Between ‘When My Wahine Does the Poi’, ‘Opo the Crazy Dolphin’, ‘The White Rabbit’ and ‘Do the Blue Beat’, there is a connection: Murdoch Riley. In the 1950s and early 1960s, there were few people in the New Zealand music industry with his influence.
Early in the 1950s, as purchasing officer at the NZBS – the forerunner of Radio New Zealand – he chose all the records that public radio would buy for broadcast. Later in the decade he managed Tanza Records as it made the move from 78rpm discs to 45s and LPs. He then founded his own record label, Viking – named after his Scandinavian wife – and launched the careers of Dinah Lee, The Chicks and Maria Dallas, among many others. His own career encapsulates the environment and opportunities of the early local recording industry.