John R Bye

A Premature Eulogy John R Bye

I would say there is a fair chance that one day we all may shuffle off this mortal coil.

To make things easier for family and loved ones, I would suggest that we all think about our final set; spell it out while we still can.

It's not a morbid task, just good planning.




My three daughters are scattered all around Australia.

In 2017 we decided to have an extra long weekend together in Tasmania.

We rented a big house overlooking Constitution Dock in Hobart and after settling in, I called a meeting.




The silence shrieked, "What's this about?"

I asked the girls to hear me out for a five minute summary of my exit plans, should that time ever come.

After all, at the time I was in my extremely late fifties. (My next birthday was my seventieth.)

I told them that I had written my own eulogy to save them any discomfort and that I'm quite happy to make jokes about myself.

It was a little challenging for us all, but totally necessary.

That done, we cracked a bottle of bubbles and the party commenced.




I started my first business in 1958 aged 10 years.

From the age of fifteen I formed bands with far more talented musicians than myself, some of whom went on to play with the likes of Axiom, The Loved Ones and Frank Zappa.

Early in the 1960s the undisputed king of Melbourne television, Graham Kennedy, helped my Bay City Jazz Band secure a regular gig on

'In Melbourne Tonight' and 431Jazz Club.

In later years I changed course many times.

I went on to produce numerous children's recordings and jazz albums for some of Australia's great singers and musicians.

My entrepreneurial drive became a double-edged sword.




Fortunately, for you Dear reader, the actual eulogy is not included.