Midge Marsden
Encyclopedia
Keith Douglas "Midge" Marsden MNZM
(born 1945) is a New Zealand
blues
and R&B
guitar
ist, harmonica
-player, and singer with a musical career spanning four decades.
, Taranaki, the son of Les and Elaine Marsden. His musical education started on the piano, and included singing in church, though his first musical love was rock and roll
. As a teenager he took guitar lessons from a New Plymouth musician called Leo Davies, who also owned a recording studio in the town, and went on to further lessons with another musician, Johnny Williams.
Marsden's career spans four decades, and during that time he has played thousands of concerts in New Zealand and introduced several generations of New Zealanders to the blues. He was voted New Zealand Entertainer of the Year in 1990, and his 1991 album
Burning Rain later went gold.
Marsden has toured the USA four times, and each time he has played with and befriended artists such as Willie Foster, Bobby Mack, Ronnie Taylor
, Aussie Dave Boyle
, and Julieann Banks. He has encouraged all these artists to tour New Zealand, and thus broadened New Zealanders' appreciation of blues music. Marsden was a student at the University of Mississippi
in 1996, from where he graduated with a Diploma in Southern Studies, and more recently he has tutored at Waikato Institute of Technology
in "Bluesology".
In 2006 Marsden was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
for services to music.
Marsden was a friend of Stevie Ray Vaughan
; upon living in Texas at various times he would stay at Vaughan's house for months on end. He toured with Vaughan a few times, playing harmonica.
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
(born 1945) is a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
-player, and singer with a musical career spanning four decades.
Biography
Marsden was born and brought up in New PlymouthNew Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
, Taranaki, the son of Les and Elaine Marsden. His musical education started on the piano, and included singing in church, though his first musical love was rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
. As a teenager he took guitar lessons from a New Plymouth musician called Leo Davies, who also owned a recording studio in the town, and went on to further lessons with another musician, Johnny Williams.
Marsden's career spans four decades, and during that time he has played thousands of concerts in New Zealand and introduced several generations of New Zealanders to the blues. He was voted New Zealand Entertainer of the Year in 1990, and his 1991 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Burning Rain later went gold.
Marsden has toured the USA four times, and each time he has played with and befriended artists such as Willie Foster, Bobby Mack, Ronnie Taylor
Ronnie Taylor
Ronnie Taylor is a British Cinematographer, who has collaborated with directors Richard Attenborough and Dario Argento. He was born in Hampstead, London and joined the film business at nineteen. He first worked for Gainsborough Studios at Lime Grove in Shepherds Bush. This studio was later taken...
, Aussie Dave Boyle
Dave Boyle
Dave Boyle is an American Director, Writer and Actor. He has Wrote and Directed the films Big Dreams Little Tokyo , which premiered at the AFI Festival in Hollywood, California, and which he stars in as the character "Boyd", White on Rice , Dave Boyle is an American Director, Writer and Actor. He...
, and Julieann Banks. He has encouraged all these artists to tour New Zealand, and thus broadened New Zealanders' appreciation of blues music. Marsden was a student at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in 1996, from where he graduated with a Diploma in Southern Studies, and more recently he has tutored at Waikato Institute of Technology
Waikato Institute of Technology
The Waikato Institute of Technology, marketed as Wintec, is a technological learning institute based in Hamilton, New Zealand, and the fifth largest institute of technology/polytechnic within New Zealand, with around 16,000 full-time and part-time students, 1,200 full-time and part-time staff — and...
in "Bluesology".
In 2006 Marsden was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
for services to music.
Marsden was a friend of Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
; upon living in Texas at various times he would stay at Vaughan's house for months on end. He toured with Vaughan a few times, playing harmonica.
Discography
- 1991: Burning Rain (Jayrem)
- 1966: Lets Take A Sea Cruise with Bari and the Breakaways.
- 1966: Album Two also with The Breakaways.
Sources and external links
- Midge Marsden Website — from Strawberry Fields
- "Midge Marsden Tunes In" — by Virginia Winder, for Puke Ariki
- "Midge Marsden receives award" — Scoop