Gray Bartlett "Hits Country Style" (Mercury Records, 1974) (LP)
A prolific session guitarist and music producer, Auckland's Graeme Bartlett first entered show business as a rocker, playing guitar music in a vaguely Cliff Richards & The Shadows-y style. He scored a huge hit (in Japan!) with the instrumental "La Playa," and soon found work backing Australian pop star Rolf Harris, a five-year gig that ended in 1973, just before this album came out. In the 1970s and '80s Bartlett focussed on country music, recording several solo albums and producing many more by other artists. One of his most notable collaborators was Brendan Dugan, a singer featured throughout this album who recorded and toured extensively with Bartlett for years to come.

Gray Bartlett "We're All Alone" (Regal Records, 1978) (LP)

Gray Bartlett "Hot Guitars" (Music World Records, 1982)
Oh, my! Are all the men in your country so rugged and virile? I guess when they say hot guitars, they mean "hot"! Bartlett shares the stage here with fellow pickers Red McKelvie and Gerry McGee

Gray Bartlett/Brendan Dugan/Jodi Vaughan "Together Again" (Festival Records, 1990)
(Produced by Larry Killip, Gray Bartlett & Brendan Dugan)

Jean Calder -- see artist profile

Peter Caulton "Hard Road, Tough Country" (BSW Records, 1996)

Peter Caulton "Raining On The Rocks" (Bear Family Records, 1999)

Peter Caulton "Southern Man" (Unicorn Productions, ---?)
(Produced by Chris Copping & Andy Parsons)

Jan Cooper "No Looking Back" (EMI Records, 1985)
(Produced by Dick Le Fort)

Jan Cooper "If I Didn't Love You" (EMI Records, 1985)
(Produced by Peter Dawkins & Tim Field)

Jan Cooper & Michael Roycroft "Good Friends" (RCA Records, 1991)
(Produced by Alwyn Aurisch, Jan Cooper, Steve Newton & Michael Roycroft)

Jan Cooper "State Of Mind" (Larrikin Records, 1996)
(Produced by Steve Newton)

Johnny Cooper & His Range Riders "Rock And Sing" (His Master's Voice/HMV Records, 1956) (10" LP)
A popular postwar country pioneer and one of New Zealand's very first rockers, singer Johnny Cooper (1929-2014) was born of Maori heritage in Hawkes Bay on the North Island. In the late 1940s he began performing professionally around Wellington, and formed his own band, The Range Riders in 1953. He'd already been recording for a few years by that time, and made history with his cover of Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock," a version that is purported to have been the first rock song recorded outside of America (although I'm sure there are many claimants to that title...) At any rate, Cooper was an immensely influential figure in the history of kiwi twang. This may have been his only career album, and includes his take on "Rock Around The Clock," covers of classics like Ted Daffan's "I'm A Fool To Care," Ernie Ford's "Blackberry Boogie," and an old Johnny & Jack tune that's one of two duets sung with Margaret Francis. There's also some original kiwi material, a version of Sam Freedman's oft-recorded "Haere Mai" (aka "Welcome Song") and a couple of songs credited to Johnny Cooper, "I'll Pay The Price" and "Look What You've Done." Despite his early popularity, Cooper's work seems to have languished in obscurity for several decades; this album gathered ten of his 'fifties recordings, while a later archival LP (below) collected over a dozen other tracks not included here.

Johnny Cooper & His Range Riders "Ridin' Along With Johnny Cooper And The Range Riders" (Sonic Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Alan C. Dunnage)
Cooper's legacy does seem in need of a little extra attention... although this impossible-to-find archival album from fifty years ago was a nice gesture. Gathering sixteen of his vintage tracks from old 78s, this is packed with some swell proto-rock hillbilly boogie and early rockabilly ("Hoot Owl Boogie," "Chew Tobacco Rag") as well as swell sentimental stuff and honkytonk tunes, all recorded between 1950-53. This old LP was issued to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Island Bay Studios in Wellington, which had Johnny Cooper as one of its very first recording artists, way back in 1950. The Range Riders band is pictured and named on the front cover: Johnny Cooper on guitar and vocals, Don Aldridge (steel guitar), Jim Gatfield (guitar and vocals), Ron James (piano and accordion) and Will Lloyd-Jones thumping on the bass. Amazingly, there are only two tracks which overlap with his original album from 1956, "The Convict & His Rose" and "Humming Bird," which suggests that some enterprising reissue label might have a lot to work with if they wanted to curate a digital-era collection of Cooper's work. Bear Family... are you out there??

