca but he was getting a lot of work in the Albury-Wodonga area on the Victoria/NSW border. He was doing a show one night there and he bumped into a musician friend who said, “I’ve got an empty house, come and live with me.” So that’s what he did. After living there for a short while he wrote the song, Albury Wodonga Is My Home and the locals absolutely loved it. The song was issued as a single and sold thousands of copies. Then to follow up the success of the single, Col recorded the album, ‘In Albury-Wodonga’. The album was again a mixture of covers and originals.
Anyone travelling around the country doing live shows is bound to have many interesting stories to tell, like this one Col told to Rob Greaves for the ‘Listen To The Older Voices’ podcast series,
“We had many funny times like the guitarist who was annoying us one night … We stopped at a take-away on the way home and he bought a chicko roll. He said, ‘I’ll put the chicko roll on the seat and I’ll just go back into the toilets.’ So we grabbed the chicko roll and put it under the tyre of the truck. He went out and come back and we took off. We couldn’t stop laughing all the way home and he’s wondering, where’s my chicko roll?”
During the time Col lived in Albury he was on the committee of the Albury-Wodonga Truckies Club. For a few years the group organised and ran the ‘Truck’n’Country Music Festival’, which was one of the biggest country music festivals in the area. Some of the biggest names in country music played at this event.
Col’s next release was the double live LP, ‘Col Millington Live’. To many fans of Col’s music this album has became their favourite album, with a good selection of songs from some great performers like Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley. Alongside the hits of the 50s and 60s are some current hits of the time including Key Largo, Too Many Times and It’s Still Rock’n’Roll To Me.
In 1984 Col stopped touring, got married and became a father. He moved to Thomastown where he set up his own warehouse to stock the growing Rich River Records catalogue. He issued the album ‘30 Hits & Memories’ containing songs of the war era including Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag, Roll Out The Barrel and Side By Side. The nostalgia market was booming at the time and Col was more than willing to tap into it. Because he was not touring he was able to devote much more time and energy into marketing. As a result ‘30 Hits & Memories’ sold over 10,000 copies.
Col issued a series of albums using the name, ‘Tommy Taylor’ which were sing-a-long songs from the First and Second World War. The albums were extremely popular with the first album selling over 50,000 copies. Brian Fitzgerald from Bluestone also played on these albums. Col programmed the drums, played guitar and sang the lead vocals while Brian played piano, clarinet and sax. Various people that Col knew were brought in to sing the chorus behind them.
Col also produced albums for other artists, the most successful being ‘Classic Jean Stafford’ and the ‘’Big River Cast Album’ featuring Doug Parkinson, Karen Knowles and Venetta Fields. In 1989 Col wrote the song Birdsville Pub, which was issued as a single and was included on the LP ‘Songs From Downunder’, a various artists album that was very popular with sales figures in excess of 20,000.
Things were going well for Col but in 1990 when Australia suffered a great economic depression, he was hit really hard. He lost the recording studio he set up, all his stock and his master tapes and was back to square one. There was no work around, so Col went back to doing solo gigs around Melbourne and also went back on the road.
“I had to make some money some how so I actually went back on the road singing as a solo artist. That was really hard work after not really working for six years. I had to learn it all again because you just don’t walk out with a guitar and just start singing again. It’s got to be rehearsed, you’ve got to know what you’re doing. You’ve got to remember all the funny lines to grab when people say something to you over the microphone.”
When it became too difficult to get enough gigs to make a viable living, Col took a job demonstrating products in shopping centres, which he did for eight years. Not the nicest way to earn a living, but he felt it was the only way he could get a job to support his family which had now grown to five children all under the age of five. One day, however, he bumped into an old friend who saw him demonstrating and asked, “What are you doing?, what happened to the music?, what happened to the singing star I knew? And Col replied, “I just can’t get any work and the money’s not there. But with this friend’s encouragement Col got back onstage, the money started coming in again and he able to continue his career as an entertainer.
