The Howard Morrison Quartet (originally named the Ohinemutu Quartet) was a

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 ...

band during the 1950s and early 1960s. The band was formed by Sir

Howard Morrison Sir Howard Leslie Morrison (18 August 1935 – 24 September 2009) was a New Zealand entertainer. From 1964 until his death in 2009, he was one of New Zealand's leading television and concert performers. Early life Of Māori (Te Arawa), Irish ...

and included Gerry Merito, Wi Wharekura and Noel Kingi. In 1955, while working as a surveyor's chainman, Howard Morrison started putting together vocal groups to entertain at rugby club socials in Rotorua. In 1956 he toured Australia as a member of the Aotearoa Concert Party. On his return, he heard guitarist Gerry Merito and put together a group with Gerry and two others, Wi Wharekura and Noel Kingi, and named the group Howard Morrison Quartet. In 1958, they became part of Benny Levin's touring 'Pop Jamboree.' A recording they made of "Hoki Mai/ Po Karekare Ana" sold well, and in 1959 their parody of "

The Battle of New Orleans "The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical ver ...

," recorded as "The Battle of the Waikato", became one of their biggest hits. In 1960, they were so popular their managers released 13 singles, three EPs and two albums. Another parody of

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the "King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotl ...

's, "

My Old Man's A Dustman "My Old Man's a Dustman" is a song first recorded by the British skiffle singer Lonnie Donegan. It reached number one in the British, Irish, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand singles charts in 1960. The chorus of the song is: Composition Th ...

" was rewritten by Gerry Merito as "My Old Man's An All Black." This was highly topical, because of the huge controversy over Maoris not being allowed to tour South Africa with that year's

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

. Moving into 1962, two of their singles were more parodies, with

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

' "

Ahab The Arab "Ahab the Arab" (also written "Ahab, the Arab") is a novelty song written and recorded by Ray Stevens in 1962. Lyrics In the song, Arab is pronounced () to rhyme with Ahab. The hero of the story is Clyde the camel and Stevens has made referen ...

" becoming "Mori The Hori" and

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

's "

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast ...

" becoming "George The Wilder Colonial Boy", celebrating the exploits of escaped convict George Wilder. Due to the constant touring and absence from families, the quartet disbanded in 1965, but have occasionally re-united in various incarnations over the subsequent years.

Incarnations

1956-1957 (The Ohinemutu "Quartet") *Sir Howard Morrison *John Morrison *Terry Morrison *Wi Wharekura *Chubby Hamiora *Gary Rangiihu 1957-1958 *Sir Howard Morrison *Gerry Merito *Laurie Morrison *John Morrison 1958-1959 *Sir Howard Morrison *Gerry Merito *Laurie Morrison *Tai Eru 1959-1960 *Sir Howard Morrison *Gerry Merito *Wi Wharekura *Eddie Howell 1960-1965, 1975 (''Return of a Legend''), 1989 (''This Is Your Life: Sir Howard Morrison'') (classic line-up) *Sir Howard Morrison *Gerry Merito *Wi Wharekura *Noel Kingi 1979 (''Tu Tangata '79'') *Sir Howard Morrison *Gerry Merito *Toni Wiliams *Noel Kingi 1992-199? *Sir Howard Morrison *Gerry Merito *Toni Williams *Hori Bennett 1995 (''Sir Howard Morrison: Time of My Life'') *Sir Howard Morrison *Gerry Merito *Terry Morrison *Tai Eru Note: this incarnation played part of the Quartet segment of the show before Terry Morrison and Tai Eru gave way to Toni Williams and Hori Bennett, thus reverting to the previous incarnation. After this incarnation played some songs Terry and Tai rejoined them on stage for the finale of the segment. 2006 (''A Knight with a Dame'') *Sir Howard Morrison *Gerry Merito *Howard Morrison Jr. *

Temuera Morrison Temuera Derek Morrison (born 26 December 1960) is a New Zealand actor and Singer who first gained recognition for his role as Dr. Hone Ropata on the soap opera ''Shortland Street''. He gained critical acclaim for his starring role as Jake "The ...

2008 (''To Sir With Love'') *Sir Howard Morrison *Gerry Merito *Wi Wharekura *Toni Williams 2009 (''Good Morning'') *Sir Howard Morrison *Toni Williams *Hori Bennett *Howard Morrison Jr.

References

External links

AudioCulture profile
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1956 New Zealand musical groups 1956 establishments in New Zealand New Zealand Māori musical groups Māori-language singers