Vale: Go well, Ruby Hunter - great Australian singer songwriter.

So so sad to hear the news today that Australian singer-songwriter Ruby Hunter died last night, at aged 54. Way too young for someone so loved and so talented.



from the ABC news report:

A Ngarrindjeri woman, Hunter was born in 1955 near the banks of the Murray River in South Australia.

She was a member of the Stolen Generations, having been forcibly removed from her family at the age of eight.

Hunter met her lifelong partner and musical soul mate Archie Roach when she was 16. Both were homeless teenagers at the time.

Roach and Hunter have been described as singing/songwriting team of extraordinary spirit.

Their music took them around the world. They have sung alongside musical greats Tracy Chapman, Paul Kelly and Bob Dylan.

Hunter was the first Indigenous woman to be signed to a major record label.

In an interview with the ABC's Talking Heads in 2008, she revealed her proudest moment was when she released her first album, Thoughts Within, in 1994.

"I asked one of my brothers to name this album. He came back, I said: 'So what do you think, brother?' He said: 'Oh, you know what sister? I never knew you had those thoughts within'," she said.

In her lifetime, Hunter was nominated for two ARIA Awards - best indigenous release and best blues and roots album.

In 2004, Hunter and Roach collaborated with Paul Grabowsky and the Australian Art Orchestra to produce Ruby's Story - a musical documenting Hunter's own life and search for identity.

The production won the Deadly Award for excellence in film and theatrical score.

Go well, go gently. Thank you, Ruby, for your music and spirit.