Frank Ifield

Frank Ifield
Background information
Birth nameFrancis Edward Ifield
Born(1937-11-30)30 November 1937
Coundon, Coventry, England
Died18 May 2024(2024-05-18) (aged 86)
Sydney, Australia
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active1953–1986
Labels
Websitefrankifield.com

Francis Edward Ifield OAM (30 November 1937 – 18 May 2024) was a British-born Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music.

Born in the United Kingdom, Ifield grew up in rural Australia where he started performing hillbilly music in his teens. He released singles which were successful in Australia and New Zealand. He returned to the UK in 1959 where he had four number-one hits on the UK Singles Chart in the early 1960s with his cover versions of "I Remember You", "Lovesick Blues", "The Wayward Wind" and "Confessin' That I Love You".

In 1986, he contracted pneumonia, which resulted in removal of part of a lung and damage to his vocal cords. He relocated to Sydney in 1988 and was unable to sing or yodel for years as he recovered.

In 2003, Ifield was inducted into the Australian Roll of Renown. Ifield was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame at the ARIA Music Awards of 2007. In June 2009, he was presented with the Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to the arts as an entertainer".