Known as Black Elvis, Uncle Roger Knox is the Koori King of country music.
But he grew up singing gospel.
"My grandmother and mother sang at church," he told NITV.
"Gospel was something we could gather to ... It was the only music I knew growing up."
Uncle Roger was raised on Toomelah Aboriginal Mission Station, and remembers his childhood fondly.
"It was good in them days; everybody loved and respected each other, we respected our Elders.
"There were hard times, bad times, sad times and going half mad times.
"But if I had to relive my life again, I'd like to go back to then."
The first taste of country music
Uncle Roger's first taste of country music came from his cousins. They'd come home to the mission singing Slim Dusty songs.
They taught him to play guitar and everyone would sit around and sing together.
"We didn't have a record player or anything, so we just learnt from the cousins or brothers who went away and came back singing these songs," he said.
"I never heard a Slim Dusty record, I just heard them singing it, and so they were my heroes.
It was a musical education for the budding performer.
"At that point in time, I didn't know the difference between country music and gospel.
"It was just about song, it was about sitting around and feeling happy and good with each other. It gave us a lift, and it was healing."
Uncle Roger left the mission to pursue work in Tamworth, working with his cousins on a tobacco farm. One Friday night the boys headed into Joe Maguires, local pub that had live music.
It was here that Roger first took to the stage, singing Slim Dusty.
"It was totally different to back home, I was really scared and it was the first time I'd ever been inside a pub. But my cousins encouraged me, they pushed me," he said.
"When I finished the song, people started to clap. I wondered about that, it made me feel so good."
Looking back, Uncle Roger said the "shyness" he once believed he had in that moment was actually a "lack of self-confidence".
"It is hard to believe in yourself. I realised though that I had to dig deep," he said.
"It just went from there. We had no dream, we just formed a band. Singing felt good, I felt drawn to it and so we just kept going to different places, people started inviting us to play, and we started touring."
Roger Knox, the 'Black Elvis', in the 1980s. Source: Supplied
Facing racism as an Aboriginal musician
Spending time in the nation's country music capital inspired Uncle Roger, but it was his own history that gave him the most drive.
"When I thought about wanting to be a singer, I was inspired by our own kind. In Tamworth I saw people like Col Hardy ... his stage presence, I wanted to be like that," he said.
"And I realised that he inspires me like that, I could do the same thing for young fullas.
All my heroes are Black people. They are the greats.
But while his talent was undeniable, Uncle Roger remembers the realities of being a Blackfulla and trying to book a gig.
"We'd have to do performances on the outskirts of town," he said.
"We couldn't get a place to busk on the street, we weren't booking gigs.
"I saw so many talented Aboriginal people on the street performing. Thinking about that made me realise that I could help make a place where our people could come and perform."
That was the beginning of the Aboriginal Cultural Showcase.
In its early years the Showcase saw Aboriginal musicians perform at venues that weren't involved in Country Music Festival, but in 2008, it was adopted as part of the national event.
"Our people, they didn't get the success or the radio plays, but they did it anyway. It was hard," he recalled.
Uncle Roger faced discrimination throughout his career, finding no matter how much he achieved, it would still come.
"We'd get booked, we'd rock up and they'd see we were an Aboriginal band and sometimes they wouldn't have us play," he said.
The door is half closed for us, so we have to show up, dress nice, and give it everything we can. You had to work twice as hard to get half as far.
"I remember being on tour with Wurumpi Band, and Kev Carmody ... the manager at the time said venues had said we attracted the 'wrong type of people'. That tells you something."
And while it doesn't bother Uncle Roger as much these days, he said facing those attitudes has always been a motivator.
"It gives me the push to keep going," he said.
“When you get up and perform ... You can't be mediocre. You can't half-heart it.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re singing to a small community or big stage, you sing your fullest."
Uncle Roger believes performing is about giving and receiving. And for him, his gift is sharing his stories.
“We go back to our ancestors, we tell our stories through song, that helps us heal, it helps us bounce back from these hardships," he said.
“We tell our stories, through country music, and sometimes they find it controversial, they might not play it on the radio.
"I often think if a whitefulla recorded some of these stories, they'd probably play it on the radio. He might go better than I would. But I'm singing about my own people."
Troy Cassar-Daley and Roger Knox rehearsing together. Credit: Nicolette Dixon
Inspiring the next generation
Just like his grandmother, Uncle Roger instilled a love of music in his grandchildren.
His grandson, Googoorewon Knox, known as Goori, has been cast as George Washington in Australia's upcoming run of the Broadway musical Hamilton.
"He gets the acting from his grandmother's side, but the music is me," Uncle Roger laughed.
"I can see him put his whole self into it. I'm so proud.
"He can act, he can do anything. But when I see him putting in 100 per cent, that is so important for me, that is what makes me proud of him."
Uncle Roger's influence on the country music scene is unmatched. He's inspired hundreds of artists and his love of his people and passion for telling their stories has inspired big names like Troy Cassar-Daley and Loren Ryan.
Uncle Roger is immensely proud of both Troy and Loren. He recalled many years watching Loren perform.
"To see her go from that to this, it fills my heart with so much joy," he said.
"You can be anything you want ... she is doing that."
With a career that's seen him travel far and wide, from small communities across his homeland to international sold-out festivals, he's "seen so much talent" that's filled him with pride.
“Only the other day I saw a three-year-old singing Koori Rose!" he laughed.
"That song isn’t going to die out! It makes me feel so good and makes me strong. I’m so proud."
Uncle Roger has no plans to slow down, with a new album in the works, he's hoping to get back on the stage as soon as possible.
But while he's become a country music great, deep down he will always hold the most love for singing gospel, on the mission with his family.
"I like telling my stories, making people think about what it was like back in those days, Making them think about what the struggle was like," he said.
"But music, song, dance, stories, and going silent for some time. That's healing."
“I still sing gospel, for my grandmother ... It’s still with me, it does something to my senses. If you come home, tired and can’t sleep, you grab a guitar and sing them old songs. It heals you."
Uncle Roger Knox attends the 2023 Golden Guitar Awards on January 21, 2023 in Tamworth, Australia. Credit: Klae McGuinness/WireImage