Peter Coulton "Hard Road, Tough Country" (Bear Family Records, 1996)

Peter Coulton "Raining On The Rocks" (Bear Family Records, 1999)

Michael-Roy Croft "Holding Things Together" (RCA Victor, 1984)

Michael-Roy Croft "Slow Burnin' " (EMI Records, 1984)
(Produced by Tim Fields & Don Goodman)

Maria Dallas -- see artist profile

Big Mike Durney "Country Style" (Impact Records, 1967) (LP)
(Produced by Gray Bartlett, Garth Benfell & Benny Levin)
A local club singer from Napier, New Zealand, in Hawke Bay, "Big" Mike Durney first paid his dues playing at a local club called the Top Hat Cabaret, before landing a spot on the Maria Dallas television show, as well as touring as a member of her road show. Along with covers of American country hits such as Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" and "Bye Bye Love" from the Everly Brothers, about half the songs on here were originals written by Durney himself, or other kiwis, including a couple from a fella named Jim Ruane ("Many Yesterdays Ago" and "My Heart's Like A Merry Go Round") and two by Mike Durney ("An Island To Oneself" and "Waves Of Heartbreak"). Though he recorded a string of singles well into the early 'Seventies, I'm not sure if Mr. Durney released any other full albums during his career...

Doug Eckert "Our Lives Fit Together For Awhile" (Ode Music, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Hurley & Terence O'Neil-Joyce)

Rex Franklin & Noelene Franklin "A Real New Zealand Cowboy Song" (Bear Family Records, 1999)
Perhaps more of a boutique offering than normal from the already-niche archivists at Bear Family... This collects a ton of early recordings from Rex Franklin and Noelene Franklin, a husband-wife duo from New Zealand who mainly took their cues from stylistic predecessors over in Australia, lots of songs with regional references, shepherding themes, and goofy, exaggerated novelty numbers, along with a few old-fashioned heartsongs sprinkled into the mix. Although the fusty provincialism of the Australian model can be fairly inaccessible to non-Oceanic country fans, the Franklins had a pretty charming sound, and may win you over. Rex Franklin was highly imitative of Canadian superstar Hank Snow and while Noelene Franklin may have been aiming for an old-school Patsy Montana (or Kitty Wells?) sound, I was quite struck by her vocal similarity to 1990's folkie Iris Dement, so much so that I wondered if some form of time travel might be at play... At any rate, I was charmed. This first set collects thirty tracks drawn from various singles, EPs and albums originally released on Viking Records between 1956-61, including their first album, A Thousand Miles Out Yonder, which had a specifically Australian focus. Also preserved here is the regional kiwi-pride anthem, "A Real New Zealand Cowboy Song," which came out as a Rex Franklin solo single.

Rex Franklin & Noelene Franklin "Upon The Outlaw Trail" (Bear Family Records, 1999)
A very generously programmed set featuring the Franklins a little later in their career, with the bulk of the tracks coming from 1962-63, including the full playlist of the 1962 Westerns album, as well as various singles and EPs, and even a few tunes spanning as far as 1965-66 along with several previously unissued tracks from the vaults of Viking Records. Although the stylistic limitations of Oceanic twang persisted surprisingly late into the 'Sixties, this is still a charming, rewarding set... certainly worth a spin!