In the early 2000s Col moved to Canberra because it was a central area for a lot of work in clubs and pubs in the surrounding district. At this stage Col had had a long period off from recording and putting albums together and he had a lot of songs that he had not recorded. He started working on a new album he called ‘Down To Mexico’. It was the start of a new era of recording for Col. Recording was now all-digital and it could all be done on a home recorder that had all the features of a recording studio. Other albums recorded during this period included “For The Good Times’, ‘Just Country’, ‘Sincerely’, ‘Australian Made’, and ‘Latin Jazz’.
Pushin’ 60 is a song Col wrote in 1996 but did not record it until 2005. It became the title track a CD he released that year and is the story of a returned Vietnam vet, who had trouble fitting back in to normal life. It has become his most successful song receiving consistent airplay mainly around Australia and overseas as well.
Things started to pick up and 2006 was big year for Col. He was voted ‘Country Male Artist of the Year’ in Australia and New Zealand in the British Radio Mike Awards, songwriting awards in Tasmania and New Zealand and an Award of Merit in the Australian National Songwriting Contest. His run of success continued into 2007 winning the Male Vocalist of the Year Award on the Tamworth On Parade Spectacular and he was a finalist in the Tamworth Songwriter’s Contest.
Everything was going well, and Col was earning good money doing solo gigs, getting anything from $1,000 to $1,500 a night performing his shows. One night he was doing a show at the Temora RSL in central NSW and he felt some terrible pains and he was unable to finish his show. He drove back to Canberra the next day and his doctor diagnosed him with diverticulitis, which is a digestive disorder, which causes severe stomach pain. He was admitted to hospital and operated on immediately. His doctor told him,
“You won’t work again, if you do, it won’t be for a long time. A major operation like this, all your stamina will go. You have to take three months off.”
Col took three months off then tried to do some shows but found that he just could not do it. He decided to go and live in North Queensland. He had friends in Townsville who he had stayed with a number of times. Then he bought a house in Charters Towers, 140 kms west of Townsville.
The people of Charters Towers are country music fanatics and every year they hold a country music festival that the locals are very proud of. Col joined the festival organising committee and was responsible for getting Jade Hurley to appear at the festival one year. Col performed at major events in the town including the Charters Towers Cup, the annual horseracing meet.
During the time Col spent in North Queensland he kept himself busy producing a lot of good music. Tammy Wilson was a contestant at the festival in 2009 and Col was impressed enough with her singing that he asked her to record a duet album with him. The CD contains 15 easy listening tracks which reflects the laid-back country life-style he was enjoying at the time. The most impressive tracks are The Bushranger & The Lady and I've Got You, You've Got Me. Tammy also sang on a few tracks on another CD Col made called ‘Retro Dance’, an album of dance music.
Col recorded another CD with another local singer, Krystal Raye but, the most outstanding album he produced during his time in the north is undoubtedly ‘Country In My Blood’. For this album Col wanted to get as close as he could to the original sound of ‘good old country’ music, keeping it simple and light-hearted with tight harmonies. He enlisted the help of Mike Burke from his days in Bluestone to play pedal steel guitar and dobro and Sam Comono on bass. Col definitely achieved his goal with this album, which is a CD that would please all country music fans. Five of the songs can be found on Facebook and Youtube including The Feral Song, Follow The Sun, Singing Cowboy, Whiskey & Women and Christina.
In 2012, Col returned to Melbourne and began performing on a much more regular basis. He put together the CD ‘The Australian’ which was a compilation of songs he had written over a 40-year period. Most of the songs were recorded at different recording sessions in Melbourne, except for the title track, which was recorded in Charters Towers.
In 2015 Col issued the CD ‘Hey Babe’ which is an album of ‘love songs’ and include a mixture of ballads, up-tempo numbers and duets with Anne Hayward. In his review of this album in the Toorak Times, Rob Greaves wrote,
“In this album Col has cleverly assembled 15 tracks that deal with the emotions and trials of relationships between couples, but certainly from a stylistic point of view, not in a mono-dimensional way.” (Toorak Times, August 9th, 2015).
