[4] He also composed or performed music for the films Alvin Purple, Alvin Purple Rides Again, Fatal Vision, The Return of the Living Dead, Vampires on Bikini Beach, Morning of the Earth and The Heartbreak Kid and for television Class of 74, The Midnight Special and Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.
[7][8] He was awarded in the Queens Birthday Honours in 2018, along with late musician Phil Emmanuel for his 50-year service to the music industry as a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, mentor and producer and his work in production.
[3][4][6] By 1965 the Castaways became the Jackson Kings playing R&B, with Cadd on piano and Ronnie Charles on vocals they recorded two singles "Watch Your Step" and "Watermelon Man" by April 1966.
[4][6] The Groop formed in Melbourne in 1964 and had recorded singles, an EP and an LP, before Cadd and Charles were asked to join in October 1966 along with guitarist Don Mudie.
Melbourne singer Ronnie Burns had a local hit with "When I Was Six Years Old"[11] written by Cadd (who also produced)[3] and Ross.
[10] The band won a trip to UK from the 1967 Hoadley's National Battle of the Sounds;[9] publishers sent "When I Was Six Years Old" to England where it was recorded by Manfred Mann's lead vocalist Paul Jones.
[9] Band members had written most of their hits in Australia, but CBS decided they would cover an Italian ballad, "What's the Good of Goodbye", which failed to chart.
[6] "Ginger Man" was the first single from Cadd's self-titled debut album, released in November 1972 on Bootleg Records.
The album was mixed and produced to have a "pop sound" along the lines of Elton John and Billy Joel, but performed poorly in the US.
[4] His biggest success occurred when the Pointer Sisters covered "Love is Like a Rolling Stone" as a B-side for their version of "Fire" which reached No.
In the mid-1980s, Cadd ran a small label called Graffiti Records and worked with Daryl Somers and was the first person to sign Tina Arena.
Cadd travelled to Nashville in 1989, joined the Flying Burrito Brothers in 1991 and toured with them for two years,[18] returning to Australia in 1993.
[4] In 1993, Cadd teamed up with fellow Axiom member, Shorrock and released an album under the title The Blazing Salads and completed a two-year tour.
The company, which is distributed through Warner Music, now has some 20 acts spread over three labels (Streetwise, Stallion and Belly Laugh).
[20] Cadd lectures at universities as well as continuing to record and perform, he independently released an album of new material Quietly Rusting in 2005[21] featuring musicians like Mark Meyer, Tony Naylor, Wilbur Wilde and Ross Hannaford together with some of Australia's hottest new players including Paul White, Damien Steele-Scott and James Meston.
In 2007, Cadd was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, his acceptance speech included: "I've had forty incredible years in this world of music.
During that time I have had the honour to write and record with many fabulous creative people and to perform in front of many wonderful audiences.
[25] In the book Cadd tells the stories of his upbringing in Western Australia where he won a TV talent quest at the age of 12 and worked on a children's TV program as a pianist, about his time in Tasmania and Melbourne where he played jazz with the Beale Street Jazz Band and the Castaways who would become the Jackson Kings.
[28] Cadd, his then partner, and her daughter, were caught in the flash flood of the Mudgeeraba River (Gold Coast, Queensland) in February 1999, when their car was washed off a causeway.