Cities of Texas By Paul Kelly
Paul Maurice Kelly (born 13 January 1955) is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player from Adelaide. He has performed solo and led numerous groups including the Dots, the Coloured Girls and the Messengers. He has been a member of associated projects Professor Ratbaggy and Stardust Five and worked with other artists and groups. Kelly's music style has ranged from bluegrass to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output straddles folk, rock, and country. He is acknowledged as one of Australia's best singer-songwriters and described as its poet laureate. His lyrics capture the vastness of culture and landscape by chronicling life about him for over 30 years. David Fricke from Rolling Stone calls Kelly "one of the finest songwriters I have ever heard, Australian or otherwise." However, Kelly has said, "Song writing is mysterious to me. I don’t feel like I have got it nailed yet."
In 2001, the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) listed the Top 30 Australian songs of all time, including "To Her Door", solely written by Kelly, and "Treaty", written by Kelly and members of Indigenous Australian band Yothu Yindi. Aside from "Treaty", Kelly has written or co-written several songs on indigenous peoples' social issues and historical events, including "Maralinga (Rainy Day)" on British nuclear testing, "From Little Things Big Things Grow" (with Kev Carmody) on the Gurindji strike for land rights and on reconciliation, and "Rally Around the Drum" (with Archie Roach) about a tent boxing man. Kelly has provided songs for many other artists, tailoring them to their particular vocal range. Women at the Well from 2002 had 14 female artists record his songs in tribute.
After growing up in Adelaide, Kelly travelled around Australia before settling in Melbourne in 1976. He became involved in the pub rock scene and drug culture, and recorded two albums with Paul Kelly and the Dots. Kelly moved to Sydney by 1985 where he formed Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, which was renamed Paul Kelly and the Messengers, initially for international releases only, to avoid possible racist interpretations. At the end of the 1980s, Kelly returned to Melbourne, and in 1991 he disbanded the Messengers. Kelly has been married and divorced twice; he has three children and resides in St. Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, with his girlfriend, Sian Prior. Dan Kelly, his nephew, is a singer and guitarist in his own right. Dan has performed with Kelly on Ways and Means and Stolen Apples. Both were members of Stardust Five, which released a self-titled album in 2006.
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