Musicians - Ross Wilson

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	Musicians - Ross Wilson

Ross Wilson (born November 18, 1947) is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist who is best known for fronting the groups Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock.

Wilson began his career as a teenager in Melbourne in the mid-1960s, when he formed his first band, The Pink Finks with longtime musical partner Ross Hannaford. This was followed by the more progressively oriented The Party Machine (1967-69) and Sons Of The Vegetal Mother (1969-70).

In 1970 this group evolved into Daddy Cool, which had originally begun as an occasional offshoot of the main band. The core members were Wilson and Hannaford (vocals and guitars), Gary Young (drums, vocals) and Wayne Duncan (bass, vocals), with several other additional members coming and going during the group's lifetime, including saxophonist Jeremy Noone and guitarist Ian "Willy" Winter. Known for their "good time" image, the group's reportiore mixed covers of 50s R&B and doo-wop classics with Wilson' s original compositions, which were strongly influenced by the work of Frank Zappa. Daddy Cool became hugely popular in Australia and their records also gained a cult following in the USA and Canada in the early 1970s. They scored a nationwide #1 hit in Australia in mid-1970 with the single "Eagle Rock" and their debut LP set the record as the biggest selling Australian album ever released up to that time.

Daddy Cool broke up in late 1972 and Wilson and Hannaford then formed the shortlived Mighty Kong which included former Spectrum drummer Ray Arnott and Company Caine guitarist Russell Smith. They recorded only one LP and the band broke up shortly after its release.

Daddy Cool made a surprise reformation for the 1974 Sunbury rock festival and remained together until late 1975. Contractual problems forced Wilson to wait out the end of his recording contract but he re-emerged in the late 1970s with a new band, Mondo Rock. The group went through several incarnations but the best known lineup included bassist Paul Christie (who went on to found The Party Boys), and guitarist and songwriter Eric McCusker, a former member of the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band. McCusker's presence proved valuable for Wilson in the early 1980s when his own songwriting dried up, and McCusker penned several of the group's biggest hits, including "State Of The Heart", which was a major hit in Australia and was also covered by Rick Springfield.

Wilson was approached in early 2006 by St Kilda Football Club president Rod Butterss to do a re-write of the St Kilda theme song When The Saints Go Marching In

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