Alan Dargin

Alan Dargin (13 July 196724 February 2008) was an indigenous Australian musician and songwriter known for being a didgeridoo player. He grew up in Wee Waa and started learning the instrument at age five from his grandfather and other Wiradjuri elders. His signature instrument was over a hundred years old and was made from a blood wood eucalypt. He received his secondary education at St Pius X High School, Newcastle.

Dargin worked as a busker on the streets of Sydney. He appeared with various symphony orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall; as well as in the United States, Japan, and Europe. On Bastille Day in 1994 he performed for the French President, François Mitterrand.

A memorial service was held at Circular Quay on 28 February in that year, commencing with a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony that progressed along the quay to First Fleet Park. Hundreds attended and tributes were given by friends and relatives for the inventor of "Rock and Roll didjeridu".

Discography

Bloodwood: The Art of the Didjeridu (by Alan Dargin and Michael Atherton) (1993) Two Stories in One (by Alan Dargin and Reconciliation) (July 1994) Cross + Hatch (by Dargin and Atherton) (March 1998) DidgeriDuo (by Alan Dargin and Gary 'The DidgeMan' Thomas) (2001) Aquarius International Music MRD (April 2008)