In 1950s New Zealand, music was as big as music is or was anywhere. Popular music in New Zealand started to introduce some distinctly New Zealand themes in the songs being made during this time. Themes that include: the use of te reo Maori in songs, songs about phenomena specific to New Zealand, and songs that directly mention New Zealand and/or cities in New Zealand.
One example of a song employing definite New Zealand themes is one by Morgan Clarke with Benny’s Five called “Haka Boogie” which Bourke (2013) described as “pivotal in the development of a New Zealand-flavoured rock and roll”. Made in circa 1955, “Haka Boogie” features te reo Maori lyrics such as “Haere mai, ka nui te pai” (which translates to “Come on in, it’s very good”) as well as mentioning poi’s, the sentence “The Maori way”, and the title including Haka. All of these are New Zealand themes and more specifically Maori themes, yet they are set to a Hawaiian style rock and roll song which was popular at the time in New Zealand and overseas. People are generally inherently proud of their culture, therefore it is not hard to believe that Maori musicians like Morgan Clarke and Benny Tawhiti would incorporate their culture into their work. Essentially the joining of what is popular music of the time, and the personal identity of the songwriters to give it something different and unique to what is already out. The song might also garner great appeal with New Zealand and especially Maori listeners who can identify with what is being sung about, this could have influenced them to include these themes as a good marketing strategy. As Bourke (2010) talks about in Blue Smoke there was a Maori Community Centre in Auckland in the 1950s that helped create “Maori Pop Mu...
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...ry was dominated by three American genres” (p. 189).
By the end of the 1950s, popular music in New Zealand had seen many an inclusion of distinctly New Zealand themes. There were several Maori artists as well as Pakeha, appealing to both cultures of New Zealand. The uprising of rock and roll brought with it its own kiwi sound from up and coming New Zealand rock and roll musicians. New Zealand had clearly defined itself with its own personal music identity.
Works Cited
Bourke, C. (2010). Blue Smoke: The Last Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music 1918-64. Auckland: Auckland University Press.
Bourke, C. (2013, May 21). Audio Culture.Morgan Clarke. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/morgan-clarke
Schmidt, A. (2013, June 5). Audio Culture. Johnny Devlin. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/johnny-devlin
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