There’s a strong Rock-a-Billy flavour to the next CD Col issued – ‘Rock’n’Blues’. During his long career in the music business, Col has got to know a lot of great musicians and he asked some of them to work with him on this album. Phil Manning (Chain), Alan Bowles and Gavan Anderson (New Dream) play on the ‘Blues’ tracks and Mick Hamilton (Vibrants), Geoff Kendall and Justine Jones play on the Pop/Rock tracks. Col spent 18 months writing and recording the album and the result was something quite different to his other releases.
The 2019 CD ‘First Fleet’ is Col’s tribute to Australia’s early pioneers. Since starting to write songs in the early 70s, he has written many songs with an Australian theme. This album is a collection of some of these plus a few new ones. It includes songs about bushrangers, places and towns and songs about our great nation. Easy Saturday is a song about spending a relaxing day in the city while Follow The Sun is about travelling around enjoying some of the great places around the country.
When the Covid-19 virus hit in February 2020, all of Col’s live work across Australia was cancelled. He had shows booked from Melbourne to as far north as Bundaberg in Queensland and estimates that he lost between $50 - 80,000 in earnings. It was a stressful time for Col, as it was for everyone who worked in the entertainment business. In early December 2021, Col suffered heart problems, which required surgery. He says he is progressing slowly but will take up to six months to recover. With all his health problems combined with the uncertainty of the live music scene, Col decided to retire. His music is still played on many community radio stations around Australia and he has a big following on Facebook. He always gets a good reaction when he posts one of his songs. Writing in the Toorak Times Rob Greaves summed up Col’s career nicely when he wrote,
“Col Millington has not just been there and done that, he has ‘done that’ with quality over and over again. It would also be far too simplistic to call him a survivor, for he has been the provider of well-received quality written and played, home-grown ‘country-style music covering some five decades.”
Discography:
Echuca South Football Song/Mo John & Frazer
Rich River Records CWG 93711. 1977
I’ll Sing You A Love Song/Husband And Wife
Rich River Records CMR 1977 1977
Goin’ Back To The Country LP Rich River Records CMR 1978 1978
Goin’Back To The Country, Too Many Women, National Route One, Home Is Where The Heart Is, Indian Pacific, I’ll Sing You A Love Song, Husband And Wife, Oldie But A Goldie, Mo John And Fraser, Bordertown.
Red Roses For A Blue Lady LP Rich River Records CMR 1979 1979
Red Roses For A Blue Lady, Singing The Blues, Blueberry Hill, Sea Of Heartbreak, Irene Goodnight, Heartaches By The Number, Singing Cowboy, Bye Bye Blackbird, Walk On By, Ghost Riders In The Sky, Abilene, A Rose In Winter, From A Jack To A King, Tumbling Tumbleweed.
Midnight Flyer LP Rich River Records CMR 1980 1980
Midnight Flyer, National Route 1, Movin’ On, Ned Kelly, The Point Of No Return, Country Boogie Woogie, If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Truck Drivin’ Man, Jindabyne, 24 Hours From Tulsa, Oldie But A Goldie, Travellin’ Man, Rollin’ Down The Highway, Six Days On The Road.
Ned Kelly/National Route 1 SP Rich River Records CMR 1980S 1980
Col Millington In Albury-Wodonga LP Rich River Records CMR 1982 1982
I’m A Little Bit Country, Old Movies, Things, Australia Is My Home (I Love A Sunburnt Country), Payday Blues, Dreamin’, Thunderbolt, Albury Wodonga Is My Home, In Dreams, Wishin’ I Was Homeward Bound, Lookin’ For Love, A Prayer For A Trucker’s Wife, Detour, Huntin’ Kangaroo (Instrumental).
Col Millington Live 2LP Rich River Records CMR 1983 1983
Bye Bye Love, Get Your Love Right, On The Road Again, All I Have To Do Is Dream, I Love A Rainey Night, Somekind Of Friend You Turned Out To Be, Ruby Baby/ Blue Bayou, When Your In Love With A Beautiful Woman, Me & Bobby McGee, Mountain Of Love, Workin’ For The Man, You Can’t Hurry Love, Summertime Blues/ Stars On The Water, Dream Lover, Hertbreak Hotel, Everybody Needs Someone, Sweet Caroline, Such A Night, Boppin’ The Blues/ It Doesn’t Matter Anymore, Pretty Woman, Too Many Times, Key Largo, Lonely Girls, Great Balls Of Fire, It’s Still Rock’n’Roll To Me.
