By then she had a new name, Maria Dallas. Born in 1946, Dallas is the daughter of a Croatian poultry farmer and his New Zealand born wife. With five sisters and seven brothers, the Devcich family lived in Morrinsville, a small railway junction town in the Waikato with a long main street and population of 5,000. The second youngest child, she was raised with the radio on, taking in the songs of Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Roger Miller and Wayne Newton.
The 1967 release Maria Dallas in Nashville was produced by Felton Jarvis, who produced many of Elvis Presley's albums and singles from 1966 onwards. Jarvis worked with Chet Atkins, Michael Nesmith and Willie Nelson, amongst others.
The 45rpm single Ambush, released through RCA Victor in the USA and Viking in New Zealand, has become a sought after item among collectors of vintage records and DJs.
In 1969 The Auckland Star named Maria Dallas as New Zealand's highest earning woman - at $500 a week.
Pinocchio was not planned as a single however demand was such following a live performance on TV's Studio One that Viking rushed it out as a single in July 1970.