American Stars Rave About John Farnham

At the end of every episode of his YouTube series, Stories To Tell, Richard Marx presents his guest with a vinyl album.

KISS legend Paul Stanley was a recent guest. And his vinyl gift?

John Farnham’s Whispering Jack.

“Wow, wow,” Paul exclaims when he receives the record. “John Farnham, unfortunately, in America has never, ever gotten an iota, a fraction, of the accolades he deserves. He’s just a mind-boggling singer.

“And in Australia, he’s god… boy, that guy can sing.”

Richard Marx admitted that the album – the first local release to sell one million copies in Australia – would be “obscure to a lot of our viewers”, but he gushed about the Aussie icon’s vocal talents.

• Thirteen John Farnham Songs You Should Know

“I’ve always said, for as long as I can remember, to me, Sam Cooke is the greatest singer who ever lived, and John Farnham is the greatest singer alive.

“He’s a great rock singer, with tons of rasp and power, but he’s really also an opera singer. He could sing opera easily.”

Richard Marx and Paul Stanley then rave about how a Farnham performance is a masterclass for would-be singers.

You can watch it all unfold here…

John Farnham released his debut memoir, The Voice Inside, last year. He co-wrote the book alongside Poppy Stockell, director of the documentary John Farnham: Finding The Voice.

The book explores Farnham’s upbringing in Melbourne in the ‘60s, his release of the highest-selling Australian album of all time (Whispering Jack), his decades-long touring career, and his story of resilience.

As well as the successes, Farnham examines the darkness: the years in which his career stalled, facing debts, triumphing through adversity, even against mouth cancer, and moving forward after the heartbreaking loss of his long-time friend and manager, Glenn Wheatley.