Thirty Hit Memories LP Rich River Records CMR 1984 1984
For The Good Times, Ramblin’ Rose, I’m Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover, Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag, Five Foot Two Eyes Are Blue, Roll Out The Barrel, It’s A Long Way To Tipperary, When Your Smiling, Baby Face, One Day At A Time, You Made Me Love You, Side By Side, Heart Of My Heart, Danny Boy, All Of Me, He’ll Have To Go, Walkin’ My Baby Back Home, It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie, A White Sport Coat, Oh You Beautiful Doll, Moonlight Bay, Carolina On My Mind, You Are My Sunshine, Help Me Make It Through The Night, Love Letters In The Sand.
Tommy Taylor Old Time Sing-A-Long LP Rich River Records TTR 1986 1986
Old Time Sing-A-Long Volume 1 (CD re-release) RRR RRR 2004
Barefoot Days, For Me & My Gal, Show Me The Way To Go Home, I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter, What Do You Want To Make Those Eye s At Me For, Have You Ever Been Lonely, By The Light Of The Silvery Moon, Goodnight Sweetheart, Always, I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now, Let The Rest Of The World Go By, Are You Lonesome Tonight, The One Rose, I Want A Girl, If You Knew Susie, How You Gonna Keep ‘em Down On The Farm, Waitin’ For The Robert E Lee, Margie, Down By The Riverside, Yes Sir That’s My Baby, Ma He’s Makin’ Eyes At Me, The Road To Gundagai, Deep In The Heart Of Texas, Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty, I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside, Hello Hello Who’s Your Lady Friend, Maybe It’s Because I’m A Londoner, The Barrow Boy Song, I’ve Got A Loverly Bunch Of Coconuts, Ain’t She Sweet, Marie, When The Red Red Robin, My Blushin’ Rosie, Don’t Bring Lulu, Put Your Arms Around Me Honey, You’re Drivin’ Me Crazy, Bye Bye Blackbird, I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles, Hot Diggity, The Loveliest Night Of The Year, How Much Is That Doggie In The Window, In The Good Old Summertime, Love Is A Beautiful Song, That’s An Irish Lullaby, Cruisin’ Down The River, When It’s Springtime In The Rockies, You, You You, Moments To Remember, Pretty Baby, Anytime, I’ll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time, After You’ve Gone, Shine On Harvest Moon, We’ll Meet Again.
Tommy Taylor’s Country Barn Dance LP Rich River Records TTR 1987 1987
Old Time Sing-A-Long Volume 2 (CD re-release) RRR RRR 2005
You Are My Sunshine, Red River Valley, Sioux City Sue, San Antonio Rose, Oh Lonesome Me, There Goes My Everything, Tennessee Waltz, He’ll Have To Go, Home On The Range, When I Grow Too Old To Dream, She’ll Be Comin’ Round The Mountain, The Yellow Rose Of Texas, Camptown Races, Oh Susanna, Mexicali Roses, Peggy O’Neil, Kentucky Waltz, School Days, Take Me Out To The Ball Game, Daisy, In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree, Now Is The Hour, It Had To Be You, The White Cliffs Of Dover, & many more.
