John Robert Williamson Order of Australia (born 1 November 1945 in Quambatook, Victoria (Australia) is an Australian country music singer-songwriter. He is well-known for playing in Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) clubs at various venues around Australia. Williamson has released over thirty-two albums, ten Music videos, five DVDs, and two lyric books. He has received more than twenty-three Golden Guitar Awards at the Country Music Awards of Australia and has won two ARIA Music Awards (A.R.I.A. Awards) for Best Australian Country Record. Williamson has also featured in a number of television series as well as ''This is Your Life''. Many of his albums have gone Gold and Platinum and continue to do so. He has sold more than 2,000,000 albums in Australia alone. In 1970 Williamson's first song, ''Old Man Emu'', went to No.1 and became gold. Another one of his classics, ''Mallee Boy'', became triple-platinum and won him an A.R.I.A. Award.

==Early life==
Williamson was born and raised in the The Mallee district of northwestern Victoria (Australia). His parents were both performing artists. Williamson is the oldest of five brothers. His influence on country music came from his 'farmland, not city bitumen' lifestyle, therefore he is often referred to by his nickname 'The Mallee Boy'. He learned to play the ukulele at age 7 and at 12 years of age graduated to guitar. Williamson was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne. In 1965, the family moved to Croppa Creek, near Moree, New South Wales, where Williamson began performing at a local restaurant.