Ritchie Yorke

Ritchie Yorke (12 January 1944 – 6 February 2017) was an Australian author, broadcaster, historian and music journalist, whose work was widely published in the U.S., UK, Canada and elsewhere.

Biography Australia: 1962–1966 Ritchie Yorke was born in 1944 in Brisbane, Australia. He began writing a weekly music column called Teen Topics for the Queensland edition of TV Week magazine in July 1962. From March 1964 to March 1965 he continued writing articles, relocating to work as a publicity and news reader at a radio station in Tamworth before returning to Brisbane to act as public relations director at 4KQ. It was during his time on radio in Tamworth that Yorke was delivered a copy of "Fingertips Pt. 2" by Little Stevie Wonder, a 12 year old blind boy. Impressed, Yorke played the song on his weekend show but was promptly told by higher-ups not to play this kind of music. In protest, the following week Yorke set up in his studio and managed to play "Fingertips Pt. 2" eight times in a row before he was removed from the studio and quickly fired. This caused Yorke's relocation to Brisbane to continue writing and making travel plans for the future. He prepared record deals for, and managed Australian pop star Normie Rowe prior to his arrival in England. In December 1966, Yorke began working for Island Records as an international promotion manager for the Spencer Davis Group. He was tasked with promoting the band outside of England in support of their record "Gimme Some Lovin'". At this time, Yorke's first book was published, Lowdown on the English Pop Scene, foreword by Spencer Davis. A few months later Stevie Winwood left the Spencer Davis group to form a new band called Traffic, the managerial position of which was offered to Yorke, who declined, choosing instead to embark on a continental tour He also became the Canadian editor of Billboard magazine from 1970 to 1980 and Rolling Stone magazine from 1969 to 1970. Yorke also carried the posters alongside rock musician and friend Ronnie Hawkins in a 52,000 mile world tour as the Lennons' official peace envoy. This five week tour even had them carry and display the posters illegally across the Chinese border near Hong Kong where they were stopped by Red Guards and solemnly warned they would be shot if they did not leave.

During this time, Yorke also produced Edward Bear's first album Bearings under the pseudonym "Tuft". He also appears on the Bad Manors album by Crowbar, credited with playing the anvil on "Prince Of Peace" and tambourine on "Oh What A Feeling".

Yorke was partly responsible for the introduction of the Canadian Content legislation that was instated in 1971, acting as a major advocate of the policy from a music industry point of view. He testified both to the adequacy of Canada's music supply as well as the necessity of radio support to create a viable Canadian music industry. Later that year Yorke was named Canadian Journalist of the Year at the Juno Music Awards in Toronto.

The following year, Yorke assisted in organising the Maple Music Junket in which numerous continental writers, radio and TV programmers and editors and filmmakers were invited to observe five concerts in Montreal and Toronto (two of the concerts were in French).

London-Canada: 1973–1986 In 1973, Yorke cut back on his assorted journalism and broadcasting activities to focus more heavily on books. Having befriended Led Zeppelin years earlier, he moved to London to work on their first official biography. He returned to Toronto in 1974, after serving on the Committee of Honour at the 8th Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival.

Early in 1976 he released the widely acclaimed book The History of Rock 'n' Roll to coincide with the CHUM produced documentary of the same name he had been working on, as well as publishing The Led Zeppelin Biography.

Australia: 1986–2017 In 1986, Yorke returned to his hometown of Brisbane, Australia to resume broadcasting and journalism. He worked as an announcer and producer for ABC Radio from 1987–1989 and wrote for Brisbane's Sunday Mail until 2007. In 1991, he edited and re-released his Led Zeppelin book, this time titled Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography. In 2013 he married his third wife Minnie, and in 2015 he published his most recent book, detailing his relationship with John Lennon and his involvement in the peace campaign titled Christ You Know It Ain't Easy: John and Yoko's Battle for Peace with a foreword by Yoko Ono.

Ritchie Yorke died in hospital in Brisbane on 6 February 2017, from complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Journalism career: overview Amongst the many publications he contributed to, Yorke was the Canadian Editor of Rolling Stone (1969–70), Canadian Editor of Billboard (1970–80), and was the Senior Music Writer for the Brisbane Sunday Mail for 20 years (1987–2007). He also featured in the documentary John & Yoko's Year of Peace. In 2010 he appeared as a guest panelist on music quiz show Spicks and Specks. He was interviewed for the 2011 documentary, Yonge Street: Toronto Rock & Roll Stories on Toronto's music scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Awards and accolades 1972 – Juno Awards – "Canadian Journalist of the Year"

Queensland Music Awards The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006. 2017 himself Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award

Selected publications

Books Lowdown On The English Pop Scene, Horwitz, 1967. Axes Chops & Hot Licks (The Canadian Rock Music Scene), Hurtig Publishers, 1972. Into The Music: The Van Morrison Biography, Charisma Books, 1975. The Led Zeppelin Biography, Methuen Publications, 1976. The History Of Rock 'n' Roll, Methuen Publications, 1976. . Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography, Virgin Books, 1991. Christ You Know It Ain't Easy, Self-Published, 2015

Contributions Montreux Jazz, Editions de la Tour, Lausanne SA, 1976. . The Ballad Of John And Yoko, M. Joseph/Rolling Stone Publishers, 1982. A Little Bull Goes A Long Way, Pennon Publishing, 2001. Memories Of John, Harper Collins, 2005.. Hendrix On Hendrix, Chicago Review Press, 2012. . Rock Country, Hardie Grant Books, 2013. . Led Zeppelin On Led Zeppelin: Interviews And Encounters, Chicago Review Press, 2014. .

Liner notes 1968 – His Best: The Electric B.B. King – B.B. King 1969 – The Best of Carla Thomas – Carla Thomas 1969 – Bearings – Edward Bear 1969 – ...Continued – Tony Joe White 1969 – Dimensions – The Five Bells 1969 – Good Clean Fun – Kim Fowley 1969 _ Ice on Ice _ Jerry Butler 1969 – Soul '69 – Aretha Franklin 1970 – A Song of Joy – Miguel Rios 1970 – The Cycle 1970 – Official Music – King Biscuit Boy 1970 – Ronnie Hawkins – Ronnie Hawkins 1970 – Waldo De Los Rios – Sinfonias 1970– The Way It Is – Big Mama Thornton 1971 – Bad Manors – Crowbar 1971 – Kinfolk – Leigh Ashford 1971 – Rock Bottom – Various Artists 1971 – Peaches – Etta James 1971 – You're My People – Pepper Tree 1972 – Emergence – Neil Sedaka 1972 – Reflections of My Childhood – Frank Mills 1974 – The Best of King Curtis – King Curtis 2000 – At His Best – José Feliciano 2006 – Swamp Music: The Complete Monument Recordings – Tony Joe White