Kidney cancer is fatal. He died on September 19, 2003, at the age of 76, at his home in St Ives, New South Wales, following a long fight with lung and kidney cancer. Dusty's death was announced by his manager, Tony Mitchell, who also revealed that the singer had been diagnosed with kidney cancer two years earlier. He said at the time: "Slim has died. This is probably why they call it life. It takes them from us very quickly." Dusty was born on January 4, 1939, in Sydney, New South Wales, to Greek immigrant parents who ran a grocery store. He showed an interest in music from an early age and taught himself how to play the guitar. In order to pay for his bus fares to travel to music festivals, he worked as a roadie for various popular Australian artists of the time such as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and Buddy Holly. His big break came when Johnny Cash heard him play at a concert and asked him to join him on tour. After the end of that tour, he started his own band with some friends and they played clubs around Sydney. They soon became popular and made several trips to London where they met with other musicians and singers and learned more about music.