Gay Kayler

Gay Kayler (born 27 September 1941), is an Australian country music entertainer, recording artist and singer. Gay used her maiden name in her professional career until 1978, when she changed the spelling from Kahler to Kayler to maintain a consistency of pronunciation.

Gay Kayler
Background information
Born (1941-09-27) September 27, 1941
Australia
GenresCountry music
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • recording artist
  • singer
LabelsJade Records, Columbia Records, EMI Records
Associated actsJohnny Ashcroft

Early life

Gay comes from a musical family. Her mother sang and played piano, piano accordion and violin with her siblings in their father's band on the Darling Downs, Queensland, in the 1930s.[1]

In 1942, the Kahler family moved to Sydney, where Gay continued this musical tradition when, at the age of two-and-a-half, she captivated commuters on Sydney's trams and buses as she sang for them.[2]

In the early 1950s, Gay sang on one of the first reel-to-reel tape recorders in Australia – as part of its demonstration at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

After attaining her certificate for 7th Grade Piano, Theory and Musical Perception, Gay and her family moved to Toowoomba, Queensland. It was there that Gay made her first professional performance in 1958.

Gay's reputation blossomed when she was chosen to sing the Alexandra Waltz for Princess Alexandra during her 1959 visit to Australia.[3] The Fairy Princess wanted to hear more so, by royal command, the teenager sang a selection of songs. Ultimately, this led to Gay being contracted to Brisbane's Channel 7 for 3 years, where she appeared in shows such as the multi-Logie-Award-winning Theatre Royal with George Wallace Jnr.[4]

Television and live performances

Now retired, Gay Kayler's 40-year professional showbusiness career included appearances on most national TV shows, e.g. Brian Henderson's Bandstand, Johnny O'Keefe's Sing, Sing, Sing and Graeme Bell's Trad Jazz.[5] She performed eight times in the main Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, including on the first all-Australian Country Music Concert[6] and the first all-Australian Variety Show held in that iconic venue. Gay also featured her Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal Song, Captain Joe Henry's Happy Hand-Clapping, Open Air Rhythm Band, backed by a 300-voice choir and huge Salvation Army band, when she opened and closed a 1976 concert in that venue.[7]

Other notable venues included Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Adelaide's Chrysler Auditorium and the 1,500 strong NSW Registered Club Circuit, said to be the biggest entertainment circuit in the world in its day.

Modelling, commercials and movie sound track

Gay Kayler, a triple beauty quest title holder, was a singer and model[8] who also made commercials, e.g., with Bert Newton on Australia's Great Barrier Reef[9] and the female voices on the radio commercial, David Callan at Your Club, which was aired over 31,000 times. She recorded the female sound track on the 1978 Little Boy Lost movie,[10] which was released worldwide. The Little Boy Lost DVD was re-released in 2007.

Recordings

Gay's recording career began in 1973 when she recorded the EMI album, Faces of Love, with Johnny Ashcroft. She had a double charting single in 1975 of "Nobody's Child"[11] coupled with the first Australian female trucking song, "My Home-Coming Trucker's Coming Home", composed by Ashcroft. Her last recording in 1995 was "Child of Koonapippi", a song of the Aboriginal Stolen Generations, written by Eric Watson (re-released 2001).[12]

Gay is best known for her version of The White Magnolia Tree, which was in EMI and Readers Digest catalogues for over 33 years; also for her work on the heritage LP, The Cross of the Five Silver Stars–in particular for Matthew, a song of the great navigator, Matthew Flinders. This album is part of the 2007 Rajon Music Australian historical double CD set, Johnny Ashcroft, Here's To You, Australia![13] It also features Bettybo and musical director, Shep Davis.

Albums
Title Details
Face of Love
(with Johnny Ashcroft)
  • Released: 1973
  • Label: Columbia (SOEX-10089)
The Cross of the Five Silver Stars
(with Johnny Ashcroft, Bettybo and Shep Davis)
  • Released: 1989
  • Label: Jade Records (JADLP1009)

Other singles
List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
AUS
[14]
"The Garden"
(as Australia Too)		 1985 22

Production shows

Gay Kayler combined a major part of her career with Australian country music star, Johnny Ashcroft, whom she married in 1981. Although they created a reputation as a show-stopping duo, they still retained their individuality by incorporating solo highlights within their performances. In addition to their adult production shows, Gay Kayler and Johnny Ashcroft spent twelve years presenting Australian history to school children with songs, stories and visuals in their NSW Education Department accredited shows.

Credits and awards

(Chronological):

  • Royal Command Performance for Princess Alexandra
  • Miss Australia Quest's Miss Darling Downs
  • Sunday Mail's Miss Kirra Sun Girl
  • RSL Western Districts Girl in a Million
  • Inaugural President of the Toowoomba Bachelor Girls' Service Club[15]
  • Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal Song (Captain Joe Henry's Happy Hand-Clapping Open Air Rhythm Band)
  • Inaugural Secretary of the Professional Country Music Association of Australia (PCMAA)[16]
  • Finalist in Best Female category (Australasian Country Music Awards)
  • Finalist in Best Duo – with Johnny Ashcroft (Australasian Country Music Awards)
  • National Award for Service to Australia's Country Music (Queensland Country Music Awards)
  • Finalist for the Heritage Award with The Cross of the Five Silver Stars (Australasian Country Music Awards)
  • Multiple nominee in the Australian Variety Artists Mo Awards
  • Imprinted in the Australasian Country Music Hands of Fame–Tamworth, New South Wales[17]

References
  1. Gay Gets Around, The Australian Women's Weekly, 14 November 1962
  2. Gay Kahler: Her 'gimmick' is that she can sing, The Secretaries and Managers Journal, May 1973
  3. Gay song for a princess, Woman's Day, 7 January 1963
  4. The Singing Moods of TV's Gay Kahler, TV Week, 17 October 1964
  5. Trad Jazz, TV Week, 20 October 1962
  6. Australian Festival of Performing Arts, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 November 1973
  7. Salvos get rhythm, The Courier Mail, 28 June 1976
  8. California Fashions, Toowoomba Chronicle, 24 November 1960
  9. http://johnnyashcroft.com.au/ Gay Kayler From the Early Years, 1964 photo of Bert Newton and Gay during a break
  10. http://johnnyashcroft.com.au/ Gay Kayler From the Early Years, 1978 photo at premiere
  11. Poor Support for splendid concert, The Chronicle 4 February 1976
  12. http://johnnyashcroft.com.au/ Gay Kayler Discography
  13. http://johnnyashcroft.com.au/ Here's To You Australia Reviews, A Passionate Heritage by John E Minson AM Country Music Capital News, October 1987
  14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 22. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.
  15. TV Times, 2 October 1963
  16. http://johnnyashcroft.com.au/ Gay Kayler From the Early Years 1979
  17. "Gay Kayler".
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