Rex Franklin & Noelene Anderson "1,000 Miles Out Yonder: Some Songs Of The Outback" (Viking Records, 1961) (LP)
(Produced by Ivan Tidswell)

Rex Franklin & The Prairie Pals "Westerns" (Viking Records, 1962) (LP)
(Produced by Ivan Tidswell)

Rex Franklin & Noelene Franklin "Another Country Singalong" (Viking Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Frank Douglas & Keith Southern)
On this late-career album, the Franklins largely break loose from the confines of Oceanic regional twang, and explore a wider range of country styles, including more modern hits such as "Me And Bobby McGee" and "Paper Roses," as well as a number of American country hits from the 'Fifties and 'Sixties that didn't fit into the whole sheep-shearing ethos that dominated their early recordings. These include cover of songs such as "Act Naturally," "Send Me The Pillow," "Yonder Comes A Sucker," "My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You," and the like. (Of course there are still a few tunes like "The Gorge In The Manawatu," but they are distinctly in the minority, reflecting a major shift in New Zealand's country scene during the 'Seventies... Also worth noting in the album's backing band, The Chapperal," is the presence of guitarist Keith Hyde, who'd been playing with the Franklins for well over a decade, as well bassist Jim Dyson, and Jim Reid on pedal steel.

Tracey Gardyne "Kiwi Country Girl" (Music World Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Newton)
Sort of a one-hit wonder from Christchurch, New Zealand... Tracey Gardyne had a down-under hit with her version of the Kenny Rogers song, "A Stranger In My Place" and won a bunch of show-biz awards, circa 1978-80, leading to this album. Like a lot of gal singers of this era, Ms. Gardyne also had a major crush on Emmylou Harris, covering four songs associated with Emmylou's early career: "Beneath Still Water," "Blue Kentucky Girl," "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues," and Dolly Parton's "To Daddy." She's backed by a band called Ovation, which included bass player Peter Hulton and Les Thomas on pedal steel, though sadly the other musicians are not listed by name.

Rusty Greaves "Country Calling!" (Viking Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Barry M. Coburn)
A country singer with a career spanning back at least to the early 1960s, Trevor Francis Greaves (1931-1998) hailed from Hamilton, New Zealand, a city just south of Aukland, on the North Island. In the 1950s he and his wife Gladys started the Auckland Country Music Club, at a place called Pakuranga Hall -- said to be the first country music venue in New Zealand. He later became a regular on a television variety show called The Country Touch, and successfully toured the United States, appearing at the Grand Ole Opry, the Palomino Club, and other notable venues. Rusty Greaves recorded a long string of singles during the 'Sixties, though this album appears to be newly recorded material, and if his earlier work is anthologized somewhere, it hasn't come to my attention yet. The album is a mix of old cowboy tunes and more modern country hits such as "Love Bug," "There Goes My Everything," "Oh Lonesome Me" and the inevitable cover of "Green Green Grass Of Home" all American stuff, though, no regional songs or sheep shearing ballads on this one. Rather confusingly, the liner notes tell us that this album was "recorded live with the musicians and singers of the Auckland Country and Western Club" (who are not identified, alas) and also that it was recorded at Barry Coburn's Mascot studio... My guess is that "country club" was a pretty flexible term, and they could be "at" the club pretty much anywhere they durn well pleased... At any rate, this is about as classic a set of kiwi country as you're likely to hear, provided you can track down a copy.

Rusty Greaves "Three Decades Of Rusty" (Mascot Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Doug Jane)

Kitten "Yodelling Sweetheart: 16 Favourites" (Music World Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Gray Bartlett, Dave Hurley & Peter MacInnes)

Ken Lemon "This Hombre Called Lemon" (Viking/Roulette Records, 1965-?) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Dalton)
Mister Lemon was an English expat living in New Zealand... He covers a bunch of late-1950s/early '60s country hits, including Roger Miller's "King Of The Road," which might place this disc somewhere around 1965-66

Ken Lemon "The Second Album" (Viking/Roulette Records, 1966) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Dalton)

Ken Lemon & Maria Dallas "Face To Face" (Viking Records, 1967-?) (LP)
Lemon worked as one of the acts in the road show of Maria Dallas, one of New Zealand's hot new country stars, as well as a TV star, acting (and singing) on the kiwi-teen show, Golden Girl. Sadly, this doesn't seem to have been a duets album, after all -- just separate tracks by each of the artists. Oh, well.

