Country Music Singer Chad Morgan Has Died

Australian country music singer Chad Morgan, known as “The Sheik of Scrubby Creek,” has died. Morgan passed away at the age of 91 on Wednesday, Jan. 1, his son Chad Jr. and daughter Janelle confirmed. His son told ABC that his father died in a hospital at Gin Gin in Queensland. Morgan’s cause of death was not disclosed.

Born in Wondai, a regional town in South Burnett Region of Queensland, on February 11, 1933, Morgan was considered a pioneer of Australian country music and known for his vaudeville style. He worked cutting timber and sugar before he was discovered through Australia’s Amateur Hour radio program, which he was dared to enter by his friends in the Royal Australian air force.

“Never dare me to do anything,” he told the State Library of Queensland in 2018. “I got into the semi-finals and I had to go to Sydney for that … when I did the show down there, someone from the record company heard me and they offered to record me … all my life that was my one ambition, was to record for [country label] Regal Zonophone.”

Soon after, Morgan began recording with Regal Zonophone, releasing his debut album, The Sheik of Scrubby Creek, in 1958. He went on to release more than 20 albums throughout his 70-year career, and is best known for songs like “The Sheik of Scrubby Creek,” “I’m My Own Grandpa,” “The Shotgun Wedding,” “Double Decker Blowflies,” and “There’s Life In The Old Dog Yet.” After performing throughout Australia, including at the Sydney Opera House, the singer announced in April 2024 that he was retiring.

News of his passing sparked a wave of tributes from those in the industry, with fellow country music star Troy Cassar-Daley remembering him as “a true country icon who was one of the funniest comedy minds I’ve ever witnessed on stage. He was always such an individual that’s what endeared him to so many in our industry.” Country singer Evelyn Bury, one of Morgan’s close friends, called him a “beautiful larrikin,” adding, “There’ll never be another Chad.”

Morgan was inducted into the Tamworth Hands of Fame in 1979 and the Roll of Renown in 1987. He received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2004, as well as a lifetime achievement award at the 2010 Country Music Association of Australia awards and a second at the 2018 Queensland Music awards.

Morgan is survived by his children, Chad Jr. and Janelle.