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Biography

New Zealand's no.1 Guitar Pickin' Legend of the 60's

In the Henderson Valley west of Auckland during the 1940's a boy was growing up who within twenty years would be New Zealand's best known instrumentalist. He would have numerous hit records and make no fewer than twenty albums. His fame would spread throughout Australia and the South Pacific. He would work in the USA and mix with the giants of world show business. He was of course Peter Posa.

Peter was the youngest of three sons born into an industrious Yugoslav family. The family business was an orchard growing apples, peaches and plums, but eventually Mr Paul Posa could see that Henderson was proving to be an ideal place for making wine. So out went the fruit trees and in came the vineyard.

Peter wasn't greatly interested in all that because from a very early age he had his mind set on music and specifically playing the guitar. He started on ukulele when he was seven. After that he used to spend all his spare time making his own toy guitars. He would find a round piece of wood for the bell, a long piece for the stem, and then steal the clothes line wire from the porch to use as strings, unravelling the strands and attaching the thinned windings to a rudimentary guitar neck. Mrs Posa was forever wondering where her clothesline had gone.

Finally for his ninth birthday, Peter was given his first real guitar, he remembers it well. It was a South African Galatone which his father bought for Ł5 from a secondhand shop. He used to listen to his family's old 78 rpm records, country artists like Tex Morton and Col Wilson and try to copy the guitar licks. He had a few lessons to learn the chords, but worked out all the rest for himself. The family couldn't get the guitar off him.

He got a better instrument when he was eleven and had plenty of help from his brothers, Boris and Walter, who drove him to the many talent quests that dotted the New Zealand entertainment landscape in the days before television. Peter was a shy lad who didn't dare look at the audience, and he laughs when he recalls that he always used to finish second, even when he played "Guitar Boogie" on 1ZB's "Have A Shot". He also used to do some singing in those days. He recalls social gatherings of families and friends, many of whom would bring guitars, accordions, violins and various other instruments. He cites numerous influences, from the country and western of Hank Williams, George Jones, Tex Morton and Col Wilson and the Tumbleweeds, to the swing of Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra, among others.

At age twelve Peter at last got his first amplifier and began taking a deep interest in the multi-guitar sounds which Les Paul was turning out in the States, this was a major influence on his early career. By 18 he had formed his own band, "the Peter Posa Combo" which used to play for all types of dances and functions in West Auckland. There were a number of different people who played in the Combo, some of the significant ones are Jack Stradwick and Brian Harris, who were later in "the Figures" and "the Action". At that time, he was also working for the Public Trust. Though Posa "loved" his administrative role, his bosses weren't so happy about him playing gigs at the weekend. "They wanted me to keep my head down and be devoted entirely to the public service. I had to make a choice."

Ray Woolf, Peter Posa, Eldred Stebbing Peter thought it was time to make his first record, so he approached Eldred Stebbing of Stebbing Recording Studios and the Zodiac record label. Eldred wasn't interested in recording the Posa Combo, but could see a real technical challenge in the multiple guitar style in which Peter overdubbed all the tracks himself.

So the first record was put together in late 1959. It was "Sweet Georgia Brown" / "Some Of These Days" and was the start of his solo career, with nightclub engagements and several more singles to follow. In 1961 the first real breakthrough came when Peter did his own version of American band, "The String-A-Longs" 1960 hit "Wheels." "Wheels was the one that did it." Posa was introduced to it by Stebbing who had a short-wave device with which he would listen to the American charts. Then he would get someone like myself to record it before it would arrive in New Zealand. My version of Wheels came out here before The String-A -Longs'." It was played on the Lever Hit Parade and suddenly he had a nationwide tour as support act for the English singing sensation "Helen Shapiro".

Helen Shapiros backing band in her 1962 tour was top shelf: it featured several of New Zealands first stars of the rocknroll era. With US pianist Tony Lavelli serving as musical director, the band included Peter Posa and Bob Paris on guitars, Gene Blazer on bass, and Bruce King on drums. On saxophones was a quartet of Aucklands top jazz players: Bernie Allen, Colin Martin, Brian Smith and Derek Neville.

By 1963 Peter was feeling the need to branch out and develop his own guitar style in different directions. So he signed a deal with Viking Records, the "hot" label at the time, which also had the advantage of overseas outlets. His first record there was "Galloping Guitars" / "Jessie", but out of the blue two Auckland musicians, Bill Ivory and Graham Rosling arrived with a tune that they thought had potential. Peter loved it at first hearing and it was about to change his life.

