Jimmy Little was born at Cummeragunja Mission. In 1950, Little decided to concentrate on his music career and his first album was released in 1956. He has received numerous awards and accolades during his music career. In 1989, the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) awarded him Aboriginal of the Year, for his lifelong contribution to Indigenous Australian music, entertainment and the community. A decade later he was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame. He has received two honorary Doctorates in Music from the Queensland University of Technology and the University of Sydney.
Little has also acted, starring in the movies Shadow of the Boomerang (1960), Night Cries (1990), Until the End of the World (1991), and Somewhere in the Darkness (1998).
Jimmy Little was the recipient of the 2008 National Health and Medical Research Council Advocacy 'Thank You' Day Award. In 2010, Little was awarded the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.
He was also recognised at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2011, where he was honoured with a Golden Guitar - the Lifetime Achievement Award.
