Frank Ifield

Francis Edward Ifield is an English born easy listening and country music singer. He achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Chart, where he had four Number 1 hits between 1962 and 1963. Born in Coundon, Coventry, Warwickshire, England, Ifield moved with his Australian parents to Dural, 50 km (31 mi) from Sydney, about 1946. It was a rural district and he listened to hillbilly music (now called country) while milking the cows. He learned how to yodel in imitation of country stars like Hank Snow. At the age of thirteen he recorded "Did You See My Daddy Over There?", and by the age of 19 was the number one recording star in Australia and New Zealand. He returned to the UK in 1959. His first record in the UK was "Lucky Devil" (1960) which reached number 22 in the UK charts. His next six records were less successful, but he finally broke through with "I Remember You" which topped the charts for seven weeks in 1962. Known for Ifield's falsetto and a slight yodel, it was the second-highest-selling single of that year in the UK and became the seventh million-selling single. His next single was a double A-side: "Lovesick Blues" and "She Taught Me How to Yodel". "Lovesick Blues" was originally sung by Hank Williams and was treated in an upbeat "Let's Twist Again" style. The other song is a virtuoso piece of yodelling with the final verse - entirely yodelling - sung at double-speed. It also reached number 44 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. His next hit, "Wayward Wind", made him the first UK-based person to reach number one three times in the UK in succession. The only other person to have done so at that point was Elvis Presley.

His other recordings include "Nobody's Darling but Mine", "Confessin'" (his fourth and final UK number one), "Mule Train" and "Don't Blame Me". In 1963 he sang at the Grand Ole Opry, introduced by one of his heroes, Hank Snow. Many of his records were produced by Norrie Paramor.

Ifield also featured on Jolly What!, a 1964 compilation comprising eight of his tracks and four of those of The Beatles which has been considered an attempt to cash-in on Beatlemania. Ifield twice entered the UK heat of the Eurovision Song Contest. He came in second in the 1962 heat with "Alone Too Long" (losing to Ronnie Carroll). In the 1976 heat he tried with "Ain't Gonna Take No For An Answer", finishing last of 12. In 1991, Ifield returned to the UK chart when a dance remix of "She Taught Me to Yodel", called "The Yodelling Song", billed as 'Frank Ifield featuring The Backroom Boys', reached No. 40 in the UK Singles Chart. In over thirty years, it is his sixteenth appearance in that list. On 10 June 2012, Ifield joined his friend Paul Hazell, on his World of Country show on the community radio station Uckfield FM. He was in the studio for the entire programme, and discussed his life in music and forthcoming induction to the Coventry Music Wall of Fame.