In the early 1960s The Howard Morrison Quartet became an entertainment phenomenon by merging family-friendly music with uniquely New Zealand humour. Their success helped create New Zealand’s modern music industry.
The Quartet was simultaneously a party with the boys next door and a slick, tuxedoed cabaret act. Honeyed, four-part harmonies were driven by a guitar strum that swept the nation, and their music incorporated Māori culture in a framework of acceptable pop. By celebrating – and spoofing – their culture, they brought te ao Māori into the living rooms and town halls of mainstream New Zealand, Pākehā and Māori.
Wi Wharekura - vocals
Noel Kingi - vocals