Iconic British-Australian country and pop music singer Frank Ifield has sadly passed away at the age of 86. Ifeild was known for his chart-topping hits throughout the 1960s, as well as being credited with helping the legendary group The Beatles get their start.
Ifield was also known for being one of the first worldwide artists to incorporate yodeling into his singing and songwriting. A friend of Ifield’s reported that the singer peacefully died in his sleep this past Saturday.
Frank Ifield was born in 1937 in Coundon, Coventry, which is a suburb of southern England. Born to Australian parents, Ifield and his family moved back to Australia when Ifeild was just 9 years old. At age 13, Ifield was gifted his first guitar which he taught himself how to play. This sparked Ifield’s interest in music, where he then began writing his own songs. It was known that Ifield had a love for American country music and yodeling, which he incorporated into many of his songs.
By the early 1960s, Ifield had earned his success in just a short six years, where he released 44 records within that time and made his way to the top of the UK music charts, with his first single making number one on the chart in 1962.
Around this time, Ifield had let The Beatles open for him at his concerts, introducing his fans to the band who were much less popular at the time. Ifield also performed for the late Queen Elizabeth at the Royal Variety Show in 1965. 20 years later, in 1986, Ifeild was diagnosed with a severe case of pneumonia where he was rushed into surgery to remove a part of his right lung. Ifield’s vocal cords were damaged during his procedure, which put his singing career on hold for many years.
Music historian Glenn A. Baker, who was also a good friend of Ifield’s, announced his passing this weekend.
