Growing up in Mt Isa I was privileged to hear top singing artist Lyn Rogers.
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Her song ‘Just Loving You’ was a huge hit in the sixties, but a little known fact is she was a Mt Isa girl.
Her EP also called ‘Just Loving You’ had four great songs and her voice was world class.
Also forgotten is a band The Graduates of Mt Isa, musicians who turned professional.
The Graduates evolved from four local bands and a well-known Cairns band. Ken Buckley was the lead guitarist in ‘The Premiers’. David Shenton was Rhythm for ‘The Midnighters’. Don McKinnon (drummer) and Eric Anderson (Bass) came from ‘Mi4’, and Josie Caruana (singer) and Roy Jarret (rhythm guitar) from Cairns’ ‘The Fireflies’.
During the sixties, Mountt Isa was home to Sydney bands that did stints at the Barkly Hotel, The Quin Tikis, The Maori Esquires, The Fugitives, Kelly & The Coachmen, Madison Kat, to name a few.
A Sydney agency run by Les Masliah, discovered and signed up The Graduates.
The Graduates’ first gig was at The Bunny Club in King’s Cross. Later they performed for the Millers Circuit of Sydney hotels. The Graduates played top hotels in Melbourne, where Nigel Bruce from Federal Hotels asked the band to play at Wrest Point Casino. At that time it was extremely prestigious and it was a huge thrill for the band.
Best of all was being asked to entertain the troops in Vietnam (1970-71) and later tours to Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines and Okinawa.
In the Philippines the band also worked on TV with singing sensation Pilita Corrales. In Manila’s Savoy Hotel the band shared the same floor and hotel as Pat Boone and his family, including Debbie Boone promoting her hit ‘You Light Up My Life’.
The Graduates continued until 1976, where members went off into different careers.
Donny McKinnon went back to Mount Isa Mines but he died in his 40s. Roy Jarret married Josie, and they settled in Cairns, where Roy, in his early 40s, also died from throat cancer. Eric Anderson moved to Mount Isa and took over his brother’s garage, but he later died in his early 60s, from cancer. David Shenton moved to Cairns as manager of Dunlop Tyres and later as a groundsman at Trinity Beach High School. He is now retired. Josie remarried and still lives in Cairns. She works at Pillow Talk.
Ken Buckley went on to University and became a high school teacher for 25 years until he retired.
All of the band members kept playing music for some time they split. Josie, Ken and David still entertain occasionally, and when the remaining few get together, past memories flood back as they remember those who are no longer with us.
