APRA Top 30 Australian songs
APRA's Top 30 Australian songs was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 2001, to celebrate its 75th anniversary.[1] A panel of 100 music personalities were asked to list the "ten best and most significant Australian songs of the past 75 years". The top ten songs, in numerical order, were announced on 28 May 2001 at the APRA Awards.[1] The next twenty were not ordered and had been released nearly four weeks earlier, on 2 May, in a media statement by APRA representative Debbie Kruger.[2]
At the 2001 APRA Awards ceremony You Am I performed the No. 1 listed song "Friday on My Mind" with Harry Vanda of The Easybeats guesting on guitar. Ross Wilson of Daddy Cool performed the No. 2 listed song "Eagle Rock", while Midnight Oil's "Beds are Burning" at No. 3 was shown on video introduced by Senator Aden Ridgeway as an Indigenous spokesperson on reconciliation.[1]
Top Ten songs
| No. | Titles | Performers | Year | Writers | Music publishers | Peak chart position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS[3][4] | NZ[5] | ||||||
| 1 | "Friday on My Mind" | The Easybeats | 1966 | Harry Vanda, George Young | J Albert & Son Pty Ltd | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | "Eagle Rock" | Daddy Cool | 1971 | Ross Wilson | Mushroom Music Pty Ltd | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | "Beds Are Burning" | Midnight Oil | 1987 | Rob Hirst, James Moginie, Peter Garrett | Sony Music Publ. Aus. | 6 | 1 |
| 4 | "Down Under" | Men at Work | 1981 | Colin Hay, Ron Strykert | EMI Songs Aus. Pty Ltd | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | "A Pub with No Beer" | Slim Dusty | 1957 | Gordon Parsons | EMI Music Publ. Aus. Pty Ltd | 1[6] | — |
| 6 | "The Loved One" | The Loved Ones | 1966 | Ian Clyne, Gerry Humphrys, Robert Lovett | Mushroom Music Pty Ltd | 2 | — |
| 7 | "Don't Dream It's Over" | Crowded House | 1986 | Neil Finn | Mushroom Music Pty Ltd | 8 | 1 |
| 8 | "Khe Sanh" | Cold Chisel | 1978 | Don Walker | Rondor Music Aus. Pty Ltd | 40 | — |
| 9 | "It's A Long Way To The Top" | AC/DC | 1976 | Bon Scott, Angus Young, Malcolm Young | J Albert & Son Pty Ltd | 5 | — |
| 10 | "Quasimodo's Dream" | The Reels | 1981 | Dave Mason | Festival Music Pty Ltd | — | — |
The remaining 20 songs
Listed in chronological order:
References
- Culnane, Paul (28 May 2001). "The final list: APRA'S Ten best Australian Songs". Australasian Performing Right Association. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2008.
- Kruger, Debbie (2 May 2001). "The songs that resonate through the years". APRA. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
- "Australian Charts portal". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
- "New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
- Jenkins, Jeff; Ian Meldrum (2007). "The Easybeats". Molly Meldrum presents 50 years of rock in Australia. Melbourne, Vic.: Wilkinson Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-921332-11-1. Retrieved 27 October 2008.