Australian singer Renée Geyer has died aged 69. Her death was announced this morning by Mushroom Records.
“It is with immense sadness that we announce that Renée Geyer has passed away from complications following hip surgery. While in hospital, it was discovered that Renée also had inoperable lung cancer. She was in no pain and died peacefully amongst family and friends.
“Naturally, we are all utterly devastated.
“Just last month, Renée sang to a full house and was looking forward to another busy year ahead doing what she loved most – performing for her loyal fans around the country.
“Renée is one of the most highly regarded singers in contemporary music – her unique vocal sound influences countless singers to this day.
“Renée was irrepressible, cheeky and loyal and her musical legacy speaks for itself, with her performing and recording career spanning five decades. She was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2005; in 2013 she was the first woman to be inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame; and she received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the Australian Women in Music Awards in 2018.
“Renée lived her life as she performed – on her own terms and to the fullest. Beloved and respected, she was a force of nature and a national treasure, and her passing leaves a giant void in the Australian music industry.
“We would like to thank the staff at the University Hospital Geelong for their care and consideration. In lieu of flowers, Renée would have preferred donations be made to Support Act as a way of giving back to an industry that loved her so much.” the record company said.
Details of Renée’s memorial will be forthcoming the record company said.
Born in Melbourne in 1953 to a Hungarian-Jewish father, and a Slovak-Jewish mother, a holocaust survivor. Geyer was one of three children. She began singing when she was 16 performing in a series of jazz-rock bands in the early 1970s.
She released her first solo album in 1973 and went on to become one of the most successful Australian artists of the 1970s. She had hits with her interactions of songs by other artists, but also worked with some of Australia’s best songwriters.
Among her hits were a cover of James Brown’s It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World as well as Stares and Whispers, Heading in the Right Direction, Say I Love You, if Loving You Is Wrong, Do You Know What I Mean and I Can Feel the Fire.
In the late 1980’s when her career in Australia faltered, Geyer headed to the USA where she was an in demand backing vocalist working with artists including Sting and Neil Diamond.
She return to Australia in the 1990’s and began working with a series of Australian songwriters. Her 1994 record Difficult Woman saw her performs songs written by Paul Kelly including the title track alongside Foggy Highway and Careless.
In 2003 Geyer’s success continued with the album Tenderland which saw her deliver her interpretation of classic and modern soul songs. In 2007 she returned with Dedicated which continued the theme of rediscovering great soul tunes.
2009’s Renéessance saw her revisit her past hits presenting them in acoustic arrangements, while her final album Swing saw her deliver her take on a range of jazz standards.
OIP Staff
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