Ken Lemon "A Slice Of Lemon" (Zodiac Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Barry Clewett)

Ken Lemon "The Best Of Ken Lemon" (Viking Records 1966) (LP)

Ken Lemon "Greatest Country Hits" (Fontana Records, 1972) (LP)
Also issued on Music For Pleasure as Great Country Hits, with the same tracks and the same sequencing.

Patricia Lennon & Danny McGirr "My Elusive Dreams" (Master Records, 1971) (LP)

Danny McGirr "The Best Of Danny McGirr" (Master Records, 197--?) (LP)

Tex Morton - see artist discography

Noel Parlane "Country" (Music Word Records, 1979-?) (LP)

Noel Parlane "Country Heartaches" (Music Word Records, 1979-?)

Noel Parlane "Old Time Country Music" (Music Word Records, 1979-?)

Noel Parlane "Trucks And Trains" (Music Word Records, 1981)
(Produced by Eric Johns)

Noel Parlane "Drinking Them Beers" (Viscount Records, 1982-?)
(Produced by Gary Daverne & Tim Field)

Noel Parlane "Let's Sing A Country Song" (RCA, 19--?)

Noel Parlane "Stepping Out" (RCA-Ariola Records, 1987-?)
(Produced by Murray Wood)

Ritchie Pickett & The Inlaws "Gone For Water" (RCA, 1984)

Ritchie Pickett "All Strung Out In A Bunch" (Boatshed Records, 1998)

Suzanne Prentice "Country Girl" (W&G Records, 1974) (LP)

Suzanne Prentice "Suzanne Prentice" (Music World, 1975) (LP)

Suzanne Prentice "Country Dreams" (Music World Records, 1982) (LP)

Janice Ramage "Back To Back Country" (RCA Records, 1984)

Jeffrey Rea "First Steps" (Golden Editions Records, 1982)
(Produced by Eric Jones)

Patsy Riggir "True Country Music" (Capitol Records, 1980)
(Produced by Frank Le Fort & Frank Douglas)

Patsy Riggir "Lay Down Beside Me" (Epic Records, 1981)

Patsy Riggir "Are You Lonely" (Epic/Sony Records, 1982)

Patsy Riggir "You'll Never Take The Country Out Of Me" (1984)

Patsy Riggir "You Remind Me Of A Love Song" (1985)

Patsy Riggir "Patsy Riggir Country" (Epic Records, 1986)

Patsy Riggir "Close To Thee" (1987)

Patsy Riggir "The Best (Plus Four)" (CBS Records, 1987)

Patsy Riggir "Liberated Lady" (1990)

Patsy Riggir "Moonlight And Roses" (1992)

Patsy Riggir "My Little Corner Of The World" (1993)

Patsy Riggir "Very Best Of Patsy Riggir" (Tristar Records, 2001)

Patsy Riggir "Never Ending Songs Of Love" (Rajon Records, 2008)

Patsy Riggir "Beautiful Lady: The Very Best Of Patsy Riggir" (Sony Music, 2013) (CD)

Tom Sharplin "Rock Around The Clock" (Music World Records, 1978)

Christine Smith "Country Lady" (Philips Records, 1972)

Sue & Ian "The Perfect Match" (CM/Country Music Records, 1977-?) (LP, Album, Stereo)
Harold Ian Spittle (aka Dusty Spittle, 1939-2018) was a New Zealander, and presumably his duet partner Sue Archer was as well... Spittle made several treks to the Tamworth-adjacent CM Records studios in Dubbo, New South Wales, including this set which was recorded slightly outside of his "Dusty" persona, but was basically the same kind of material, with backing from many of the same Dubbo/Tamworth musicians who backed him on his other albums.