Tommy Taylor Hits of the War Years LP Rich River Records TTR 1988 1988
Old Time Sing-A-Long Volume 3 (CD re-release) RRR RRR 2006
Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major, Goodbye Dolly Gray, Siegfried Line, Sister Susie’s Sewing Shirts For Soldiers, Yes We Have No Bananas, Brown Slouch Hat, Give My Regards To Broadway, Charmaine, I’m Always Chasing Rainbows, In The Chapel In The Moonlight, Blue Moon, Me & My Shadow, Ramona, Where Did You Get That Girl, Who Were You With Last Night, When You Wore A Tulip, Somebody Stole My Girl, Somebody Stole My Girl, I Ain’t Got Nobody, Indiana, Come Back To Erin, I Belong To Glasgow, Bless ’em All, Memories, My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean, Sweet Rosie O’Grady, So Long It’s Been Good To Know Ya, Lilli Marlene, Melancholy Baby, You Were Meant For Me, Trail Of The Lonesome Pine, Peg ‘O My Heart, Sunshine Of Your Smile, Down Among The Sheltering Palms, Roses Of Picardy, Four Leaf Clover, Pack Up Your Troubles, Five Foot Two, Roll Out The Barrel, Tipperary, When Your Smiling, Baby Face, Walkin’ My Baby Back Home, It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie, A White Sport Coat, Oh You Beautiful Doll, Moonlight Bay, Carolina In The Morning, Old Soldiers Never Die, Keep The Home Fires Burning, Mademoiselle From Armentieres, H-A-R-R-I-G-A-N, K-K-K Kelly, There’s A Long Trail, Goodbyee.
Birdsville Pub/Molly Malloy (Peter Thornycroft) SP
Rich River Records MFRS 1988-1 1988
Songs From Downunder LP Rich River Records MFR 1988 1988
Songs From Downunder CD re-release RRR RRR 2009
Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport, Down Under, Old Man Emu, Suvla Bay, My Boomerang Won’t Come Back, I Still Australia Home, There Y’go, Waltzing Matilda, Riding To The Never Never/ Home Among The Gumtrees, Aussie Bar B Q, True Blue, Duncan, Molly Malloy, Birdsville Pub, Australia Is My Home, Pub With No Beer, Advance Australia Fair.
ng Matilda, Riding To The Never Never/ Home Among The Gumtrees, Aussie Bar B Q, True Blue, Duncan, Molly Malloy, Birdsville Pub, Australia Is My Home, Pub With No Beer, Advance Australia Fair.
There Y’Go/ Riding To The Never Never (Ross Inglis & Brian Fitzgerald) SP
Rich River Records MFRS 1988-2 1988
Truckin’ CD RRR
The Best Of Col Millington Volume 1 CD RRR
Nifty & Millie (with Neville Williams) CD RRR
Kelly & Col (with Kelly Tassone) CD RRR
Pushin’ 60 CD RRR RRR 2000 2000
Down To Mexico CD RRR RRR 2001 2001
Down To Mexico, Say That You Love Me, Did I Tell You (Yellow Roses), The Ghost Of The Stockman, We’re Good Together, Strickley In Love With You, Where Do We Go From Here, I’m Not In It For The Money, Smokey Buddy Tex & Slim, I Really Do, Loving You Was A Nightmare, I’ll Sing You A Love Song, Let’s Get Together, The tears Will Flow, Dream Sweet Dreams Of You,
Sincerely CD RRR RRR 2007
The Young Ones, Baby Blue, You’re My Best friend, Rose Garden, Lucky Lips, Tennessee Waltz, Hearts On Fire, Mountain Of Love, One Last Kiss, Fools Rush In, Sway, Room Full Of Roses, Gotta Travel On, Pearly Shells, Lay Down Beside Me, Mama Tried, White Silver Sands, Sincerely.
For The Good Times CD RRR RRR 2008
Sea Of Heartbreak, Walk On By, For The Good Times, A White Sport Coat, heartaches By The Number, I Can’t Stop Loving You, Don’t Think Twice, Could I Have This Dance, If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Silver Threads & Golden Needles, Help Me Make It Through The Night, Lavender Blue, One Day At A Time, You Won’t See Me, He’ll Have To Go, Who’s Sorry Now, All I Have To Do Is Dream, Me & Bobby McGee.
Juke Box Rock CD RRR RRR 2011
Summertime Blues, Guitars & Cadillacs, Beautiful Sunday, Ya Mama Don’t Dance, Achy Breaky Heart, Cherry Cherry, Little Sister, Black Is Black, Higher & Higher, It’s Late, Stuck In The Middle, Somgirls, Livin’ Next Door To Alice, Too many Times, Old Time Rock’n’Roll, You Can’t Hurry Love, I Love A Rainy Night, You Maybe Right, Crunchy Granola Suite, Viva Las Vegas.
