Daddy Cool

Just as Sha Na Na began drawing notice in the American music press for reviving oldies, Daddy Cool pursued a parallel retro course in Australia, though along an altogether distinct route. Ross Wilson assembled the group in Melbourne, handling vocals and guitar, while Ross Hunnaford and Ian Winters played guitars, Gary Young and Wayne Duncan—both former members of the Rondells—took drums and bass, and Terry Noone covered sax and piano. Their shows emphasized theatricality and high energy without adopting Sha Na Na’s exaggerated burlesque approach. Instead they resembled a living version of Ruben & the Jets, blending peculiarly Australian strains of British eccentricity such as odd headgear and propeller beanies with an exuberant stage presence that energized local audiences. Early sets relied on rock & roll and doo wop covers, yet Wilson soon demonstrated skill as a composer at ease with retro-rock & roll forms, producing the enduring Australian favorite “Eagle Rock.” The band’s debut album, Daddy Who? Daddy Cool, appeared on Reprise in 1971, followed by three U.S. tours the next year. Reprise mounted an aggressive campaign that featured prominent advertisements in Rolling Stone and comparable outlets—an advantage never extended to the Easybeats—yet Daddy Cool failed to connect with American listeners. A second studio release, Sex, Dope and Rock ’n Roll, came out on Reprise in 1972, after which the group’s international profile diminished; a live recording surfaced the same year on the Wizard label shortly before the original lineup disbanded. In 1974 Daddy Cool regrouped in Australia, adding Gunther Gorman and Wayne Burt on guitars, and continued performing for another twelve months. Gary Young and Burt later co-founded Jo Jo Zep & the Falcons, with Ross Wilson occasionally serving as producer. “Eagle Rock” has been reissued periodically and re-enters the Australian charts roughly once each decade. Unreleased tracks were gathered for a 1980 compilation, and the band’s catalog has undergone multiple repackagings for Australian CD editions throughout the 1990s.