Local yodelling sensation on hiatus

By Petrina Wright | Posted: Tuesday October 15, 2024

Enliven’s Resthaven retirement village is home to local celebrity Max McCauley and his wife Coral.

The Gore country music identity has spent the past six decades entertaining residents in Southland and South Otago care homes, including our Enliven care homes, simply for the joy it provides.

“I just love to make people happy if I can, because that makes me happy too,” Max said.  “It is something I enjoy with a passion.”

He particularly enjoyed seeing people with dementia “come alive” as they recognised the songs he was singing.

“They have still got the music inside and when they start singing along with you, that makes it worthwhile.”

Unfortunately, the 87-year-old’s trademark yodelling came to an abrupt halt last year when his vocal cords collapsed, putting paid to performing, at least for now.

During lockdown he had sung online in a bid to cheer people up and he believed the damage may have been done when he had continued to sing while having COVID-19, putting a strain on his voice.

An operation to repair the damage is planned in Auckland this month (Oct) with the hope of restoring his singing voice.

Not being able to sing has been difficult for Max, as his love of country music has been a life-long passion.

He was born in Lumsden in 1937 into a family of country music lovers. His mother yodelled and his father played numerous instruments including the button accordion and mouth organ.

Max said he remembers hearing his mother yodelling when he was a toddler and thinking the sound was interesting.

He took up the craft at the age of three and never looked back.

He had his stage debut at the Lumsden RSA hall singing The Yellow Rose of Texas at the age of five.

“I still remember it like it was yesterday,” he said.

Max realised early on yodelling was not for everyone, so as a child he would climb trees to practice where he would not disturb anyone.

On moving to Gore when Max was about 6, his school teacher asked him to sing to the class. He was reluctant, only agreeing on the condition he could sing while hidden behind the blackboard.

That early reluctance soon gave way as his passion for the music grew.

A pivotal experience was joining the Gore operatic society on leaving school. A member of the group, Iris Barron, was a country music enthusiast and asked him to entertain the audience while the sets were being changed behind the curtain.  He later joined the chorus, performing in several shows.

Being part of the group exposed him to a wide variety of music he had not heard before, which he had really enjoyed, he said.

However, it was seeing the Viennese Comedy Harmonists perform in the Regent Theatre in Gore in 1954 that cemented his love for Alpine yodelling, a style popular in rural Europe.

Alpine yodelling was his preferred style because of its complexity and difficulty, he said.

Max’s singing achievements and accolades have been many.

One of his proudest achievements was receiving a Gold Disc Award presented by recording company Hoghton Hughes for sales of his 1978 record 20 Golden Yodels exceeding 50,000 copies.

He has been inducted into the Tamworth and Gore Country Music Hands of Fame, which pay tribute to people who have made a name for themselves in country music.

Max also has an impressive list of high-profile New Zealand country music singers and entertainers he has performed with over the years.

That list includes Paul Walden, Maria Dallas, Eddie Low and Kevin Greaves.  He has also performed with Sir Howard Morrison, Suzanne Prentice, Gerry Merito, and his favourite female country music singer Patsy Riggir, who sang the early country music he loved so much.

Despite all his success, Max was a humble man, uncomfortable boasting about his achievements.

“I just sing because I love it.”