Max Merritt

Maxwell James Merritt (30 April 1941 – 24 September 2020) was an Australian-New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist who was renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R&B. As leader of Max Merritt & The Meteors, his best known hits are "Slippin' Away", which reached No. 2 on the 1976 Australian singles charts, and "Hey, Western Union Man" which reached No. 13. Merritt rose to prominence in his native New Zealand from 1958 and relocated to Sydney, Australia, in December 1964. Merritt was acknowledged as one of the best local performers of the 1960s and 1970s and his influence did much to popularise soul music / R&B and rock in New Zealand and Australia.

Merritt was considered a pioneer of rock in Australasia who produced crowd-pleasing shows for over 50 years. He engendered respect and affection over generations of performers. This was evident at the 2007 Concert for Max The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recognised Merritt's iconic status on 1 July 2008 when he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. In 2020, Merritt was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. When his parents, together with local Odeon theatre manager Trevor King, developed the Christchurch Railway Hall into a music venue, The Teenage Club, they hired Merritt and the Meteors. and No. 6 in Melbourne, Australia. The Meteors' line-up of Merritt, Peter Williams (guitar), Teddy Toi (bass) and Johnny Dick (drums) recorded material for their second album, Max Merritt's Meteors. They relocated to Sydney in December 1964. He was diagnosed with Goodpasture syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder that affects the kidneys and lungs.

Merritt died in Los Angeles, California, on 24 September 2020, at age 79, 13-years after being diagnosed with Goodpasture syndrome.

Prior to his death, Merritt had recorded a new album, titled I Can Dream. The album was released on 27 November 2020.

Discography Studio albums + List of albums, with Australian chart positions Title Album details Peak chartpositions AUS C'mon Let's Go (as Max Merritt & The Meteors) Released: 1960 Format: CD Label: Raven Records (RVCD15) The Very Best of Max Merritt & The Meteors (as Max Merritt & The Meteors) Released: 2001 Format: CD Label: EMI (534711 2) The Essential Max Merritt & The Meteors (as Max Merritt & The Meteors) Released: 2007 Format: 2xCD Label: Sony BMG (88697177952)

Extended plays Title Details Don't You Know .. Dinah Lee (As Dinah Lee and Max Merritt and His Meteors) Released: 1964 Format: LP Label: Viking (VE-148) Yeah, Yeah, We Love.. Dinah Lee (As Dinah Lee and Max Merritt and His Meteors) Released: 1964 (New Zealand) Format: LP Label: Viking (VE-150) Good Golly Max Merritt Released: July 1964 (New Zealand) Format: LP Label: Viking (VE-151) Shake (As Max Merritt and His Meteors) Released: 1966 Format: LP Label: Parlophone (GEPO-70033)

Singles

Awards and halls of fame ARIA Awards The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. In 2008, Max Merritt was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Aotearoa Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously known as New Zealand Music Awards (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in New Zealand music and have been presented annually since 1965. The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. It was established in 2007. In 2020, Max Merritt was inducted into it.

Band members Members of Max Merritt & The Meteors, Max Merritt's Meteors or The Meteors; arranged chronologically:

Max Merritt (1956–2020) — guitar, vocals, drums Ross Clancy (1956–1958) — saxophone Ian Glass (1956–1960) — bass Peter Patonai (1956–1959) — piano Pete Sowden (1956–1959, 1960–1963) — drums Willi Schneider (1958–1959) — saxophone Rod Gibson (1959–1960) — saxophone Bernie Jones (1959–1960) — drums Billy Kristian (Billy Karaitiana) (1959–1963, 1965–1967) — bass guitar, piano, keyboards Maurice Cook (1960) — guitar Geoff Cox (1961–1962) — guitar Peter Williams (1962–1967) — lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals Mike Angland (1963–1964) — bass Johnny Dick (1963, 1965) — drums Teddy Toi (1964–65) — bass John Blake (1965) — bass Jimmy Hill (1965) — drums

Bill Flemming (1965–1966) — drums David "Bruno" Lawrence (1966–1967) — drums John Charles (1967) — keyboards Mike Gibbs (1967) — brass instruments Bob Bertles (1967–1974) — tenor saxophone Stewie Speer (1967–1976, 1980) — drums John "Yuk" Harrison (1967–69) — bass Dave Russell (1969–1974) — bass Howard "Fuzz" Deniz (1974–1977) — bass Barry Duggan (1974–1975) — sax, flute John Gourd (1974–1977) — guitar, slide guitar, piano Lance Dixon (1975–1977) — keyboards, saxophone Paul Grant (1980) — guitar Martin Jenner (1980) — guitar Phil Lawson (1980) — bass John Williams (1980) — keyboards