Barely out of his teens, armed with his Gretsch electric guitar, a Gibson amplifier and a tape-echo unit, "manufactured by a local guy in Mt Eden and there wasnt an echo I couldnt get with that amazing unit", Posa recorded this tune for the new Viking record label. With its definitive, catchy melody plus a hint of echo and reverb, the recipe provided a shimmering guitar instrumental resulting in sales of 100,000 copies in New Zealand. "Recorded in one take, live with the band, it was exactly two minutes long and perfect for radio play." It remains a timeless instrumental classic which launched success for Posa overseas when it hit the top of the charts in Australia.

"The White Rabbit" was it's name, and even in that wonderful year of 1963, when "the Beatles" had just arrived and the charts were overflowing with million sellers, it received enormous airplay. "After White Rabbit everything just went crazy," he says.

Peter was now headlining his own national tour with co-artists "Bill and Boyd", and "Max Merritt and the Meteors".
Peter and Margaret Raggett A string of hit records followed, the same composers came up with "The Mad Hatter", then Margaret Raggett of Gisborne penned "Grasshopper" and "Hitch Hiker". Peter himself wrote "Gonk", named after the fluffy toy of the moment, and then the track mysteriously called "?", and the radio contest to find it's name, which was eventually "Flapjack".

1963 and 1964 were one long whirl, Peter says he worked 363 out of 365 days in one of those years. On top of his New Zealand shows, he toured Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tahiti and Vanuatu. To cap it all off, Viking's Ron Dalton arranged for "White Rabbit" to be released in the USA. "I had a good agent over there and she organised a trip for me." Before he left, his farewell tour, the "Peter Posa Spectacular" swept through the country, which took about eight weeks so huge was the public interest.

Peter with Frank Sinatra In Nashville, Peter spent time at all the major recording studios and met his hero Chet Atkins. He played on the TV show Hollywood Palace where he was accompanied by the legendary jazz guitarist Herb Ellis. He met Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in Las Vegas, and worked his gigs mainly in LA. "I met up with Frank at his Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. He was genuinely interested in my career and what I was doing. Dean Martin was with him, they always came in together." Posa says it was one of the highlights of his career.

Peter with Dean Martin In America "They were so hospitable and were great audiences. I was invited to play at the Grand Ole Opry ... I had this really good offer made to me by RCA Records to be a session musician, but I wasn't mature enough to stay over there for a long period. My manager went over with me but left me there after about 10 days. I was 24 and got very homesick. I'd only gone to Australia before. Going straight to America like that was a big opportunity but it was very hard. I came home at Christmas." What's more, "White Rabbit" had been released on a small independent label in the US and there was little promotion. On returning to New Zealand he made the decision to confine his future touring to the South Pacific, a similar decision as Howard Morrison made when the world seemed to beckon him also.

Peter and Dinah Lee Back in New Zealand Peter became a prolific recording artist making more albums than any other New Zealander. For the remainder of his Viking contract and beyond, Posa continued to tour New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific, where his popularity was maintained by a prodigious output (he released 16 albums, 15 EPs and 13 singles during three years with Viking, from 1963-65). He toured the country many times, often as part of the Miss NZ Shows, which included the likes of Eddie Lowe, Howard Morrison, John Hore and Paul Walden. In Fiji he was made an honourary chief, in Noumea he was known as "King Peter", and he dedicated one of his compositions "French Caledonian Blue" to that market. He had residencies at some of Auckland's top venues, including the Troika.

the Chicks In 1965, Peter and his manager Ron Dalton had been invited to a friends place in Henderson. Amongst the visitors there at the time were 2 sisters, Judy and Sue Donaldson. Judy, recalls... "We were living in Henderson, I was 15 and Sue was 13 at the time. We heard someone playing a guitar at a neighbour's house so we crept through the bushes with some friends to see who it was." The guitar player was none other than Peter Posa, the guitarist behind hit The White Rabbit, and he was playing to a group that included his manager at Viking records Ron Dalton.

