In 1955 Johnny Cooper sang New Zealand's first locally recorded rock 'n' roll song, a cover of Bill Haley and the Comets' 'Rock around the clock'. Cooper was a country singer and had had a couple of hits with his band, the Range Riders, in the early 1950s. In August 1955 his record label, HMV, asked if he would be interested in recording Haley's hit song. He was, and added rock 'n' roll star to his cowboy credentials. This poster advertises a 1957 variety concert in Greymouth, with Cooper as the headline act.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
Eph-E-CABOT-Variety-1957-01
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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