Wairarapa country and western legend Charlie Jensen has died. Jensen, 68, died on Tuesday after a courageous battle with cancer, his wife Gloria said yesterday. Jensen was born in Masterton and has been for decades a renowned musical figure and songwriter in Wairarapa since he taught himself to play as a teenager,she said. Music took over his life with his retirement several years ago from the Masterton District Council, where he was a long time employee, and led to countless performances throughout the region at service clubs, pubs, private parties, supermarkets, fairs, and street corners. Jensen was also an award-winning songwriter and recording artist, who took a keen interest in his hometown and never failed to translate his observations to a country and western tune, Mrs Jensen said. "He's been playing music forever and he devoted himself to his songs and his audiences. He was a legend." Jensen is survived by eight children and stepchildren, 22 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A service is to be held tomorrow at the Masterton Town Hall at 10am before his burial at Riverside Park Lawn Cemetery.