Swing CD RRR RRR 2013
All I Can Think Of Is You, The Positive Side Of Negative, Wonderful You, Let’s Fly Away, Loving You So, Let’s Make Love Tonight, Honey I’m Hooked, You Said He Said, In The Arms Of A Girl, With You By My Side, Dream Sweet Dreams Of You, Here We Go Again, Walking With Happiness, You Can Count On Me, Baby Come Back, Go Back To Sleep.
Just Country CD RRR RRR 2015
Ring Of Fire, Four In The Morning, Singing The Blues, Okie From Muskogee, Blue Blue Day, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, Daddy Sang Bass, Devil Woman, A Rose From The Garden Of Prayer, Some Broken Hearts, Hey Good Lookin’, Today I Started Loving You Again, Just A Closer Walk With Thee, On The Wings Of A Dove, Your Cheatin’ Heart, Good Hearted Woman, The Gambler, San Antonio Rose.
Col Millington & Tammy Wilson CD RRR RRR 2020 2009
Cowboys & Cowgirls, Dream With Me Tonight, Lovin’ You Came Easy, Hey You, Playin’ With You, Lyin’ In The Dark With You, We Are Young, The Bushranger & The Lady, Always Together, Come On, You Said He Said, I’ve Got You & You’ve Got Me, The Luckiest Lover’s Alive, Love Is.
The Way It Was (with Krystal Raye) CD RRR RRR 2021. 2009
Country In My Blood (featuring Mike Burke) CD RRR RRR 2023 2010
Snowy Mountain Man, Cut Me Loose, The Feral Song, Follow The Sun, Singing Cowboy, Who’s Up Who, Country In My Blood, He Had A Dream, I’ll Be There, I’m Blue, Christina, Standing In The Rain, She, The Story Of Billy Baxter, My Little Girl, Whiskey & Women, Goin’ Back To The Country, Outlaw On The Run.
The Australian CD RRR RRR 2024 2012
Retro Dance (featuring Tammy Wilson & Lee Jones) CD
RRR RRR 2028
Dancing Princess, Let’s Dance The Last Dance, Women Of The Night, Lover Not A Fighter, We Danced, Physical Attraction, Down To Mexico, Dancing Superstar, Baby It’s You, I Need You You You, You Wanna Get Married, You’ve Got That Rhythm, Heartbreaker, Lonely Girls.
Australian Made CD RRR
Somewhere Between CD RRR
Singles CD RRR
Latin Jazz CD RRR
Flash Back 1982 – 1992 (featuring Barry Roy) CD RRR RRR 2029
Truck Drivin’ Man, Midnight Flyer, Travellin’ Man, I’m A Little Bit Lonesome, Detour, Jindabyne, If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Movin’ On, Payday Blues, Six Days On The Road, Thunderbolt, 24 Hours From Tulsa, Ned Kelly, The Point Of No Return, A Prayer For A Truckers Wife.
Hey Babe (featuring Anne Hayward) CD RRR RRR 2031 2015
Hey Babe, With You By My Side, Take Me Back Down, Feelin’, Falling In Love With You, L’amour, Everybody Needs Someone, I Love You Still, I’m Sorry I Hurt You, I Was Your Man, Some People, Did I Tell You (Yellow Roses), When We Make Love, Aphrodite, A Rose In Winter.
Flash Back 2 1982 -1992 CD RRR RRR 2032
Lookin’ For Love, The Last Farewell, All Of Me, Australia Is My Home, Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool, Is There A Country Song On The Jukebox, Paper Doll, For The Good Times, Dreamin’, Wishin’ I Was Homeward Bound, Only The Lonely, Home Is Where The Heart Is, Walkin’ The Floor Over You, The Wayward Wind, Things, Wandin Valley.
