Thel Carey
An Australian vocalist, guitarist and partner of the country duo 'Rick and Thel'.
Born Thelma Hoctor, married partner Rick Carey.
Thel was from a farming family in New South Wales and would later move to Sydney and be educated at Sydney's 'Fort Street Girls High School' then moving on to Sydney Teachers College for four years.
Gaining a position as an Art Teacher at a Sydney Suburban school.
Thel's rural upbringing ensured that she too came to love the earthy songs that reflected the daily way of life that she shared with millions of other Australians. Thel was a self taught guitarist, and her music eventually brought her to the "Bar-20 hillbilly Shows" at Eden Park and then appearances on the Reg Lindsay and Slim Dusty Shows.
Rick and Thel began a musical and family partnership from which evolved one of the top three Australian country music travelling shows of the 1960s through to the mid 1980s.
Rick and Thel's first record followed in 1954 - a 78 rpm disc of "She Was Happy Till She Met You" and "I'll Never Be Fooled Again."
Both made a lasting impression within Australian country music in the fifties and through to their retirement.
The act was forced to retire during the early 1980s when Thel developed cancer of the tongue. They lived in retirement in Denmark, Western Australia, until Thel died of her illness on the 2nd October, 1998.
Rick still lives in Denmark at home in retirement.
All information may be obtained at the web address at the above.
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