Hiding in the bushes, the girls were star-struck. "Go and ask him for his autograph," one of them said. Judy and Sue were too shy, but one of their bolder friends crawled out of the shrubs and approached Posa. She pointed to Judy and Sue as they emerged from the undergrowth and said, "You should hear these girls sing, they're great." "Give us a song, then," Posa said. He backed Judy and Sue on guitar as they sang, "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" and 'Tobacco Road". Poser and Dalton were impressed. Two weeks later Ron rang and asked them to come into the studio, where they recorded a 1949 song, "The Hucklebuck", which went to number one". 'The Chicks' were on their way to success. Later in 1965 Peter released a single with them called "Do You Wanna Dance" / "Terry".

Over the next few years, Posa continued to perform and record, however, a car crash in 1970 in which Posa suffered severe whiplash, prompted a slide in the guitarist's fortunes. "I absolutely wrecked my neck and it's been bad ever since. It got to me. I had 33 stitches in my face. It made me feel really depressed for quite a while," Every day since the car crash, he says, he has battled chronic headaches. The only thing that helps with the pain is playing the blues on his guitar. "The blues pours your heart out more than anything. I've got to take painkillers to keep me going but the best therapy is music." Posa recalls, adding he also had a drinking problem. "I got myself together again and in about 1973 I went to a restaurant one night and liked the feel of the place, so I asked if they'd be interested in having me play there. I can't remember exactly how long I stayed there, but I did a lot of restaurant work for about three years", something he says he enjoyed tremendously. "Ten years of consistent touring gets to you in the end. And if I wasn't touring I'd be in a recording studio. It was go, go, go. I took it easy from then on. I slowed down deliberately, both for health reasons and to keep myself sane. I might not have been in the public eye as much, because I wasn't touring, but I was still playing."

Peter with Demis Roussos Posa turned his hand to producing albums in the 1970s, for John Hore (now Grenell) and others. "I also did a lot of tours with overseas acts in the late '70s and early 1980s, including Helen Shapiro, Gene Pitney, Hank Snow, Marty Robbins, Roger Whittaker, Slim Whitman and Demis Roussos". His writing talent also won him awards and recognition. In 1975, "Nashville Express" won the Best Instrumental of the Year Award in Australia. In 1976 his "Rose Can I Share A Bed With You" was a huge hit for Toni Williams reaching gold record status in New Zealand.

In 1983, 'Demis Roussos' toured New Zealand. Peter was a big fan of Demis and went straight out to get tickets. Peter was so keen to get to the concert that he ended up purchasing the first tickets sold. Later he asked the tour organisers, "who was going to be the support act for Demis Roussos?". They told him they hadn't organised that yet. Peter suddenly had a thought, "well why don't I do that?" he suggested. And that's how Peter Posa came to be the support act for Demis Roussos' New Zealand Tour'.

During the tour Peter and Demis became good friends. They enjoyed jamming together to wind down after shows. Demis' backing band were a bit envious. One day at sound check, Peter was jamming away backstage to the sound of the band playing 'Goodbye My Love Goodbye' when Demis wandered through and excitedly asked Peter, "what was that chord you just added in there?" . "A diminished" Peter replied. Demis loved it and that chord may have become part of the song from that moment on.

In 2003, at the age of 61, Peter was awarded a gold disc by BMG for his Greatest Hits CD which they had released in 1998. This gave Posa the confidence to return to the studio. The result of which was "My Pick", a double album of acoustic country and gospel material that was released later in 2003. Some time later in 2007 "My Pick" was named International Instrumentalist CD of the Year by the "United States National Traditional Country Music Association". Bob Everhart, president of the USNTCMA, just happened to be MC-ing a concert at Otorohanga that year when he presented Posa with an induction plaque into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame, as well as the 2007 Rural Roots Music Commission's "Musician of the Year" award for the album. The following year, 2008, Posa's lifelong dedication to music was recognised when he was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. After nearly 20 years battling alcoholism, injuries and a chronic smoking habit, Peter Posa had staged a successful return to the world of music.

2012 saw Peter awarded the "Legend Award" at the NZ National Country Music Awards, while his newly released "White Rabbit: The Very Best Of Peter Posa" album, sat at the No.1 position on the NZ Music Charts for 6 consecutive weeks.

