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Viking Records
Viking Records was an independent record label that featured many New Zealand and Polynesian recording artists.
The company was founded in 1957. In the 1960s, the company was the largest locally owned record label in the South Pacific with its New Zealand head office in Wellington and a branch in Sydney. The label recorded an extensive range of Pacific music from New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti and Tonga. This record label was the largest supplier of Pacific Island and Māori music in New Zealand. Other labels to come close in output were Salem Records and Hibiscus Records.[citation needed]
Its headquarters was in Wellington, New Zealand and owned by Ron Dalton and Murdoch Riley. A third partner Jim Staples operated the Sydney, Australia branch. In the early 1960s another company Sevenseas Publishing Pty Ltd was set up to publish sheet music and books. In this late 1960s this company merged with Viking Records to become Viking Sevenseas NZ Ltd.
In 1962 in an effort to branch out, Ron Dalton and Murdoch Riley were in New York conferring with Walter Hofer to distribute American Independent records in Australia and New Zealand. Dalton was intending to go to Chicago to confer with Leonard Chess. At that time Viking's extensive catalogue was largely made up of recordings from Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti and New Zealand but they were looking to make a big move into the pop music genre as well.
In 1965 and 1966, Viking Records released the winning albums for the Loxene Golden Disc awards, the forerunner of the prestigious New Zealand Music Awards. The 1965 award was won by Ray Columbus & the Invaders for the song Till We Kissed. Maria Dallas won in 1966 for the song Tumblin' down.
Viking records also had the distinction of releasing a record by The Mauriora Māori Entertainers which happened to be the very first Māori record released in Stereo.
Among its most famous were Tongan steel guitarists Bill Sevesi and Bill Wolfgramm, Pepe and the Rarotongans and Tahitian-based Eddie Lund who was a pianist from Oregon. Other famous artists were Peter Posa, Maria Dallas, The Beau-Marks and Dinah Lee. Some of its records were also issued in Australia.
On 26 June 1964, the Ohinemutu Māori Cultural Group were recorded at Ohinemutu's Tama-te-Kapua Meeting House, which was a well known location. They were an eight-person group led by Hamuera Mitchell. The recording included females singing in a modern style with guitar backing. One album Ratana Presents by the Ratana Senior Concert Party was a mixture of traditional Māori tunes on side one and English language songs sung in Māori on side two. The record included the chant "Kingitanga" and a song, "Paki-o-Matariki". It received a good review by Alan Armstrong. In 1973, Viking released the compilation album, 20 Solid Gold Māori Songs. It featured acts such as Mauriora Entertainers, Motuiti Māori Youth Club, New Zealand Māori Theatre Trust, Ohinemutu Māori Cultural Group, Ratana Senior Concert Party, St. Joseph's Māori Girls College Choir, and Turakina Māori Girls College Choir. In addition to the concert parties and cultural clubs, popular recording artists, Isabel Whatarau Cohen and Virginia Whatarau, and Daphne Walker and George Tumahai appeared on the album.
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Viking Records
Viking Records was an independent record label that featured many New Zealand and Polynesian recording artists.
The company was founded in 1957. In the 1960s, the company was the largest locally owned record label in the South Pacific with its New Zealand head office in Wellington and a branch in Sydney. The label recorded an extensive range of Pacific music from New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti and Tonga. This record label was the largest supplier of Pacific Island and Māori music in New Zealand. Other labels to come close in output were Salem Records and Hibiscus Records.[citation needed]
Its headquarters was in Wellington, New Zealand and owned by Ron Dalton and Murdoch Riley. A third partner Jim Staples operated the Sydney, Australia branch. In the early 1960s another company Sevenseas Publishing Pty Ltd was set up to publish sheet music and books. In this late 1960s this company merged with Viking Records to become Viking Sevenseas NZ Ltd.
In 1962 in an effort to branch out, Ron Dalton and Murdoch Riley were in New York conferring with Walter Hofer to distribute American Independent records in Australia and New Zealand. Dalton was intending to go to Chicago to confer with Leonard Chess. At that time Viking's extensive catalogue was largely made up of recordings from Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti and New Zealand but they were looking to make a big move into the pop music genre as well.
In 1965 and 1966, Viking Records released the winning albums for the Loxene Golden Disc awards, the forerunner of the prestigious New Zealand Music Awards. The 1965 award was won by Ray Columbus & the Invaders for the song Till We Kissed. Maria Dallas won in 1966 for the song Tumblin' down.
Viking records also had the distinction of releasing a record by The Mauriora Māori Entertainers which happened to be the very first Māori record released in Stereo.
Among its most famous were Tongan steel guitarists Bill Sevesi and Bill Wolfgramm, Pepe and the Rarotongans and Tahitian-based Eddie Lund who was a pianist from Oregon. Other famous artists were Peter Posa, Maria Dallas, The Beau-Marks and Dinah Lee. Some of its records were also issued in Australia.
On 26 June 1964, the Ohinemutu Māori Cultural Group were recorded at Ohinemutu's Tama-te-Kapua Meeting House, which was a well known location. They were an eight-person group led by Hamuera Mitchell. The recording included females singing in a modern style with guitar backing. One album Ratana Presents by the Ratana Senior Concert Party was a mixture of traditional Māori tunes on side one and English language songs sung in Māori on side two. The record included the chant "Kingitanga" and a song, "Paki-o-Matariki". It received a good review by Alan Armstrong. In 1973, Viking released the compilation album, 20 Solid Gold Māori Songs. It featured acts such as Mauriora Entertainers, Motuiti Māori Youth Club, New Zealand Māori Theatre Trust, Ohinemutu Māori Cultural Group, Ratana Senior Concert Party, St. Joseph's Māori Girls College Choir, and Turakina Māori Girls College Choir. In addition to the concert parties and cultural clubs, popular recording artists, Isabel Whatarau Cohen and Virginia Whatarau, and Daphne Walker and George Tumahai appeared on the album.