Roger Tibbs "Yodelling Man" (Music World Records, 1984)

Roger Tibbs "Chestnuts" (Music World Records, 1985)

Roger Tibbs "Southbound" (Lariat Records, 1988)

Roger Tibbs "You're Everything To Me" (Manuka Sounds, 2005) (LP)

Celine Toner "You'll Remember Me!" (Music World Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Hurley & Ritchie Pickett)

Lynne Toner "Here's Lynne Toner" (Music World Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Gray Bartlett, Dave Hurley & Peter MacInnes)

The Tumbleweeds "The Golden Years Of The Tumbleweeds: 1949-1989" (Viking Records, 2014) (LP)
Founded way back in 1949, The Tumbleweeds are considered to have been the first "true" country band to have recorded in New Zealand... At least that's according to the brief liner notes for this digital-era collection, though I wouldn't be surprised to find a little scholarly divergence on that point... Anyway, this disc spans the breadth of the group's career, from its founding in the post-WWII era with singer Cole Wilson (1922-1993) as bandleader, along with Bill Ditchfield (bass and banjo), Nola Hewitt (guitar and mandolin), and Colin McCrorie (steel guitar) a lineup that remained remarkable stable over several decades. (At some point, Hewitt and McCrorie married and she changed her last name; Bill Ditchfield was often unable to tour with the group and eventually they pared down to a trio. They also recorded a small string of Hawaiian-themed singles as "Colin McCrorie's Kalua Islanders," which also included Nola Hewitt's sister Myra (who married Cole Wilson...) The Tumbleweeds disbanded in 1989, having toured and recorded prolifically for many years... This digital-era best-of set includes about two dozen of their recordings, including two with the band backing 1960's vocalist Ken Lemon, notably kicking off with Mr. Lemon singing a version of the group's signature song, "Maple On The Hill."

Jodi Vaughan & Brendan Dugan "Fairweather Friends" (CBS Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Dick Le Fort)

Jodi Vaughan "Rodeo Eyes" (EMI Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by James Hall)

Jodi Vaughan "Touch Your Heart" (EMI Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by James Hall & Ian Morris)

Jodi Vaughan "Straight From The Heart" (Festival Records, 1986) (LP)

Jodi Vaughan/Gray Bartlett/Brendan Dugan "Together Again The Reunion" (BMG Records, 1995) (LP)

Jodi Vaughan "Kiwi Country: From Auckland, New Zealand To Texas, U.S.A." (Challenge Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Andy Bradley & Jerry Walton)

Garner Wayne & The Deaconaires "Country Style" (Viking Records, 19--?) (LP)

Garner Wayne "Garner Wayne Rides Again!" (Viking Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Kevin Newcombe)

Garner Wayne & His Saddle Pals "South Island Country" (Master Records, 1972-?) (LP)

Buck Williams & Dawn Williams "Country Hall Of Fame" (Horseshoe Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Gray Bartlett, Dave Hurley & Peter MacInnes)
Western-themed twang by Auckland yodeler Dawn Garmson, who formed her first band, the Twilight Ramblers with her brothers, back in the era of 78rpm singles. A bazillion year later in 1974 she cut a novelty number called "New Zealand Needs A Country Hall Of Fame," a patriotic plea that bore fruit in 1981 when, indeed, a hall of fame was opened in Wairekei, near Lake Taupo in the center of North Island. She married western singer Buck Williams and cut this album with help from producer Gray Barlett, who also plays lead guitar throughout. I'm not sure if the Country Hall Of Fame is still around, but you can track this album down if you really try.

Cole Wilson "Country Songs, Volume Three" (Viking Records, 1959) (LP)

Les Wilson (And Jean Calder) "The Otago Rambler" (His Master's Voice/HMV Records, 1957) (LP)
Known as "the Otago Rambler," western singer Les Wilson began his career in his teens, singing live on the radio in his hometown of Dunedin, New Zealand. According to the chatty liner notes, he soon found the pressures of show business to be onerous, and retired from his musical career for a few years, up until the outbreak of World War Two. Wilson served in the Air Force, was demobilized, and moved to the North Island upon his return, meeting his future wife, Jean Calder, in the coastal town of Gisborne. Like Wilson, she was an accomplished country music artist, having been in a western/hillbilly family act with her sister, playing professionally since the age of eleven. Calder and Wilson formed a new act, initially playing at military service clubs for other returning veterans, then gradually for a wider, national audience. Eventually they landed a recording contract, cutting a string of 78s dating back at least as far as 1950, with those singles most likely making up the bulk of the tracks on these old 10" LPs. Notably, Calder and Wilson stuck pretty closely to sentimental western repertoire that closely honed to the style and subject matter of American cowboy music, and rarely dipped into the kind of regionally-themed lyrics favored by many early kiwi and Aussie country artists. The exception here is "The Wahine Song," a Hawaiian-themed love, which became one of his best-known hits, and later inspired a disaster ballad about the sinking of a ferry boat called The Wahine (see below).

