Australian country music singer Chad Morgan, known as the “Sheik of Scrubby Creek” after one of his most famous songs, has died aged 91.
Known for his humorous country songs and toothy smile – which inspired Barry Humphries’ design for his character Sir Les Patterson – Morgan’s music career spanned more than 70 years, releasing his first album in 1952. He was dubbed the “clown prince of comedy” by country music legend Slim Dusty.
Morgan died in a hospital at Gin Gin in Queensland on Wednesday, his son Chad Junior confirmed to the ABC.
Country music star Troy Cassar-Daley remembered Morgan as “so funny and whip smart”.
“He always surprised me when he hit the stage at how many generations loved him,” he wrote on Instagram. “Rest easy old mate, the show is over and the curtains are closed now.”
Morgan was born in Wondai, Queensland in 1933 and was working in the Royal Australian air force when he was went on talent quest radio program Australia’s Amateur Hour, having been dared to enter by his friends in his unit.
“Never dare me to do anything,” he told the State Library of Queensland in 2018. “I got into the semi-finals and I had to go to Sydney for that … when I did the show down there, someone from the record company heard me and they offered to record me … all my life that was my one ambition, was to record for [country label] Regal Zonophone.”
Morgan’s best known songs included The Sheik of Scrubby Creek, I’m My Own Grandpa, The Shotgun Wedding, Double Decker Blowflies and There’s Life In The Old Dog Yet. He also contributed one verse to the Gordon Parsons song A Pub with No Beer.
In 2009, he wrote a song about his Aboriginal heritage, The Ballad of Bill and Eva, named for his grandparents and recorded with his granddaughter Caitlin.
Morgan toured until 2024, announcing his retirement at the age of 91 in April. Over his long career he performed everywhere around Australia from tiny country festivals to the Sydney Opera House, where he played four encores.
After false rumours of his death began to spread in 2008, Morgan’s life inspired a documentary film titled I’m Not Dead Yet.
He was inducted into the Tamworth Hands of Fame in 1979 and the Roll of Renown in 1987. He received a medal of the Order of Australia in 2004, a lifetime achievement award at the 2010 Country Music Association of Australia awards, and another at the 2018 Queensland Music awards.
