17 May 2010
This ANZAC day sees the release of a song that has captured hearts for seventy years.
Written in wartime, Ruru Karaitiana‟s Blue Smoke perfectly portrays themes of longing,
separation and hope. Singer/songwriter Shelley Hirini‟s new version pays homage to the
artists who brought the original recording to life and introduces the song to a new generation.
Originally released in early 1949, Blue Smoke was New Zealand‟s first pop song – the first
New Zealand song written and recorded in New Zealand. It launched the new TANZA (To
Assist New Zealand Artists) label. It introduced the world to the extraordinary voice of Pixie
Williams. It was also a huge hit topping the New Zealand chart for six weeks and selling
50,000 copies. It was played on radio stations and juke boxes around the world and covered
by a host of international artists, including Dean Martin.
Hirini says the success of the original recording stems from the perfect match of singer and
songwriter. William‟s haunting voice effortlessly captures the raw emotion of the song‟s
universal themes. As Hirini says, “many of us watch loved ones go to „war‟ – struggling with
their own demons. All you can do is stand strong, loving them, hoping they will come back to
you.”
That magical collaboration nearly didn‟t happen. Williams twice turned Karaitiana down when
he asked her to record his song. After one final plea, Williams agreed – on the proviso that
the recording didn‟t interfere with her Saturday hockey game. Always the reluctant star, she
left Wellington for the South Island soon after the record‟s release and slipped quietly from the
limelight.
Blue Smoke was written on the troop ship Aquitania in 1940 and became popular at troop
concerts and at home long before it was recorded. That recording took place in Wellington at
a studio specially-built by recording engineer Stan Dallas. It was Dallas who hit on the idea of
connecting the electric guitar direct to the recording equipment instead of using a microphone
– a practice which changed the way recording studios worked internationally.
The energy behind the current project is William‟s daughter, Amelia Costello. Growing up,
Costello had only been dimly aware of her mother‟s accomplishments. Then, one day in the
late 1980s she chanced to hear her mother belting out Ella Fitzgerald‟s Mack the Knife (at first
she thought it was Ella on the radio). Ever since, she has wanted to find a way to celebrate
her mother‟s voice, with the full backing of brothers, David and Gerard. “The release of Blue
Smoke 70 years after Karaitiana wrote it is very special to us, and Shelley has done Mum and
Ruru proud”, says oldest son David.
Her mother‟s recent failing health brought renewed urgency to achieving this ambition.
Costello started searching for a New Zealand singer to re-record her mother‟s signature song.
When she heard Hirini singing as half of the pop duo Pearl she knew she had found her
voice. A chance meeting at party followed. It was meant to be.
And another chance meeting with Karaitiana‟s whanau in January this year brought the
siblings of both families together. The new recording and Hirini‟s treatment of the song
received their blessing.
Recorded in Nashville – with musicians who have worked with the likes
of Dolly Parton and Faith Hill – Hirini‟s Blue Smoke has a warm, contemporary,
country feel. It begins with the opening lines from the original 1949 version, in a way passing
the baton to a new generation. For the record, Williams has heard Hirini‟s version and
approves.
Williams‟ son, Gerard Costello remembers, “as children, we‟d go to the Dawn Service with
Mum and Dad and feel the emotion of the crowd, yet were too young to really understand it.
Then going on to the RSA afterwards where Mum would inevitably be asked to sing dozens of
times over the course of the day and each time she did, a hush descended over the crowd,
with a few tears too. To us she was just Mum, but to everyone there she was a star.”
Costello says this new recording is a gift to her mother. It‟s also a gift to the nation.
Coda
After Blue Smoke, Williams went on to record twelve more songs, with another Karaitiana
song, „Let‟s talk it Over‟ also becoming a hit selling, over 20,000 records. Hirini will travel to
New Orleans to record her own versions of a number of those songs to be released in an
album alongside the originals later this year.
Background:
On 2 May, 1940 the British Troop Ship Aquitania drew away from Pipitea Wharf in Wellington
carrying the main body of the 28th (Maori) Battalion and more than 2000 other men of the 2nd
Echelon of 2NZEF.
Blue Smoke composer, Ruru Karaitiana was on the troopship heading for the Middle East,
when a friend pointed out the smoke trailing from the ship‟s funnel. Karaitiana was inspired
and within a couple of days had composed the melody and written the words for Blue Smoke.
“We were on the troopship Aquitania in 1940 off the coast of Africa when a friend drew my
attention to some passing smoke. He put the song in my lap,” Karaitiana said.
This ANZAC Day‟s release of Blue Smoke marks the 70th Anniversary of the creation of the
song.