Six pioneering Rock'n'Roll legends are to be inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame

Johnny Cooper, Max Merritt, Peter Posa, Dinah Lee, The Chicks and Larry’s Rebels will be inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame at the Aotearoa Music Awards on 15 November.

Johnny Cooper recorded the first home grown Kiwi Rock'n'Roll record 65 years ago with his self-penned track ‘Pie Cart Rock ‘n’ Roll’.

The hardest working man in rock, Max Merritt who became a local legend and a spokesperson for the new music generation. Max and The Meteors toured and played on singles by their fellow Cantabrian, and our most successful female artist of the 60’s (both here and in Australia), the ‘Queen of the Mods’ Dinah Lee.  She is the most successful New Zealand female pop artist of the 1960s and one of the shiniest stars to emerge from the pool of talent in this small nation. A child of the south, Christchurch raised and launched her, and the ties remain strong, but work was the imperative and it took her away (see her bio at https://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/dinah-lee).

With C'Mon and other great TV shows and on local stages Dinah joined guitar impresario Peter Posa, whose albums of instrumental guitar inspired a whole generation of players and sold by the truckload all over the world. There is a really good interview with the late Peter Posa at: https://www.audioculture.co.nz/stories/peter-posa-hostage-to-the-beat

It turns out that Peter Posa discovered sisters, Suzanne and Judy Donaldson, and their up-tempo harmonies, and grabbed them to go on tour, making them household names - as The Chicks.  Check out their two part interview at https://www.audioculture.co.nz/stories/the-chicks-part-1-down-on-the-farm

Finally, we had our own answer to the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, just in time for moptop fever -  Larry’s Rebels were perfect for the time with the swagger of Jagger and the growl of the Animals to set teen hearts a'flutter with their wild live shows.  See the 2 part interview at: https://www.audioculture.co.nz/stories/larry-s-rebels-part-1-long-ago-far-away

Sadly, this year’s inductions are bittersweet, with Johnny Cooper, Max Merritt and Peter Posa no longer with us.  Presented by NZ Music Hall of Fame Trust, the inductions are undertaken in a private ceremony whereupon inductees are gifted a tapu taonga, in accordance with tikanga Māori.

All six artists inducted this year will be acknowledged with video tributes and live performances at the 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards, which take place in Auckland on November 15.

The event will be broadcast live on The Edge TV from 7pm and continue on Three from 8.30pm. The entire broadcast will be streamed on ThreeNow.

You can check it all out at: https://www.musichall.co.nz/

You can check out full bios at: https://www.audioculture.co.nz/