Rotorua-born singer Eddie Low dies after cancer battle

Eddie Low had a voice like no other. Photo / Ben Fraser

When Rotorua-born singer Eddie Low would hit that soprano note in his shows, the crowd would be on the edges of their seats wondering when he’d stop for air. When he did, applause would erupt.

But now the “voice in a million” has been silenced after the partially blind multi-award-winning and internationally-acclaimed singer lost his battle with cancer.

Low died on Saturday. He was 81.

Country music singer Eddie Low has passed away. Photo / NZME

Rotorua singers and entertainers have paid their respects to Low saying it was a privilege to know the “true gentleman”.

Low was a member of the Māori Quin Tikis during the popular Māori showbands era before his solo career took off internationally. In a career that spanned nearly six decades, he recorded 60 records in studios throughout the world. He was bestowed a New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006.

In 1980 while touring Canada and feeling homesick, he wrote Songs of Home, which went on to become an iconic Kiwi song that sings of the beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand using a chorus of famous Māori song titles.

Dubbed a singer with a “voice in a million”, those words were used as the title of his “best of” album.

Howard Morrison Junior told the Rotorua Daily Post he and his siblings grew up sitting on the sides of stages watching Low performing alongside their father, Sir Howard Morrison.

He was regular on many of Sir Howard’s New Zealand tours and he recalled the fond and friendly rivalry his father would have with Low as audiences roared with applause when Low hit his famous high notes.

“The crowd would inch closer and closer to the edges of their seats as he hit that soprano note for 22 bars.”

Morrison Junior said his father would, in good humour, pace around backstage saying that “bloody blind bugger is standing me up”.

Sir Howard Morrison spent a number of years working with Eddie Low.

In what seemed like endless practical jokes between the pair, Morrison Junior recalled one funny story when Low was warming up to hit his signature note with the lyrics “the most beautiful sound I have ever heard”. Just as he sang those words, Sir Howard grabbed a wireless microphone from the side of the stage and took it to a nearby bathroom and flushed the toilet - sending the flush sound through the town hall where they performed.

“The crowd roared with laughter,” he said.

“They were entertainers in those days, not just singers”.

Morrison Junior remembered another night on tour when Sir Howard played a practical joke on Low by switching out his hairspray for a can of deodorant.

“He came out to go on stage and his hair was all white from the spray deodorant.”

Howard Morrison Junior performs at a Rotorua Lakeside in 2016. Photo / NZME

Morrison Junior said Low performed for him as part of the lineup at Kawerau Christmas in the Park in December last year and, despite his failing health, was once again a showstopper - especially when he got to those remarkable soprano notes.

“He was a lovable man and never had a bad word to say about anyone.”

Rotorua musician Richard Anaru told the Rotorua Daily Post he worked with Low several times over the decades and said he was “without doubt one of the best vocalists of any genre I’ve worked with”.

Anaru toured with Low on the stage production In Your Dreams - The Roy Orbison Story and worked with him on the television show and My Country Song.

“He was an outstanding performer and true gentleman of the country music scene.”

Rotorua Lakeside Concert Charitable Trust member Trevor Maxwell said it was always a privilege to have Low performing in his hometown and he said his appearance in the 2014 Lakeside concert was outstanding.

Frankie Stevens (left), Eddie Low and John Rowles at Lakeside in 2014. Photo / Stephen Parker

In that show, he appeared alongside John Rowles and Frankie Stevens in a concert dubbed The Bald, The Blind and The Beautiful.

Maxwell said his association with Low went back to when he toured with Sir Howard - Maxwell’s brother-in-law - as he and his late wife, Atareta, would be part of the cultural group accompanying the shows.

“We were on the bus together, we laughed together, we’d do set-ups and sound checks together and we’d play darts and snooker together. We always thought we’d have a chance of winning, but for some reason even though he was blind, he would still beat us,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell said Low had a golden voice that never changed no matter how many decades would pass.

“He was always proud of his Rotorua background and they loved him when he would come here.”

Low’s story

Born into poverty on May 14, 1943, Low’s mother, Rangi Ratana McRoy, contracted German measles and tuberculosis during her pregnancy, resulting in Low being born completely blind. His mother died after giving birth to Low and his twin, who did not survive.

Low’s father was unable to raise Low and his then 2-year-old brother, David (Mackie), and they were taken in by Maria Low, a widow already raising five children. Maria Low legally adopted Low, fearing he would be removed from her home and institutionalised due to his blindness, a common practice at the time.

Educated at the Foundation for the Blind School in Parnell from the age of 5, Low would return to Ngāpuna in Rotorua in his holidays.

Eddie Low was born and raised in Rotorua.

His eldest daughter, Maria Low, who was named after the woman who raised Low, said her father developed a deep love for music, learning to play numerous instruments by ear and feel.

At the age of 12, he underwent three surgeries on his eyes, gaining slight vision in his left eye but remaining blind in his right eye.

During his career, Maria Low said her father captivated audiences worldwide. His international performances included twice at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, and he performed alongside legendary artists including Johnny Cash, Charlie Pride, Buck Owens, Tom T Hall, Freddie Fender and Kenny Rogers.

Low also appeared in the film Don’t Let It Get You in 1966 with the Quin Tikis, Sir Howard and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

Off the stage, he was also a track and field athlete and trained with the late Peter Snell, was a black belt in karate and won international blind golfing titles.

Eddie Low was a Rotorua singer of international acclaim. Photo / Fraser Harding

Maria Low described her father’s strength, resilience, and indomitable spirit.

“He never thought of his blindness as a disability – it was just something he happened to have. His only fear was that people would think he couldn’t do something because of his sight, but if anything, it made him even more stubborn, more determined, to prove he could do anything others could do, and more.

“The odds were stacked against Dad from the beginning, but he beat them one by one. He never knew how talented he was and how much he inspired all of us as well as other singers and musicians,” she said.

In December 2019, Low was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and had major surgery. In July 2023 he was diagnosed with diffuse stomach cancer and two months later underwent a seven-hour operation to remove his stomach.

He is survived by his three children, five grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and his partner of almost five years, Kerry.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.