Les Wilson & Jean Calder "Rambling With Les And Jean" (His Master's Voice/HMV Records, 1958) (LP)
More of Calder and Wilson's 1950s singles are gathered here on their second ten-inch LP. Though there's still plenty of ridin'-down-the-trail western material, there's also an uptick in more modern country material, including postwar honkytonk tunes such as "The Mother Of A Honky Tonk Girl" and "Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw," from Hank Williams. They also cover Hank Snow ("A Garden Of Roses") and the Gordon Parsons novelty classic, "A Pub With No Beer," both as a straight cover and in the answer song, "Answer To The Pub With No Beer. Most of these tracks were reissued on the Jasmine Records CD (below) though two were not, possibly due to sound quality: "Down The Trail Of Aching Hearts" and "Dusty And Mrs. Whittaker."

Les Wilson & Jean Calder "Death Of The Wahine" (Les Wilson Records, 1977) (LP)
Throughout the 1970s, Les Wilson ran his own private record label, releasing an unknown number of singles, which seem to be the source material of this late-decade LP. Wilson's inspiration for returning to the studio may have been the tragic 1968 sinking of the ferry boat Wahine, which sank in bad weather just off the coast of Wellington, on its way to Christchurch. The topic must have been a natural choice for Les Wilson, as one of his biggest early hits was the Hawaiian-themed "The Wahine Song," back in 1953, which he mentions in the liner notes, and covers here as "Wahine's Farewell." The rest of the album includes remakes of a few of his old western songs, as well as some newer, more contemporary-sounding country material.

Les Wilson & Jean Calder "Sixteen Original Tracks" (Queensland Country Music, 1984-?) (LP)
The duo's legacy was in limbo for quite a while until the archival label, Queensland Country Music, embarked on a career to revive the memory of several older, and old-school Australian and New Zealand country artists. This LP hones in on Les Wilson's original material or at least the songs that were credited to him as composer, which includes all the tracks on here but one, with "Rock & Roll Yodelling Song" crediting him only as the arranger. Most of these tracks later resurfaced on the Jasmine Records collection below, but there's about a three-decade gap before that occurred.

Les Wilson & Jean Calder "The Otago Rambler" (Jasmine Records, 2020) (LP)
The bulk of Calder and Wilson's classic recordings for HMV are included on this generously-packaged, 26-song retrospective, which will probably remain the definitive Les Wilson collection for some time to come. The set is about evenly split between his solo numbers and a ton of duets, including almost all the songs from their first two LPs from 1957 and '58, as well as a bunch of songs that were apparently only released as singles. The Jasmine archivists caution potential buyers that the sound quality might not be great, as the original masters were made with "experimental facilities," and not in a proper, controlled studio environment... possibly on horseback while riding the Otago range, herding wild wallabies. Or not.

Various Artists "KIWI COUNTRY GIRLS" (Music World Records, 1982) (LP)

Various Artists "NEW ZEALAND COUNTRY: 20 GREATEST HITS" (Lucky Records, 1984) (LP)
While the Chills, the Bats and the Clean were revolutionizing Tuataran indierock, some of their fellow New Zealanders were dreaming dreams of Nashville glory days. These kiwi country singers include Gray Bartlett, Brendan Dugan, Tracey Gardyne, Danny McGirr, Noel Parlane, Suzanne Prentice, Lynne Toner and Jodi Vaughan... As far as I can tell, they were all backed by the same studio band -- at least the songs all generally sound the same: basic, low-key, mid-tempo country with a mildly outdated, mid-'70s production style. (Thankfully, the tinkly-piano keyboards and synths of Judds-era Nashville had not yet reached the folks at Lucky Records... Whew!) Several of these artists have albums of their own, and apparently further research is required -- anyone have any resources on NZ country to recommend?

Various Artists "SIMPLY COUNTRY" (Sonic Records, 1982) (LP)

Hick Music Index