The lost history of jazz on early Australian popular music television

Authors

  • Liz Giuffre University of Technology, Sydney

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v8i1-2.26858

Keywords:

Television, Public Service Broadcasting, Australian popular music

Abstract

This article seeks to develop existing cultural histories of genre and broadcasting in Australia. I argue that jazz was present on early music television but its history as such has been lost, and by extension, the genre’s contribution to broader popular music legacies in Australia has been overlooked. The article draws on original production documents for the pioneering local public service broadcaster program, Six O’Clock Rock, a programme from the late 1950s and early 1960s that featured an equal mix of jazz and pop/rock during its debut season. This mix was later replaced with a more homogeneous rock and pop schedule; however the question of why jazz was replaced has yet to be addressed.

Author Biography

  • Liz Giuffre, University of Technology, Sydney

    Dr Liz Giuffre holds a PhD in Media, Music and Cultural Studies and MA (Research) in Contemporary Music from Macquarie University. Her research and teaching cover music and media crossings, artist and audience engagement and Australian cultural histories of popular music and (post) broadcast media. She also works regularly in the national independent arts press as a journalist and commentator, including work as the regular contributing editor for Metro Magazine and contributor for The Conversation. She is also an associate member of the Centre for Media History, and the publication/web officer for IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) Australia/New Zealand.

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Published

2015-06-16

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Giuffre, L. (2015). The lost history of jazz on early Australian popular music television. Jazz Research Journal, 8(1-2), 126-143. https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v8i1-2.26858