Wilfred Jeffs (28 July 1923 – 23 April 2016), better known by the stage name Bill Sevesi, was a musician and master of the

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

who helped popularise Hawaiian-style music in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

. Tongan-born Sevesi composed more than 200 songs with over 20 albums to his credit during a career spanning six decades. He began playing the Hawaiian Steel Guitar in 1936, and in later years his band ''Wilfred Jeffs and the Islanders'' became ''Bill Sevesi and the Islanders''. He performed all over the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, Australia and United States. He recorded some classic favourites such as '"Bye Bye Baby Goodbye" (1958) as well as recording artists such as Daphne Walker,

The Yandall Sisters The Yandall Sisters were a popular New Zealand-born Samoan all-female singing group of the 1970s, who made a major contribution to music in New Zealand. The members of the group were Caroline, Mary and Adele Yandall, and later younger sister Pauli ...

and

Annie Crummer Anne Crummer (born 1966) is a New Zealand pop singer and songwriter of Cook Islands descent who has seen success in both a solo career and as part of various musical groups. Biography Crummer grew up in West Auckland. Her father, Will Crummer ...

Early life

Sevesi was born in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, in 1923 and came to New Zealand at the age of nine. He saw active service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and in 1944 he was in Italy. When he returned to New Zealand after the war, he resumed his career, performing with his band as 'Bill Sevesi and His Islanders'. They would play at the Orange Ballroom, in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Career

He first recorded in 1949 with

Tex Morton Tex Morton (born Robert William Lane in Nelson, New Zealand, also credited as Robert Tex Morton; 30 August 1916 – 23 July 1983) was a pioneer of New Zealand and Australian country and western music, vaudevillian, actor, television host and ...

, a country singer. They were credited as The Rough Riders. Other names he and his group "the Islanders" had recorded as were: The Astyro Trio (or a similar name) for

Mavis Rivers Mavis Chloe Rivers (19 May 1929 – 29 May 1992) was a Samoan and New Zealand jazz singer. She was born in Apia, Samoa, as one of thirteen children to a musical family. In 1954, she moved to the United States. She married Glicerio Reyes "David" ...

; and The Bluemountain Boys for Luke Simmons who was a Canadian-born hillbilly singer. On Phil Warren's label, he was Will Jess with "Bye Bye Baby Goodbye". This became a big hit in 1959. Along with fellow Tongan Bill Wolfgramm, he was a recording star on the legendary New Zealand

Viking Records Viking Records was an independent record label that featured many New Zealand and Polynesian recording artists. Background The company was founded in 1957. In the 1960s, the company was the largest locally owned record label in the South Paci ...

label. During his career, Sevesi recorded and worked with a multitude of artists, many of whom had recorded for Viking. They include Sione Aleki, The Samoan Surfriders, George Tumahai, and Daphne Walker. His daughter, Tania, made a recording in approximately 1984 (Waikiki Tamure) only on cassette tape, in his makeshift garage/recording studio in Mt Roskill, Auckland.

Personal life

Sevesi is survived by his wife Vika Jeffs, daughters Tania and Colleen Jeffs, and Wayne Jeffs from a previous marriage. Brent Jeffs (Vika's son) died 23 March 2016, one month before his father.

Discography

Albums

Awards

Sevesi won numerous awards and honours, including the

Queens Service Medal The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours, the Jerry Byrd Lifetime Achievement Award (1998) from the Steel Guitar Players Hall of Fame in Missouri, and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the New Zealand

Pacific Music Awards The Pacific Music Awards are an annual New Zealand music award ceremony since 2005 that honours excellence in Pacific music in New Zealand. The awards honour musicians who primarily work in the Pacific Island style of music from the Cook Islands, ...

in 2006. In 2009 he was presented with the Nostalgia Award from the

Variety Artists Club of New Zealand The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc (VAC) is a non-for-profit organisation and show business club. It was founded in 1966 and became an incorporated society in 1972. The VAC was formed to promote goodwill within the New Zealand enterta ...

. Sevesi was inducted into the

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

as APRA's 2015 inductee at the 2015 APRA Silver Scroll Awards in September 2015.

Aotearoa Music Awards

The

Aotearoa Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

(previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including ...

and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 2015 , , Bill Sevesi , ,

, , , , , -

References

External links

AudioCulture profile
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TVNZ video of Bill SevesiBill Sevesi Interviewed, Light of the Pacific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sevesi, Bill 1923 births 2016 deaths APRA Award winners New Zealand musicians Viking Records artists Tongan emigrants to New Zealand Steel guitarists New Zealand military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal