William Richard "Billy" Thorpe, AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was a renowned English-born Australian pop / rocksinger-songwriter and musician. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Ivy", "Over the Rainbow", "Sick and Tired", and "Mashed Potato"; and in the 1970s with "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. Featuring in concerts at Sunbury Pop Festivals and Myer Music Bowl in the early 1970s, the Aztecs also developed the pub rock scene and were one of the loudest groups in Australia. NOTE: On-line copy has limited view.
William Richard "Billy" Thorpe, AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was a renowned English-born Australian pop / rocksinger-songwriter and musician. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Ivy", "Over the Rainbow", "Sick and Tired", and "Mashed Potato"; and in the 1970s with "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. Featuring in concerts at Sunbury Pop Festivals and Myer Music Bowl in the early 1970s, the Aztecs also developed the pub rock scene and were one of the loudest groups in Australia. NOTE: On-line copy has limited view.
Thorpe returned to Australia in 1996 and continued as a performer and producer, additionally he authored two autobiographies, Sex and Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll (1996) and Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy) (1998). According to Australian rock music historianIan McFarlane, "Thorpie evolved from child star, beat pop sensation and cuddly pop crooner to finally emerge as the country's wildest and heaviest blues rocker [...] Thorpie was the unassailable monarch of Australian rock music". Thorpe was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1991. He died of a myocardial infarction in February 2007 and was posthumously appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in June for his contribution to music as a musician, songwriter and producer.
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