The music industry pressures of stardom and life on the road make it hard for marriages and relationships to last. So you’d expect musical spouses would not choose to work together.
A surprising number of them do work together, creating successful and enduring musical and personal partnerships. One of the most successful happened here in Australia.
In the 1940s, a young singer called Slim Dusty was on tour, where he met Joy, one half of the McKean Sisters. Joy and Heather were big radio stars then, while Slim was relatively unknown.
Joy and Slim got married, and Joy was Slim’s manager for 50 years, writing many of his most popular songs. Together, they made more than 100 albums, won awards aplenty, and toured like no other act.
Joy McKean died in May. She was 93.
