Herbs are a New Zealand

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

group founded in 1979 and led by singer-guitarist Dilworth Karaka, the only constant member. Since its foundation Herbs has been multi-ethnic in membership and featured

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people () are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between the Independent S ...

Tongans Tongans or Tongan people are a Polynesian ethnic group native to Tonga, a Polynesian archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. Tongans represent more than 98% of the inhabitants of Tonga. The rest are European (the majority are British), mixed Europe ...

Cook Islanders Cook Islanders are residents of the Cook Islands, which is composed of 15 islands and atolls in Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. Cook Islands Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Cook Islands, although the Cook Islands is curre ...

, New Zealand Europeans and Maori members. The 11th inductees into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, were once described as "New Zealand's most soulful, heartfelt and consistent contemporary musical voice". It has been said their debut EP '' What's Be Happen?'' "set a standard for Pacific reggae which has arguably never been surpassed".

Politics

The band has always been political, with links to the Polynesian Panthers and the cover of ''Whats' Be Happen'' (released during the 1981 Springbok tour) being an aerial photo of police action at Bastion Point in 1978. As well as race relations, the band took a strong stance on nuclear weapons in the Pacific with " French Letter".

History

Herbs produced a stream of reggae hits with some of the country's top talent. In the 1980s and the first half of the '90s, Herbs had 10 top 20 singles hits. Herbs also worked alongside

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

, and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. Herbs' music is upbeat and clear in its messages. Their 1982 New Zealand hit "French Letter", which spent 11 weeks on the charts, expressed New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance. Fourteen years later, it was re-recorded to garner support for the prevention of

nuclear testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...

at Mururoa. Similarly, "No Nukes (The Second Letter)", "Nuclear Waste" and "Light of the Pacific" expressed much the same sentiment. Herbs' third release and first full album ''Long Ago'', which featured the 1984 single of the same name, was produced by well-known New Zealand bass player Billy Kristian. In 1986, former Be-Bop Deluxe bassist/vocalist Charlie Tumahai joined the group, having been a session musician for various international acts. In 1986, " Slice of Heaven" with Dave Dobbyn reached number one on both the New Zealand and Australian charts. In 1989 they played on

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songw ...

's hit "Parihaka" and in 1992 Annie Crummer fronted the hit single " See What Love Can Do." Around this time the band forged into producing, providing instrumentation for Samoan singing sensation John Parker. The album titled ''Another Girl'' produced a local hit, a reggae-funk inspired cover of the Maori folk song "E Papa". In 1989, the band was assisted by

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

member

, who produced, played slide guitar and sang on the band's ''Homegrown'' album, which featured a cover of " Walk Away Renee", originally recorded by

The Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the Music journalism, music press refer ...

. Walsh announced he had joined Herbs, but the union lasted less than a year. Walsh gives credit to the members taking him to 'the ruins at Hawke's Bay', where he had 'a moment of clarity' – for inspiring him to pursue sobriety. They also provided two songs to the 1990 film, '' The Shrimp on the Barbie'': A cover of the

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

song "Mañana (Is Good Enough for Me)" and "Listen". Herbs are considered pioneers of the Pacific reggae sound, having paved the way for contemporary

New Zealand reggae New Zealand reggae is the New Zealand variation of the musical genre reggae. It is a large and well established part of New Zealand music, and includes some of the country's most successful and highly acclaimed bands. History Reggae bands in Ne ...

groups such as Fat Freddy's Drop, Katchafire, The Black Seeds, and Trinity Roots. Although their last album of new material was released in 1990, Herbs still perform in New Zealand and Australia, with guitarist Dilworth Karaka the last remaining member of the original line-up that released ''Whats' Be Happen?'' in 1981. Of the 2013 line-up, Karaka, keyboardist Tama Lundon (joined 1983) and percussionist Thom Nepia (joined 1985) remain from the band's late 1980s commercial peak. "Homegrown" is featured on the soundtrack of '' Once Were Warriors''. Tama Renata died in November 2018.

Members

Herbs lineups

;Other former members *Dave Pou – bass guitar *John Berkley – bass guitar *Alan Foulkes – percussion *Kristen Hapi – drums *Juanito Muzzio – percussion *Grant Pukeroa – vocals/drums *Max Hohepa – vocals/bass guitar *Lionel Nelson – vocals *Ned Webster – drums *Ryan Monga – drums

Past members

*Toni Fonoti – vocals/percussion *Spencer Fusimalohi – vocals/guitar *Fred Faleauto (deceased) – vocals/drums *Dave Pou – bass guitar *John Berkley – bass guitar *Phil Toms – vocals/bass guitar *Morrie Watene – vocals/saxophone *Alan Foulkes – percussion *Carl Perkins (deceased) – vocals/percussion *Jack Allen – vocals/bass guitar *Willie Hona – (deceased) vocals/guitar * Charlie Tumahai (deceased) – vocals/bass guitar *Gordon Joll – drums *

– vocals/guitar *Kristen Hapi – drums *Juanito Muzzio – percussion *Grant Pukeroa – vocals/drums *Max Hohepa – vocals/bass guitar *Lionel Nelson – vocals *Ned Webster – drums *Ryan Monga – drums *Tama Renata (deceased) – vocals/guitar *Thom Nepia (deceased)

Discography

Albums

Singles

Critical reception and awards

RIANZ Awards

The

New Zealand 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 ...

are awarded annually by the

RIANZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...

in New Zealand.

Aotearoa Music Awards

The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in New Zealand music and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 2012 , , Herbs , , New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , , , , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbs APRA Award winners New Zealand reggae musical groups Polynesian-New Zealand culture in Auckland Pacific reggae Māori-language singers 1979 establishments in New Zealand Political music groups