Peter with the Wallace Brothers His comeback album, "My Pick" was recorded at Kamo's "Music Mayhem" and includes instrumental backing from Whangarei musicians "the Outlaws", featuring Jim Wallace and sons Alex, Jim and Robert. It includes Oklahoma (an original song written by Jim senior) and was co-produced and engineered by Peter and Alex. Alex says recording the album with the music legend was an incredible experience. "I learned heaps off Peter, his attention to detail was amazing, especially tuning, tone, tempo and feel of the music," he says. "It was an incredible experience watching him play and I was very humbled to be there supporting and providing technical backup." It took just a fortnight and another 10 days for mixing. "He played every song perfectly and most were first take. That's why it's so good - he's a perfectionist," says Alex. Peter was inspired to come to Northland after hearing one of Alex's mixes and said at the time that the Wallace family was the best backup team he had worked with.

As a young boy in Henderson, Posa was given a guitar on his ninth birthday. The guitar became his best friend. Now his ultimate satisfaction comes from the fact that he has inspired other guitarists. "Tommy Emmanuel, the Australian guitarist, and I are great friends. When I first met him, he said I was one of his mentors. That's what I get a kick out of the most in my career". Tommy has been voted by Guitar Player magazine and others as the best in the world. So all in all, not bad for someone who had only five formal guitar lessons, can't read music and prefers to improvise rather than learn his lines by rote. "I just bought guitar books and taught myself. I'm lucky to have a good ear. Now I get cassettes and CDs from people who have sent me their versions of The White Rabbit or Guitar Boogie. Sometimes they are bad and sometimes they are good. It's nice to think you've influenced other people and they'll have their turn at it."

Peter Grattan with Peter Posa Peter Grattan a Kiwi drummer had this to say: -

For those of you who are not aware, Peter pioneered electric guitar instrumentals in Australia and NZ, inspiring the likes of Dave Dobbyn, Doug Jerebine and Tommy Emmanuel by blending his love of Chet Atkins and Les Ford country styles with his Yugoslavian heritage and Polynesian sounds. Before The Beatles, Peter was a huge kiwi star; in 1963 he performed over 300 concerts. And in 2012, Peter’s Greatest Hits compilation knocked Justin Bieber off the top slot to be the #1 selling CD in NZ for six straight weeks, earning Peter a platinum disc for sales in excess of 25,000, 50 years after his White Rabbit was number one.

My mom knew Peter Posa's mom so we met up and I became his drummer. What a star... 20 albums BEFORE 1970! He lived in Henderson Valley amongst his Dad's grapes. Wonderful family, his Mom sure could cook, began my love affair with garlic. We did his last album of the Golden Guitar era, 'Guitar Pops'. Took a year in Lew Smith's home studio in Henderson, I think Pete took four months waving through the glass from the control room, getting the snare sound he wanted! Although plagued by back pain from a recent car accident, Posa was a genius, a perfectionist who recorded dozens of band tracks before he picked the 14 songs for the album. Guitar Pops was the last of his run of ’60s LPs, released on Salem, it sank without trace and is now a rare collector’s item, with Peter’s distinctive instrumental versions of hits by CCR, The Beatles, Shocking Blue, OC Smith, Glenn Campbell and Bobby Gentry. The legendary Kevin Haines is on bass, Bob Wynyard on rhythm, Len Whittle on Farfisa organ. I was 18 and learned so much from working with these experienced musicians. Posa playing Creedence was amazing, a perfectionist. Boy, did I learn a lot from those guys about recording, listening and playing simple. He had swapped his Gretsch Tennessean for a red Gibson 335, and when we met up he was into a new Yamaha amp with an elliptical speaker. We hauled it all around the Pacific and to Oz.

Peter Skerrett ?Someone? Peter Posa I had landed a day job as Stock Controller with Pye RCA Records in 1970, ordering all the pressings from Waihi, Rob Guest was in the warehouse, I quit to tour The Pacific with Posa and Robin Ruakere. Posa was like Elvis in Fiji and Noumea. We rode a Dakota to Vila in The New Hebrides with passengers strap hanging and boxes of chickens in the aisle. Posa and I put a duo together in Australia with Peter Skerrett on bass, three Peters in a band is rare! I got to play with Pete Skerrett on bass in the Snowy mountains and to race around in his gold Falcon 351GT. God bless you Peter and your lovely wife Margaret.

Peter's total output on vinyl amounted to 28 singles, (14 on Zodiac, 13 on Viking and 1 on Joe Brown), plus international releases, 15 EP's on Viking, plus 1 international, and 20 albums, (2 on Zodiac, 16 on Viking, 1 on Salem and 1 on Axis).
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