Lillian Roxon: Mother of rock

Dubbed 'the mother of rock', Lillian Roxon was the most influential rock journalist in the world from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s.

She gained an international following for her witty, passionate appraisals of musicians and their work. Roxon remained a fan first and foremost and her hit predictions became legendary.

Embedded in the rock and emerging punk scene in New York, she knew all the new and emerging stars including David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper and Patti Smith.

Roxon became Australia's first female foreign correspondent after moving to New York in 1959. She wrote for American publications as well as The Sydney Morning Herald and appeared on radio station 2GB as a cultural commentator.

Her groundbreaking 613-page work Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia was published in 1969. Still considered a classic, The New York Times called it 'the most complete book on rock music and rock culture ever written'.

All stills courtesy of the family of Lillian Roxon and the book Mother of Rock: the Lillian Roxon Story by Robert Milliken (Black Inc 2002).