Viking Records
| Viking Records | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Polynesian music, Ethnic Music, Pop Music, Rock and Roll, Country |
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Location | New Zealand |
Viking Records was an independent and prominent record label that featured many New Zealand and Polynesian recording artists.
In the 1960s, the company was the largest locally owned record label in the South Pacific with its New Zealand head office in Wellington and a branch in Sydney. The label recorded an extensive range of Pacific music from New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga and Samoa. This record label was the largest supplier of Pacific Island and Maori music in New Zealand. Other labels to come close in output were Salem Records and Hibiscus Records.
Its headquarters was in Wellington New Zealand and owned by Ron Dalton, Murdoch Riley. A third partner Jim Staples operated the Sydney Australia branch.
In 1962 in an effort to branch out, Ron Dalton and Murdoch Riley were in New York conferring with Walter Hofer to distribute American Independent records in Australia and New Zealand. Dalton was intending to go to Chicago to confer with Leonard Chess. At that time Viking's extensive catalogue was largely made up of recordings Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti and New Zealand but they were looking to make a big move into the pop music genre as well.
In 1965 and 1966, Viking Records released the winning albums for the Loxene Golden Disc awards, the forerunner of the prestigious New Zealand Music Awards. The 1965 award was won by Ray Columbus & the Invaders for the song Till We Kissed. Maria Dallas won in 1966 for the song Tumblin' down.
Viking records also had the distinction of releasing a record by The Mauriora Maori Entertainers which happened to be the very first Maori record released in Stereo.
Among its most famous were Tongan steel guitarists Bill Sevesi and Bill Wolfgramm, Pepe and the Rarotongans and Tahitian-based Eddie Lund who was a pianist from Oregon. Other famous artists were Peter Posa,Maria Dallas, The Beau-Marks and Dinah Lee. Some of its records were also issued in Australia.
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Wikipedia