Sir John Edward Rowles (born 26 March 1947) is a New Zealand singer. He was most popular in the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, and he is best known in New Zealand for his song from 1970, "Cheryl Moana Marie", which he wrote about his younger sister.

Early years

Rowles was born in Whakatane, New Zealand, and is part

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

. His father, Eddie Hohapata Rowles, played for the 1938

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...

. His mother was European. He was brought up in

Kawerau Kawerau is a town in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 100 km south-east of Tauranga and 58 km east of Rotorua. It is the seat of the Kawerau District Council, and the only town in Kawerau Distric ...

in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

of New Zealand, and spent much of his early childhood in

Te Atatū South Te Atatū South (also written as "Te Atatu South") is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand. Its location allows the suburb easy access to the city and Henderson town centre. Its elevation allows views back on to the city and Wait� ...

in West Auckland. Rowles'

birth name A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth r ...

was simply John Rowles; he added the

middle name In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between the person's first given name and their surname. A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial. A person may be ...

"Edward" after his brother of that name died at a young age.

Career

Rowles is best known in New Zealand and Australia, though he has also performed in the United States, particularly

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Nevada and Hawaii, where he was managed by

Kimo Wilder McVay James Wilder “Kimo” McVay (September 16, 1927 – June 29, 2001) was an American musician turned talent manager, who successfully promoted Hawaiian entertainment acts. McVay promoted and managed acts such as teenage heartthrob Robin Luke, Don ...

. In the United Kingdom he was best known for the

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, "

If I Only Had Time "If I Only Had Time" is a song recorded by the New Zealand singer John Rowles in 1968 that became a worldwide hit single. It is based on a French song "Je n'aurai pas le temps" by Michel Fugain. Rowles' song was his first release in the UK wh ...

", which reached number 3 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in spring 1968, and stayed in the

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

for eighteen weeks. This was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the French song "Je n'aurai pas le temps" with which the French singer

Michel Fugain Michel Fugain (; born 12 May 1942) is a French singer and composer. He was born in Grenoble, Isère. He started composing after quitting medical school, and became a solo artist releasing his first album, ''Je n'aurai pas le temps'', in 1967. T ...

had a hit in 1967; he co-wrote the song with

Pierre Delanoë Pierre Delanoë (16 December 1918 – 27 December 2006), born Pierre Charles Marcel Napoléon Leroyer in Paris, France, was a French lyricist who wrote thousands of songs for dozens of singers, including Dalida, Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Pet ...

. The song also charted in the Netherlands, reaching number 2, after which the

Franck Pourcel Franck Pourcel (14 August 1913 – 12 November 2000) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music. Biography Early life Born in Marseille, France, Pourcel started learning the violin at the age of six. Later, ...

Orchestra had a minor hit with an instrumental version of the song, bearing the original French song title. In Germany, Schlager singer Peter Rubin charted with the German translation "Hätt ich nur einmal mehr Zeit". In the USA, Nick DeCaro and his orchestra charted with his instrumental version, released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the single "Caroline, No" in late 1968, peaking at number 71 in the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100 in early 1969. Rowles had another

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

hit in the UK with "Hush . . . Not a Word to Mary", also in 1968. This song also charted in the Netherlands. In the US, "Cheryl Moana Marie" got noticed in the summer of 1970 by some

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

radio stations, but it took until the end of 1970 for the song to chart nationally, peaking at number 64 in the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and number 78 in the

Cash Box Top 100 The Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles (also known as the Cash Box Top 100) was a record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Cash Box'' magazine, which began publication in 1942. As a close competitor to ''Billboard A billb ...

respectively, in early 1971. He was the feature of a 2008 documentary entitled ''The Secret Life of John Rowles''. Rowles had a cameo role in the 2008 New Zealand film, ''

Second Hand Wedding ''Second Hand Wedding'' is a comedy film from New Zealand. It is written by Nick Ward and Linda Niccol and directed by Paul Murphy and was filmed on the Kapiti Coast. Cast * Geraldine Brophy - Jill *Patrick Wilson - Brian *Holly Shanahan - Cher ...

''. He appeared in the 2009 New Zealand version of ''

Dancing With the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''. He was partnered with Krystal Stewart. Under doctor's orders, he had to retire from the competition but has since recovered.

Honours and awards

In 1974, Rowles received the

Benny Award The Benny Award is bestowed on a New Zealand variety entertainer. It is presented annually by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand, a non-for-profit organisation and showbusiness club, founded in 1966 and awarded to a variety performer who ha ...

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 ...

Inc, the highest honour available to a New Zealand variety entertainer. Rowles was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1979 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1979 to celebr ...

, for services to entertainment and New Zealand interests in the United States. He was appointed a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to entertainment, in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Awards

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 tha ...

(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. ! , - , 1978 , , John Rowles , , Male Artist of the Year , , , , , -

Family

His older brother Wally Rowles was a solo singer with his own career, and for a while went under the name of Frankie Price. He later changed his name again to Frankie Rowles due to an artist "Price" who was working in Australia. Under Frankie Price he recorded three singles "Pancho Lopez" b/w "Walk Like A Man, "Another Tear Falls" b/w "I Could Have Loved You So Well" and "Sweet Mary" b/w "Take A Little Time". All of which were released on the Polydor label. Under the name Frankie Rowles, he recorded a single "Ma Vie C'est Toi" b/w "Live A Little Longer" which was released on the Gemini label. He died at age 59 on 24 March 2004. His sister Tania Rowles was a recording artist and had the single "

Don't Turn Around "Don't Turn Around" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by Tina Turner as the B-side to the single " Typical Male" in 1986. It has since been included on the rarities disc of the 1994 compi ...

" which was released on the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

label in 1986. She was the

New Zealand Music Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year Breakthrough Artist of the Year is an Aotearoa Music Award that honours New Zealand music artists for outstanding recordings. Artists who have previously been nominated for a New Zealand Music Award (excluding Critics' Choice Prize and technical a ...

winner in 1986.

Autobiography

Rowles released his autobiography, ''If I Only Had Time'', in October 2012.

Discography

References

External links

Official siteAudioCulture profileA ''New Zealand Herald'' article on Rowles: October 2006Promoter of John Rowles concerts worldwideDocumentary The Secret Life of John Rowles, NZOnScreen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowles, John 1947 births APRA Award winners Living people New Zealand pop singers New Zealand Māori male singers New Zealand songwriters Male songwriters New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit People from Whakatāne Singers awarded knighthoods 20th-century New Zealand male singers