Jimmy Little AO (1937–2012), singer, actor and advocate, was a Yorta Yorta man raised at the Cummerangunja Mission near the Murray River, New South Wales. Australia's first Aboriginal pop star, Little made his recording debut in 1956. After a national number one hit, 'Royal Telephone', which sold over 75,000 copies, he became a household name and was named Pop Star of the Year in 1964. His profile continued to grow through TV appearances, radio airplay and regular tours around Australia. In the 1980s, Little began working at the Eora Centre in Redfern, becoming a role model and mentor for Indigenous youth. In a characteristically low-key resurgence, he won an ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album in 1999 for Messenger. The same year, he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and was named Best Male Artist at the Deadly Awards. He founded the Jimmy Little Foundation in 2006 to improve renal health in Indigenous communities. Little won a Golden Guitar award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2011.
In 2003 the National Portrait Gallery exhibited Juno Gemes' solo show Proof: Portraits from the Movement 1978–2003. This image of Little was taken in his backyard in Rozelle, Sydney.
Gift of the artist 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Juno Gemes/Copyright Agency, 2024
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