John Hore Grenell

ROCKHAPPENZ Public Collection

John Hore Grenell - Country artist

John Denver Hore (19 July 1944 – 27 July 2022), better known by his stage name of John Grenell, was a New Zealand country singer and songwriter.  Born in Ranfurly, Grenell grew up in Central Otago and Dunedin, and was educated at Kyeburn School and Otago Boys' High School.  During his early years, he worked as a farmhand on the Glenrown farm in Kyeburn that was, and still is today, owned by the Greer Family.  In 1971 he married Deidre Bruton and they had three sons and a daughter, all of whom are musically inclined.  His daughter Amiria won a NZ Music Award for Best Folk Album of the year in 2012 for Three Feathers.  The family lived in Whitecliffs, on a Canterbury foothills farm, and bred Appaloosa horses.  He was always interested in the outdoors environment, particularly high country tussock and watershed areas.

Grenell had his first professional engagement in 1962, the year he finished high school, after placing third in the nationwide TV contest Have a Shot, originally singing as John Hore (his stepfather's surname), but later changing to the family surname of Grenell.  He recorded his first record album for Joe Brown in 1963, and made a further 16 albums between 1963 and 1974, some of which attained gold status.  He was the New Zealand Representative to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee in 1966 and 1974.  He sang in America, Australia, Canada, England, and South Africa - in various TV series, special events and a Royal Command Performance.  He wrote the New Zealand version of I've Been Everywhere with local place names in 1966.

John Hore Grenell with Brendan Dugan

John Hore Grenell with Brendan Dugan

John Hore Grenell with Eddie Low

He returned to entertainment in 1989–90 with the album Welcome to our World which was a single cover of Welcome to My World, and album best-seller in February 1990.  He received Country music recording industry awards, Male Vocalist of the year, a Gold Tribute award plus Best Country single and Country Record of the year.  In 1990 he received a Scroll of Honour from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand for his contribution to New Zealand entertainment.  The most prominent of many country artists to emerge from the rural South Island in the 1960s, John Grenell's material and delivery leaned towards the mainstream, crossover style of Jim Reeves. Consequently, he became the biggest-selling New Zealand act of the decade, and his success continued to the 1990s. Besides his warm croon, Grenell’s success lay in the diversity of his material – and his affable personality.  He would be nicknamed New Zealand’s country gentleman.

The John Hore Grenell Discography included the following recorded releases .....

Introducing John Hore (Joe Brown, 1964)  Encore (Joe Brown, 1965)  My World (Joe Brown, 1965)  Together (Joe Brown, 1966)
Country Gentleman (Joe Brown, 1966)  The Town & Country Sound Of John Hore U.S.A. (Joe Brown, 1966)  Hit The Trail (Joe Brown, 1966)
Take Ten (Joe Brown, 1967)  My Kind Of Songs (Joe Brown, 1967)  Country Style (Joe Brown, 1968)  New Zealand Songs (Joe Brown, 1968)
Sings Great Country Hits (Joe Brown, 1969)  Great Country Songs By John Hore (Joe Brown, 1969)  We Should Be Together (Joe Brown, 1972)
Travellin' Singin' Man (Joe Brown, 1972)  The Mountains Of Home (Joe Brown, 1973)  Silver (Ode Records, 1988)  Born In The West (Playa Sound, 1990)
Welcome To Our World (CBS, 1990)  Windstar - Aotearoa (Manu, 1991)

Additional John Hore Grenell and related groups information is available on the Audio Culture Website .....

http://www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/john-grenell