Jimmy Little

Jimmy Little OAM (born 1937) is an Australian Aboriginal musician whose career has spanned six decades. He says his music has been influenced by Nat King Cole and American country music artist Jim Reeves. He has been recognised with an Order of Australia Medal, named as a Living National Treasure in 2004 and awarded an honorary doctorate in music as was Peter Sculthorpe. This was in recognition of "Their joint contribution to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians". Jimmy Little began teaching and mentoring Indigenous music students at the Eora Centre in Redfern in 1985 and since 2000 he has been a guest lecturer at the Koori Centre, University of Sydney. In 1999, The ARIA board also inducted Jimmy into the ARIA Australian Music Hall of Fame.