Hello again, on a very cold
Taranaki day.
Congratulations to the
Manawatu Country Music Club, in Palmerston North, on their 40th Birthday
Celebrations on the 21st of August, the venue was packed to capacity, (about
300 people) everyone was made welcome, I (Rex) was a founding member all
those years ago, and their first Vice-President, so I was asked to make a
speech, and cut the cake, along with the current President Kevin Amohia, and
a past -President Malcolm Groom, Noelene and I sang a couple of songs, and
it was a great time to catch-up on many friends from the area, some we had
not seen or heard of, for nearly 40 years.
Special thanks go to Eileen
Burne, the Secretary/Treasurer, for her exceptional organising skills, and
to the committee for their support. A great time was had by all.
Noelene and I were honoured
by the 2ZH Hawera Country and Variety Club, on Friday the 27th of August.
They organised a special
night for us, to recognise our achievements over a long period of time, (We
began singing in public, together in November 1955, and made our first
commercial record the following year, on the TANZA label) and special thanks
to Mary Eunson, Maurice Boyd, and the committee, for all the trouble they
went to, from the beautiful cake, in the shape of a guitar (a Washburn
guitar!) and the special "Honorary Certificate", which stated
"In recognition of their lifetime contribution and commitment to
Traditional Country Music", and honoured by BEAR FAMILY RECORDS FROM
GERMANY in 1999, THE COUNTRY MUSIC PIONEER AWARD by The
Professional Country Music Recording Industry in 1988, at The Michael
Fowler Centre, Wellington, THE HANDS OF FAME in Tamworth, Australia in
1980, and THE HANDS OF FAME in Gore, New Zealand, in 2000.
We sang and played a couple
of brackets of songs and instrumentals, and were ably assisted by our bass
player MARK CORBETT, and on some items, by keyboard expert, DOUGIE BROOKS.
So that was nice, eh. We even
sold a few CDs!
More recently, we were
interviewed by VAL RYAN, for our new Access radio station, fm104.4, a
half-hour interview, where we spoke of a little of what we have done over
the years, and a few tracks from our CDs were played.
Val informed us that all the
interviews she is doing, covering many Taranaki artists, will be
broadcast, not only from our own local station, but from all the Access
stations in New Zealand.
Finally, a reminder to keep a
look-out for the book that is to be released on the 11th of October 2010,
called "BLUE SMOKE, the lost years of early New Zealand Music,
1918-1964", and we believe it has an extensive section on Country
Music. Written by CHRIS BOURKE, it promises to be a
"must-have" for many many people.
Chris tells us that he will
be conducting a radio series in 2011, from recorded interviews he made with
the many artists he visited during the compilation of the book.
Until next time, keep it
Country, and keep smiling.
Rex and Noelene.
Special
evening for Rex and Noelene at Hawera
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Barry
Franklin came from Dannevirke to join in the celebrations for brother
Rex, and Noelene. |
Delia Carter singing at
the Manawatu C/M 40th
|
Mark Corbett
entertaining at the special evening in Hawera for Rex and Noelene. |
Mary Eunson, the lady
responsible for the evening in Hawera for Rex and Noelene. |
 |
 |
 |
| Nancy Muller
belting it out at Rex and Noelenes' special evening in Hawera. Bass
man is Terry Fell. |
Noelene and
Rex Franklin singing at the Manawatu C/M Club celebrations |
Malcolm
Groom and Rex Franklin cutting the cake at Palmerston North, the 40th
Birthday Celebrations |
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