- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJohn Michael O'Keefe
- Nicknames
- The Wild One
- J.O.K.
- Born in Sydney on 19 January 1935, Johnny O'Keefe became the undisputed King of Australian rock and roll. There was little or no rock music scene in Australia, and certainly no Australian rock recordings, prior to 1957, when Bill Haley toured the country. A local band, the Dee Jays with vocalist Johnny O'Keefe, was chosen as the supporting act. Johnny O'Keefe had been performing in talent shows, mainly doing impersonations of Johnny Ray singing songs such as Crying and The Little White Cloud that Cried (complete with prop glasses filled with water to make artificial tears). His performance supporting Bill Haley led to a contract with Festival Records.
At his first recording session on a Saturday afternoon in July 1957, Johnny recorded Bill Haley's Billy Goat and I'm Still Alive. (The recording had to be on a Saturday afternoon because Johnny was working in his father's furniture shop in the morning and during the week - and, of course, you couldn't work on a Sunday in the fifties.) Reluctant radio stations gave very little airplay to Johnny's first record but, by the time of his next recording, Wild One, early in 1958, there was sufficient demand from Johnny O'Keefe Fan Clubs throughout the country to make it a hit. Many of these Fan Clubs had arisen out of performances which Johnny gave at Police and Citizens Boys Clubs.
A series of hit records and performances on Lee Gordon's "Big Shows" supporting overseas artists (who often were greeted with chants of "We want Johnny") led to Johnny being given his own national TV show, Six O'Clock Rock, in 1959. The TV show ran until 1962 when Johnny left to tour America (with limited success).
Overwork led to Johnny being instructed by his doctors to take a rest, but he was soon back on television with another show Sing! Sing! Sing! and recording another string of hit records. The pattern of dynamic performance leading to overwork, depression and breakdown was repeated for the next ten years. This, together with a serious car smash which required several operations to reconstruct his face, culminated in Johnny's death from a heart attack in October 1978.
During his career, J O'K had five number one records and ten other top ten hits. The recording for which he is best remembered, Shout!, was recorded and released as a single twice (in 1959 and in 1964) but never achieved better than number 11. Relatives of him have also become celebrities, such as his nephew Andrew O'Keefe. His daughter has a cameo in the TV movie bio about his life, Shout! - The Story of Johnny O'Keefe (1985).- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous - A national icon. An inspiration to Australians everywhere. The man who single-handedly defined Australian Rock and Roll. Johnny O'Keefe can say yes to all those and more. Johnny O'Keefe single-handedly did more to influence Australian pop-culture than any other national figure. Born on the 19th of January, 1935, Johnny was the younger of two boys. Older brother Barry (b. 1933) Became a prominent Judge and lawyer in Australia. Born only eleven days after Elvis Presley, Johnny O'Keefe was often called 'Australia's answer to Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis'. He was all this and more. Right from the get go this raw, precocious, kinetic, talented, young, self-promoting rocker from Sydney rocked the ultra-conservative world of Robert Menzies' Australia in the 1950's, with his gyrating, rebel-yelling performances out the front of his band, The Dee-Jays. Australia, stuck in the conservative 1950's, had never seen anything like this leopard skin suited, ripple soled rock and roll maniac who was 'morally corrupting their children'. And he was Australia's. Someone to call their own. Johnny O'Keefe was Australian, and proud of it. Johnny O'Keefe spoke to the very heart and soul of a generation of Australian teenagers who were screaming out for an identity, and he forever changed the way Australian's view themselves, because he was the first, the very first, person who showed Australia that they could rock just as hard as an international singer. And that is exactly what Johnny O'Keefe did. O'Keefe's success was by no means confined to Australia. In the late 50s he toured through the U.S. where he appeared on 'The Ed Sullivan Show', and became a local legend with his hilarious boomerang throwing exploits as 'the boomerang kid' in New York's Central Park. Johnny O'Keefe is hard to comprehend in today's celebrity for celebrity's sake world. He was the real deal. Johnny O'Keefe was the truly unique Australian.- IMDb Mini Biography By: may his legend live on.
- SpousesMaureen Maricic(1975 - October 6, 1978) (his death)Marianne Renate(1958 - 1966) (divorced, 3 children)
- RelativesAndrew O'Keefe(Niece or Nephew)Barry O'Keefe(Sibling)
- Has had an extremely successful stage production written about his life called 'Shout'.
- Had three children: John Jr (born 30 July 1959), Vicky (born 6 January 1961) and Peter (born 24 September 1963. Vicky followed in his footsteps by becoming a singer, and tours around Australia performing in tribute shows to her father.
- Uncle of 'Big Bite' star Andrew O'Keefe
- Brother of Barry O'Keefe.
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