9781422273241

LIFE-CHANGING LESSONS Urban was born on October 26, 1967, inWhangarei, New Zealand, the youngest of Bob and Marienne Urban’s two sons, and when he was two years old the family moved to Caboolture, Queensland, Australia. He became fascinated by music at an early age, fueled by his dad’s collection of country music albums that included Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, and DonWilliams, among many other legendary performers. Urban’s dad, watching his son’s eyes sparkle when the music played, posted an ad for a guitar teacher in the window of the convenience store he owned. That ad would forever alter young Urban’s life. “It felt so right in my hands. My mum and dad bought (the guitar) for me, I remember it so clearly. I was lucky to have parents who recognized my passion for music early on. I was committed to playing.” By age six Urban was taking lessons with an instructor named Sue McCarthy, savoring the sessions and loving every pluck of the strings. Playing the instrument came naturally to Urban, and he picked up skills quickly. Soon he was good enough to take part in local competitions. He also gained some other stage experience too by acting with a theater company, which would come in handy later in his career.

“I feel really lucky that I had a great guitar teacher that just taught me basic chords so I could play songs. I didn’t want to learn theory or how to read music, I didn’t want to get overwhelmed by that.”

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a star is born