The history of blues in New Zealand dates from the 1960s. The earliest blues influences on New Zealand musicians were indirect — not from the United States but from white British blues musicians: first the R&B styles of The Animals and The Rolling Stones, and later the blues-tinged rock of groups such as Led Zeppelin. The first American blues artist to really make an impact in New Zealand was Stevie Ray Vaughan in the early 1990s. Other blues-related genres such as soul and gospel almost completely by-passed New Zealand audiences, except for a handful of hits from cross-over artists such as Ray Charles. The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on a pentatonic scale and a characteristic twelve-bar chord progression. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... The US edition of The Animals self-titled debut album. ... The Rolling Stones are a British rock group that rose to prominence during the British Invasion in the 1960s. ... Rock is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars, a bass guitar, and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, trumpet, and trombone are common in some styles, however, horns have been omitted from newer subgenres of rock music since... Led Zeppelin was a British rock band, formed in 1968, and consisting of Jimmy Page ( acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Robert Plant (lead vocals, harmonica), John Bonham (drums, percussion), and John Paul Jones (bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin). ... Stevie Ray Vaughan on Austin City Limits Stephen (Stevie) Ray Vaughan born in Dallas, Texas (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American blues guitar legend, known as one of the most influential electric blues musicians in history. ... Soul music is a combination of rhythm and blues and gospel which began in the late 1950s in the United States. ... Gospel music may refer either to the religious music that first came out of African-American churches in the 1930s or, more loosely, to both black gospel music and to the religious music composed and sung by white southern Christian artists. ... For Ray Charles of the Ray Charles Singers and longtime vocal conductor for Perry Como, see Ray Charles (elder). ...

While New Zealand probably does not have its own blues style, it does have many fine blues artists, some excellent venues, including the Southern Blues Bar in Christchurch and the Bristol in Wellington, and an established following (including members of The New Zealand Blues Society and the Wellington Blues Club — Capital Blues. Situated on the Eastern coast, Christchurch is the principal city of the South Island of New Zealand. ... Wellington (Te Whanganui-a-Tara or Poneke) is the capital of New Zealand, the countrys second-largest urban area and the most populous national capital in Oceania. ...

Artists

• Mike Brosnan is a songwriter, singer, and guitarist. Despite extensive international touring, for much of his early career he remained relatively unknown in the wider world. This lack of wider recognition may have been due to the music industry's inability to pigeonhole his music, containing as it does such diverse influences: from rock to folk, from blues to Celtic to country. His slide guitar work is also considered a highlight, with many positive comparisons drawn with Ry Cooder's best work.
  Brosnan now lives, performs and records very successfully in Germany, and his latest album, Beneath Southland Skies, has been reviewed very favourably both in Europe and New Zealand. Included are the gritty, real-life details of "Another Song for the Road", the dark poetry of "Be with You" and the rocking opening track "Letter to a Friend".

• Hammond Gamble is a singer and guitarist. He achieved considerable fame in the late 1970s fronting one of the biggest bands on the New Zealand rock circuit at the time, Street Talk, and later the Hammond Gamble Band. He recorded two albums with Street Talk and three under his own name. Probably his best and most widely known recording is the live 1995 album Plugged in and Blue.
  Hammond is also a songwriter. Joe Cocker recorded his song "If You’ve Got Love, Give Me Some", and Hammond also composed rock classics such as "Leaving the Country" and "Should I be Good or Should I be Evil". In 1992 and 1993 he had a number-one hit with a rare non-original, "You Make the Whole World Smile". Hammond has won a number of New Zealand awards, including Rock Performer of the Year, Album of the Year, APRA Silver Scroll, and Film Soundtrack of the Year. He has been chosen as support in New Zealand for many major acts including Tina Turner, Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac, Bonnie Raitt, and Joe Cocker.

• Midge Marsden

• Darren Watson is a singer and guitaist in a wide range of blues styles, as well as a songwriter. Warson led the very popular blues band Smoke Shop, which that featured on the New Zealand charts and toured extensively throughout the country in the 1980s and 1990s. More recently Watson has recorded two successful albums: King Size, which was nominated for Best Roots Album at the 2003 NZ Music Awards, and his latest, South Pacific Soul. This latest album has now been released in the USA, and showcases Darren's songwriting talents. It also features a wider range of material, including soulful songs that have been favourably compared to Elvis Costello and John Hiatt material.

• The Windy City Strugglers

• The Remarkable Beat Roosters was formed in the mid 1990s by members of Midge Marsden's band: Sid Limbert (bass), Freddy Limbert (drums), and Brian Harley (guitar), and became New Zealand's most powerful R&B trio, rapidly gaining a loyal cult following New Zealand-wide. Their only recording has become a collectors' item. Live 'n' Loose was recorded in Sid Limbert's's home studio in 1996. It is a cross section of their regular set material, but the standout is Limbert's original slow blues "Blues Still Blue", an evocative memory of the first time he visited Mississippi.
  The Remarkable Beat Roosters opened for the BB King Auckland concert in the early 1990s. King was so impressed that he called them up on stage at the end of the show. This was also a reunion with King's long-time drummer Caleb Emphryas, who had taken the Limberts fishing in Mississippi some years before.
  All the band members are still actively playing. Freddy Limbert has teamed up with Simen bluekeys Taylor to form a blues duo, and Sid Limbert toured New Zealand with his son Freddy, Taylor, and Darren Watson in 2005.

A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... LeAnn Rimes singing in concert A singer is a type of musician who uses his or her voice to produce music. ... A guitar is a musical instrument characterized by its visually dominant body and neck. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... Joe Cocker Joe Cocker (born John Robert Cocker, May 20, 1944) is a rock/blues musician. ... Rock singer Tina Turner. ... Talking Heads were an American rock band existing between 1974 and 1991, composed of David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison. ... Fleetwood Mac (formed in 1967) is an influential and commercially successful British-American band whose music has ranged from blues to pop. ... Bonnie Raitt on the cover of her album Silver Lining Arbonna, Bonnie Raitt, (born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitar virtuoso who was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt. ... Midge Marsden is a New Zealand blues and R&B guitarist, harmonica-player, and singer. ... Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus, aka Elvis Costello. ... John Hiatt (born August 20, 1952 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American musician with a growing following, who gets airplay on alternative radio stations. ... Official language(s) English Capital Jackson Largest city Jackson Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 32nd 125,443 km² 275 km 545 km 3 30°13N to 35°N 88°7W to 91°41W Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 31st 2,697,243 23. ... Riley B. King aka B. B. King (b. ...

External links

• New Zealand Blues and Views — contains a selection of albums from New Zealand blues artists.
• New Zealand Blues Society — contains an extensive archive of New Zealand blues music reviews and articles, frequently updated New Zealand and international blues news, and New Zealand blues artists' directory.
• Wellington Blues Club — Capital Blues — includes a copy of the BLUZNUZ newsletter and details of the regular Thursday Roomfulla Blues at The Bristol.