'I thought my career was over': how a hand injury nearly stole an Aussie icon

He was working on his Queensland property when a rock with sharp edges fell on his hand and damaged it so badly, forcing him to go under the knife.

"I thought my career was over," he told The Senior.

"I'd been working in that garden for years and I had rocks balanced like a cheap sculpture.

"The one on top had sharp edges. While I was moving around, I didn't realise it was moving too until it landed on my hand.

"Well, after 40 years of messing around with rocks at Willowshed, Springbrook, one finally got me on the left hand."

"It ripped the skin badly and needed surgery to repair muscle and nerve damage and stitch it up again. The specialist told me I couldn't play guitar for at least four weeks.

"I've got a reasonable scar. If it was any better, people would think I was bullshitting."

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The injury meant John had to postpone several shows - not cancel as he pointed out - but had to cancel his gig at the Tamworth Country Music Festival although in true blue fashion, he still made an appearance at the Golden Guitar Awards on January 27.

"I'll be performing at Tamworth again next year," he said.

John has announced he is in full recovery and will be continuing his touring commitments for 2024.

He has rescheduled dates for Toowoomba, Ipswich and Cleveland (Queensland) in September.

"I am happy to confirm my hand has healed well and am looking forward to getting back on tour and performing this year. Thank you to everyone for your kind words as I waited for my hand to mend. Looking forward to seeing you very soon."

Events of 2020 and 2021 gave John a forced taste of retirement and the realisation that he's not quite ready to hang up his guitar.

John marks 54 years in the entertainment business this year and this has seen him scale back performances.

"I'm not in retirement mode at all," he said. "I'm just being a bit more choosey.

"I'm not slowing down either. I'm still loving it and will only stop when I think I've become crap."

"I've always loved the connection I get when performing so you'll still see me popping up."

His accolades include induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame and the Australian Roll of Renown, an Order of Australia, 28 Golden Guitar Awards, four ARIA Awards - not to mention over 5 million albums sold, over one billion music streams reached in 2022, thousands of shows performed across the country and a catalogue of more than 500 self-penned songs.

In January 2022 John was honoured with a life-sized bronze statue in his image in the main street of Tamworth; a significant reminder of his contribution to our country's music and the national psyche, long after the last note has been played.

When John wandered into Melbourne's GTV9 studios in 1970 with a guitar under his arm, little did the Mallee farmer realise he'd make a 50-plus year career out of singing and performing.

His performance of Old Man Emu - the first song John wrote - on Channel Nine's New Faces program resulted in a number one single for five weeks and a recording deal.

It also marked the appearance of a striking new talent: an unofficial custodian of Australian stories.

Few people have travelled this country as extensively as John, gathering his stories from the people he meets and being inspired by the country he loves so much.

He encapsulates in song the beauty, wonder and, sometimes, heartbreak of life Down Under. He has produced enduring classics such as Galleries of Pink Galahs, Three Sons, A Bushman Can't Survive, Cydi, Raining on the Rock, Rip Rip Woodchip and, of course, True Blue.

"True Blue and Flower on the Water are the two top favourite songs played at Aussie funerals," he said. "So they are played every day and I'm proud of that.

"True Blue became a hit when advertising guru John Singleton had a TV show about true blue Aussies and asked me if he could use it."

John's fourth picture book for kids, Voice of the Sea, was published by Penguin Random House on February 6. The video of the song has now won an ARIA award for the Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement (over two minutes)and an overseas award for its use in an advertising campaign.

It is an unrequited love song to the ocean, aimed at engaging our most compelling voices of the future - our children.

The book has stunning illustrations by Andrea Innocent and Jonathan Chong.

Written at the request of Australian Marine Conservation Society for an important campaign, the song and video have already had a huge impact on schools and children all over the country.

"It's an important conservation book for the whole family to share and I'm very proud of it,"' John said.

www.johnwilliamson.com.au