A Tribute To Country Giants & More CD RRR RRR 2034
Ghost Riders In The Sky, Right Or Wrong, Swinging Doors, Goody Goody, Folsom Prison, Silver Wings, Sunday Morning Coming Down, You’re Sixteen, Follow That Dream, Luckenback Texas, A Little Bitty Tear, When You Walk In The Room, Sweet Caroline, There’s A Kind Of Hush, I’m Into Something Good, In The Misty Moonlight, Little Old Wine Drinker Me, Moon River.
Sings Elvis CD RRR RRR 2035
Follow That Dream, G.I. Blues, One Broken Heart For Sale, Viva Los Vegas, It’s Now Or Never, Falling In Love With You, King Of The Whole Wide World, Devil In Disguise, His Latest Flame, Return To Sender, Don’t Be Cruel, A Fool Such As I, Flaming Star, The Wonder Of You, C’mon Everybody, Teddy Bear, Wooden Heart, Good Luck Charm, Little Sister, Blue Suede Shoes.
Sings The Big Five CD RRR RRR 2036
Folsom Prison, Daddy Sang Bass, Don’t Think Twice, Ring Of Fire, Help Me Make It Through The Night, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Me & Bobby McGee, For The Good Times, Sea Of Heartbreak, I Can’t Stop Loving You, Blue Blue Day, Oh Lonesome Me, Walk Right Back, Bye Bye Love, All I Have To Do Is Dream, Wake Up Little Susie, Today I Started Loving You Again, Swinging Doors, Okie From Muskogee, Silver Wings.
Best Original Country Songs Volume 1 CD RRR RRR 2001
I Ain’t Dead (Just Retired), Johnny Rides Away, Don’t Come Around On Sunday, Five Mates Crossing, Two Blue Eyes, God Is Watching Over Me, My Old Tin Shack, The Australian, Lullaby, My Tex Mex Girl, My Didgeridoo, Home Is Where The Heart Is, Wanted Man, Just Old Mates, The Animal Dance, Smokey Buddy Tex & Slim, The Ghost Of The Stockman, Wishing I Was Homeward Bound.
Rock’n’Blues (featuring Phil Manning, Mick Hamilton, Alan Bowles, Gavan Anderson, Justine Jones, Geoff Kendall) CD
RRR RRR 2037 2015
Baby It Was You, Some Say, Ooowee, Bad Luck, Oh That Girl, Rock-a-Billy Millie, Say That You Love Me, We’re Good Together, Things Ain’t What They Seem, You Did It To Me Baby, She’s My Girl, Women, I’m Not In It For The Money, Pushin’ 60.
The First Fleet CD RRR RRR 2016 2019
The First Fleet, Molly Malloy, Thunderbolt, The Bushranger & The Lady (with Tammy Wilson), The Australian, Birdsville Pub, Wanted Man, Australia Is My Home, Follow The Sun, Ned Kelly, Albury Wadonga Is My Home, My Didgeridoo, Easy Saturday, Jindabyne, Ben Hall, The Heart Of The Nation, Advance Australia Fair.
Western Ballads CD RRR RRR 2017 2020
Gunfight At OK Corral, The Deadwood Stage, High Noon, Red River Valley, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, Ghost Riders In The Sky, North To Alaska, Vayacon Dios, Big Iron, Singing Cowboy, Tumbling Tumbleweed, The Rebel Johnny Yuma, Oklahoma, Moonlight Gambler, Sioux City Sue, Rawhide, Back In The Saddle Again, The Wayward Wind, Along The Navajo Trail/Blue Shadows On The Trail, Happy Trails, Beyond The Blue Horizon.
Keepin’ Up CD
My Emotions CD RRR RRR 2018 2020
My Emotions, It’s Summer Time, The Tears Will Flow, Take Me Back Down, Baby’s Left Me, Baby I Still Love You, Baby You’re Drivin’ Me Crazy, True Love, Slipped Off The Rails, Travellin’ Fever, I Want Somebody To Love, Until You Are Breathless, Two Timer, I Really Do, If This Is Love.
Sources:
Australianentertainmentservices.com
Australianrecordlabels.com
Rob Greaves – Listen to Older Voices podcast 2015
Rob Greaves – Toorak Times, August 19th, 2015
Homemadejam.com
Col Millington – Interview: February 20th, 2021
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