Jewel Coburn

Jewel Evelyn Coburn (née Blanch; born 4 March 1958) is an Australian music publisher, singer and former actress.

Jewel Coburn
Born
Jewel Evelyn Blanch

(1958-03-04) 4 March 1958
Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia
Occupations
Years active1962–present

Biography

Jewel Coburn was born as Jewel Evelyn Blanch on 4 March 1958 in Glen Innes, New South Wales,[1] to Berice Ida (née Collins) and Arthur Ernest Blanch.[2][3][4] Both parents were established country music performers.[1][5][6] The family were living on a farm, "Harmony Hill", 16 kilometres (10 mi) from Brisbane.[6][7] Blanch appeared on Brisbane's Coca-Cola TV Show, singing and playing a ukulele, aged 3.[6][8][9] She recorded a novelty song "I Wanna Stay on Jumbo" in 1962 at the age of four, which was issued in March 1963.[6][8][10] During her childhood, Blanch and her parents toured as the Blanch Family or the Blanches.[6]

She appeared on television programs in Australia and the United States, The Linkletter Show,[6] The Barry Crocker Show and Junior Bandstand.[9] At the age of 8, Blanch had a recording contract with EMI Records for four songs on its imprint, HMV.[9] The family embarked on a fifteen-month tour of the United States from December 1963,[1] during which time Blanch attended a Beverly Hills Unified School District.[7] They returned to Australia in 1965,[7] but relocated to the US in 1968 where Blanch was signed to Capitol Records and worked with Al De Lory.[2]

During the 1970s, Blanch became better known for her acting, working on American television programs, The Mod Squad, Bonanza, Lassie, Night Gallery, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law and Jigsaw John.[6][11] For secondary education she attended University High School, West Los Angeles and then Hollywood Professional School.[9] The actress appeared in the films, Baffled! (1973),[9] The Morning After (1974),[11] and Against a Crooked Sky (1975).[12] Blanch received critical praise for playing a visually impaired girl on the ABC Afterschool Special, Blind Sunday in 1976.[11][13] She had a guest role as Abbie Singleton for six episodes of Australian soap The Young Doctors in 1977.[9][11]

Blanch's singing career developed in the late 1970s and she was recognised as an emerging talent by publications such as Record World and Cashbox. She won Billboard's Country Music Award for Number One New Female Singles Artist in 1979.

Blanch's handprints were imprinted into the new Australian Country Music Hands of Fame monument in Tamworth, New South Wales in recognition of the success she had already achieved during her career.[14]

Blanch went on to have further success as a country music performer, winning three Golden Guitars at the Country Music Awards of Australia.[15] In 1982, she was awarded Golden Guitars for Female Vocalist of the Year and for Album of the Year, for "The Lady and the Cowboy" which she had recorded with her father.[16] The following year, Blanch was again awarded the Golden Guitar for Female Vocalist of the Year.[17]

Upon marrying Barry Coburn in 1982, she returned to the United States in 1984 where the couple opened a music publishing company called Ten Ten Music Group.[3] In 2012, Coburn co-founded the Eleven Eleven Music Group with Jason Morris.[18] Coburn sold her share of the Ten Ten Music Group in 2014.[19]

References
  1. "Hands of Fame: Berice Blanch (1998)". countrymusichalloffame.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 March 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. Atterton, Margot; Veitch, Alan (1984). The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Australian Showbiz. Sunshine Books. p. 25. ISBN 0-86777-057-0.
  3. "Jewel Coburn". Eleven Eleven Music Group. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  4. "Blanch-Collins Wedding in Holy Trinity Church". Glen Innes Examiner. NSW, Australia. 17 February 1954. p. 5. Retrieved 14 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "New Name Elevated to Roll of Renown". tamworth.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 22 April 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. Hunter, Alan (18 August 1971). "Brisbane's Jewel sparkles in Hollywood". The Australian Women's Weekly. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  7. Boyan, Jenny (25 January 1967). "A little jewel of a singer". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 34, no. 35. p. 7. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Pop Singer – – At Four". The Canberra Times. Vol. 37, no. 10, 514. 19 April 1963. p. 12. Retrieved 14 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Hands of Fame: Jewel Blanch (1979)". countrymusichalloffame.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. Blanch, Berice; Blanch, Arthur (2004). Wollun one: The story of the Blanch family. Tamworth Music. ISBN 0957853629.
  11. Eisenhuth, Susie (29 December 1976). "Even a TV ban could not dim Jewel". The Australian Women's Weekly. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  12. Against a Ccrooked Sky, Duke Entertainment [distributor], 2011, retrieved 15 January 2022
  13. O'Connor, John J (21 April 1976). "TV: Blind Sunday is a fine drama". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  14. "Australian Country Music Hands of Fame". History of Country Music in Australia. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  15. "Past Golden Guitar winners". Country Music Association of Australia. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  16. "Country music award to Johnny Chester". The Canberra Times. 1 February 1982. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  17. "Country music stars stay in their firmament". The Canberra Times. 31 January 1983. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  18. Freeman, Jon (23 March 2012). "Publishing veterans Coburn and Morris launch new company". MusicRow. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  19. Stephenson, Troy (17 December 2014). "Coburn sells portion of Ten Ten Music to Nettwerk". MusicRow. Retrieved 22 October 2020.


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