Dan Sultan Pays Tribute To Archie Roach With Stirring Rendition Of 'Took The Children Away'

Mushroom Group continues to celebrate its 50^th anniversary, commemorating as many greats as they can in The Mushroom 50 Singles collection.

Following previous releases in the collection including The Temper Trap taking on Under The Milky Way (originally by The Church), Missy Higgins covering Wide Open Road by The Triffids, Bliss N Eso putting their spin on The Rubens’ Hoops, Paul Kelly paying tribute to the Sunnyboys with Alone With You and Gordi covering Violent Soho’s Covered In Chrome, Dan Sultan – the man with a powerful voice that suits anything – has delivered a stirring rendition of Took The Children Away by Archie Roach.

A grand take on a classic song essential to Australia’s music history, Sultan starts the song in his most tender, vulnerable register before stretching to some truly beautiful chest singing.

Accompanied by a piano and later, percussion, Sultan has nowhere to hide. It’s a rich, exposed performance that we’re lucky to hear. You can listen below.

“Took The Children Away is, to me, the perfect song,” Sultan explained in a press release. “Wonderful melodies with strong and powerful chord progressions, and the lyrics are perfect storytelling. And above all else, it means so much. 

“Whether a song really means something is, in my opinion, what makes it great or not and this work is what I see as the pinnacle of Artistic Endeavour. I love this song for all those reasons and I’m honoured to know it and to perform it.”

Dan Sultan signed with Mushroom Music Publishing in 2008 and joined the Liberation Records roster in 2013. He’s a six-time ARIA Award winner and has a well-documented love and history with Uncle Archie Roach.

Took The Children Away was the first single released from Archie Roach’s landmark debut album, Charcoal Lane. Took The Children Away was, and continues to be, a vessel for reparation, and was the first songwriting recipient of a Human Rights Achievement Award.

Archie Roach’s relationship with the Mushroom Group, and its founder Michael Gudinski, spanned over three decades until his passing in 2022. Roach paid tribute to Gudinski after he passed in 2021, saying, “Michael was a staunch supporter of the work we do. He championed First Nations musicians like Yothu Yindi, Troy Cassar-Daley and Dan Sultan to name a few, along with myself.”

You can check out the other Mushroom 50 Singles here.