IT IS a song that many Australians would have challenged each other to try and sing all the lyrics, now the original singer Lucky Starr is performing the 'I've been everywhere man' hit across Victoria with a tour leg in Ararat.
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Alongside him is a fellow Australian music icon, Rodney Vincent - the stage was set for a fabulously entertaining afternoon at Ararat Town Hall on June 15.
Together, Lucky and Rodney captivate the audience with songs of country, good old rock'n'roll and plenty of laughs.
Touring across regional Victoria, the duo have walked away from the COVID-19 pandemic with a new view on the showbiz industry.
"This is the fourth time we've tried this tour because of COVID," Rodney said.
"We're going to get through this rail, hail or sunshine. Each time we had booked this tour it was cancelled."
Throughout this tour, the duo have performed in Wangaratta, Colac, two sold-out shows in Horsham, Ararat, Ballarat, Bendigo and Wagga Wagga.
"In Victoria, we tour together," Lucky said.
"Rodney is a star in Victoria. I'm just a newcomer," he added with a chuckle.
Sitting in a cafe in Ararat, sharing stories of their travels together, and apart, any passer-by could easily see the duo just loved what they do - meeting people and having a great time.
"Rodney and I met in Mildura - and I hated him," he said.
"It wasn't until later when I realised he was a stickler for routine. Things have to be exactly to schedule. I had done my time, according to Rodney and I hadn't sung I've been everywhere yet.
"He told me to get off the stage. I wasn't happy."
Rodney laughed and laughed and said there were always two sides to the story.
"We might have got off to a bad start but all of a sudden I rang him and said look I want to do something in Dubbo," he said.
"He replied, ok I can do that and so it was."
Rodney's show and standing in the Australian entertainment scene is no accident. It is the result of a long, hard apprenticeship which he said started about 35 years ago.
Lucky has been in showbiz for over 60 years and "still loves it".
"It's marvellous and much better than mowing the lawn at home," he said.
"I love everything about it.
"People ask me about retirement. I don't do anything else. I don't play golf or recondition old cars. This is what I go."
Rodney said coming on the road enabled the entertainers to be involved in deep conversations with people from all over the country and world.
"We talk about our lives and our lifestyle including retirement," he said.
"Lucky said to me one day where else would you rather be for an hour and a half of your life but on stage, entertaining, singing and pleasing people.
"Which is true."
Rodney said both himself and Lucky 'were' survivors of what has been a tough time for the industry through the pandemic.
"I suffered a heart attack on January 10 this year - it was a real shock in the system for everyone," he said.
"Things like that make you realise how lucky you are. When you get on stage and while singing away you think 'hey, I've been thrown back for some reason and maybe this is it," he said.
"While you can, why not."
Lucky's fame rose to its peak in 1962 with the famous song 'I've been everywhere man'.
"I was fortunate enough to be able to record that great song and I still perform it on stage," he said.
And the burning question, has Lucky been everywhere?
"Oh god no," he said.
"I'm starting to learn about all those places because of Rodney. We got to some little halls and people are spilling out of windows."
Lucky Starr and Rodney Vincent in Concert in Ballarat Thursday June 10:30AM Victoria Bowling Club.
TICKETS AT THE DOOR $20 pp
Enquiries 0412 629 133