Tamworth Country Music Festival 2023: Graeme Connors book A Lyrical Life details fifty-year career

People knew the genre by Slim Dusty style, and the late Slim Newton, who Graeme was nothing like.

Along with a show during the Tamworth Country Music Festival at 3pm on Friday, January 20, Graeme is releasing a book in April.

It's a collection of lyrics starting from the very beginning of his song writing career.

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"It wasn't until almost the 80's when country broadened its base, and encompassed the different musical styles," he said.

"The important element was always lyric."

The book, My Lyrical Life, encompasses his humble beginnings right through to the years of success as a writer.

Included in the book are some of his first lyrics, written in class at age 14, which were then read aloud to the class by the teacher.

'I love you so much. I can't count the ways or the times that I think about you each day. Love you so much, it's hard to be alone. And for me, that's something that I've never known.'

"You can imagine my red face as those words were read out to my classmates," he said.

The first time he set foot in Tamworth was in 1989. He had written a song for Slim Dusty, called We've Done Us Proud.

"Little did I know that the reason I was invited to come was because my song had won the Golden Guitar for Song of the Year," he said.

"It was a pretty dazzling surprise for me to be in the audience, and next thing, have my name called out as the award winner."

The festival is vital to the continuation of the genre in Australia, he said.

"I believe that if we as a culture are going to tell our own story, we need the Tamworth Country Music Festival," he said.

Despite not being considered a country artist at first, he "drifted into the fold".

"And I'm mighty glad I did, because it's been a lovely place to be for the length of my career," he said.

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