Brian Cadd

Brian Cadd (b. 1946), singer/songwriter, had been a member of 1960s Melbourne band The Groop before forming Axiom, the band for which he wrote the hits 'Arkansas Grass' and 'A Little Ray of Sunshine' at the dawn of the 1970s. In 1972, the year he founded record label Bootleg Records, three of his solo recordings were included on the soundtrack of the cult surf movie Morning of the Earth. That year also saw Cadd take out the composer's sections of the Hoadley's National Battle of the Sounds competition and the Tokyo World Popular Song Festival with 'Don't You Know it's Magic', later released as a single by John Farnham. In 1973 Cadd penned the music score for the film Alvin Purple, reprising the effort for the sequel Alvin Rides Again. His hits in the first half of the 1970s included 'Let Go' and 'Your Mama Don't Dance'; his were the two best-selling albums of 1973. In 1974 he became the first Australian artist to perform on the American music show Midnight Special. He remained in the USA until 1981, during which period his songs were covered by the likes of Glen Campbell and Gene Pitney; in 1979 his 'Love is Like A Rolling Stone' furnished the B side of the Pointer Sisters' hit single 'Fire', written by Bruce Springsteen. Back in Australia he continued to work as a singer songwriter and producer. In the early 1990s he formed a band with Glenn Shorrock called The Blazing Salads; their eponymous album was released in 1993. Apart from Parabrahm (1973) and Moonshine (1974), Cadd's solo albums include Brian Cadd (1972), The Magic of Brian Cadd (1975) and The Best of Brian Cadd (1979).