When he signed as a solo act to Joe Brown’s label in 1970, the canny impresario billed him as the “voice in a million”. More than 40 years on and Eddie Low’s voice is still a gorgeous instrument, resonant and honeyed.
Born blind on 14 May, 1945, Eddie Low developed his musical talent and skills on a wide range of instruments at the Blind Institute in Auckland.
When he was 12 he underwent surgery to give him partial sight in his right eye, something that has won him a lot of money over the years at the pool table.
After leaving school he joined The Chevronaires who had a residency at Auckland's Piccolo club, where he met another young aspiring singer, John Rowles. The pair hit it off and in 1964 decided to try their luck in Australia, signing a six-month contract to sing Beatles tunes at the Riverside Inn in Melbourne as “the New Zealand Beatles”, complete with Beatles wigs.
When their contract ended the duo moved to Sydney, where they joined other New Zealanders, including Trix Willoughby (father of Kim and later of The Brew) in The Sundowners. The band, unrelated to Sonny Day's band of the same name, had a residency at The Civic Hotel and recorded one single, ‘The End (Of A Rainbow)’ (Sunshine Records), although it was credited on release to Rowles under his new stage name JA-AR.
Low’s instrumental skills led to his joining The Quin Tikis, who were one of the few showbands to maintain a live presence on both sides of the Tasman, being part of the annual touring Miss New Zealand extravaganza and also with Joe Brown's Country and Western Stage Show. Low was a member of that band from 1965 to 1969.
It was Brown who spotted Low’s talent as a singer and fuelled his desire to be a country artist. Brown encouraged Low to leave The Quin Tikis and he signed to Joe Brown Records as a solo act.
Eddie Low released 11 singles for Brown between 1970 and 1976, including substantial hits like ‘Help Me Make It Through the Night’ and ‘Lonely Women Make Good Lovers’, both of which received heavy airplay for many years on country radio stations.
There were also two EPs in Brown’s unusual 7-inch 33rpm format and six albums, including a duet set with Brown’s other big seller John Hore. This album was recorded in Nashville in 1972 during a trip to take part in the Grand Ole Opry birthday celebrations. Another Eddie Low album was recorded in 1973 during gigs in Nashville and Canada.
Low’s move to Australia in the middle of the decade spelled the virtual end of Joe Brown Records aside from a couple of releases for the Howard Morrison Quartet. In 1980 Low signed with RCA after a five-year recording hiatus, and in the following five years pumped out another 11 singles and five albums.
Low says he has written a lot of songs but not sung many of them because he hasn’t had enough faith in his own material.
Self-penned tunes include ‘Sunday Daddy’, ‘Even Though You’re Leaving’, ‘Songs of Home’ and a number about being considered handicapped, ‘I Am Me’.
In 2006 Low was made a Member of the Order of Merit for services to music.
In 2008, after the Highway Of Legends tour with Gray Bartlett, Brendan Dugan and John (Hore) Grenell, Low quit his Sydney base and moved to Christchurch “because my wife is from Christchurch and you can't get a decent feed of fish and chips over (in Australia)."
He continues to record and tour and his 2011 career overview, Voice In A Million, was a platinum selling album.
Eddie Low is Presented with the Benny 2009 by Max Cryer
Eddie Low (rear left) with The Quin Tikis on an album released for Joe Brown's label in 1968
Eddie Low, 1970, on the set of an NZBC show
Photo credit:
Phto by Robert Joiner. Redmer Yska Collection
Eddie Low on stage with Graffiti in the mid-1970s. Ritchie Pickett extreme right.
Eddie Low, 1972
I Can't Stop Loving You and I Am Me (Live)
The Sundowners in Sydney: Billy Nuku (back right), Triggy Delano (middle front), Eddie Low (right front), John Rowles (left back), Nephi Shortland (middle back), Ian Franklin (left front)
Eddie Low on The Beat Goes On
Daphne Walker and Eddie Low at the 2019 VAC Benny Awards.
Photo credit:
Michael Colonna
Four Benny award winners and other friends celebrate Eddie Low's 70th birthday, Cambridge, 2015. From left: Gray Bartlett, Brendan Dugan, Dennis Marsh, Eddie Low, Kim Willoughby, and Tom Sharplin; at right are three of Rusty Greaves's 14 children: Michelle, Kevin and Lex.
Photo credit:
Gray Bartlett collection
Eddie Low's debut album on Joe Brown Records, 1970