They were just young boys living in the bush in North Queensland when they told their mum they were going to become "singing cowboys".
Now the LeGarde Twins are being remembered as "early pioneers" of country music, following the death of Tom LeGarde, aged 90, late last week.
It was almost three years to the day since his twin bother Ted passed away.
The identical twins from Mackay honed their performing skills on the Australian rodeo circuit.
But with their matching outfits and flare, the duo gained international fame after settling in Nashville, Tennessee.
'Born to entertain'
The twins' niece, Edna Jacob, remembered her uncles as "real larrikins".
"They were always mucking around, they had a go at everything," she said.
"They were so alike, you couldn't tell the difference.
The twins' older brother, David LeGarde, who still lives in Mackay, said he remembered the early days of his famous brothers' success.
"One of the strangest things was when [my wife] Marge and I were living in Adelaide and we just happened to be walking down the street and there was a big sign saying 'Ashton Circus: Starring the LeGarde Twins'," he said.
The LeGarde Twins' act was characterised by their trademark matching outfits, as well as knife throwing, whip cracking and rope spinning.
In America, they performed at variety shows, sold-out concerts and in TV shows, including Star Trek.
In a live Facebook video in 2020, Tom LeGarde spoke about losing his brother Ted, and about their upbringing in Mackay.
"We lived in a tin-roof shack in the bushlands of Australia," he said.
He said he and Ted realised their dream after first seeing fictional cowboy hero Hopalong Cassidy.
"We said, ‘Mumma, Ted and I are gonna be singing cowboys'.
"She said to us, ‘Ted and Tom, you were born to entertain'."
'Early pioneers'
Australian country music star Graeme Connors, also from Mackay, said the LeGarde Twins' work influenced the evolution of the genre in Australia and overseas.
"They were early pioneers of Australian country music," Connors said.
"They were also one of the very few in the early years who had an international perspective.
"They may have been born in Mackay, but they really saw their audience as worldwide.
Connors recalled his first introduction to the pair, back in 1991.
"When I started my own career … there was an article in the Daily Mercury saying, 'Graeme Connors is going to Nashville'', he said.
"Tom and Ted's relations here in Mackay sent it through to them.
"You wouldn't believe it, I get to the airport and there's a lovely card … saying, 'From Tom and Ted LeGarde, welcome to Nashville, here's our telephone number, please call us, we'd love to show you around'."
Connors said the pair had a "larrikin wit" and had found more fame in America than in their home country.
"I wish they were more visible in our Australian archive," he said.
