Mahinārangi Tocker (1955 – 15 April 2008) was a singer-songwriter from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Tocker wrote more than 600 songs in a 25-year career in the jazz fusion folk-pop genre. Her vocal style has been compared to that of

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading (, born 9 December 1950) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her first major commercial success came with her third and fourth albums, '' Joan Armatrading'' (1976) and '' Show Some Emotion'' (1977), a ...

and

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles " Fast Car" (1988) and " Give Me One Reason" (1995). She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she rel ...

. She also gave lectures around New Zealand about the use of music and creativity to boost learning and self-esteem, and was an adult literacy tutor, writer and poet.

Biography

Tocker was born in

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kūiti and 55 km west of T� ...

to Rihitapuwai Rauhihi and Norman Tocker and was of

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi (tribe) with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupō and Manawatū/ Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti ...

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua ( Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North ...

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on th ...

, Jewish and Celtic ancestry. Tocker spent much of her life at

Glendene Glendene is a suburb of West Auckland, in New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. Glendene is a mainly residential suburb with the north-eastern portion devoted to light industry. History Glendene is named a ...

in West Auckland. In the

2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

, Tocker was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

for services to music. Tocker died on 15 April 2008 in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

's North Shore hospital following a severe asthma attack. She was 52. Her final performance had been at the Titirangi Festival of Music in March 2008. A memorial tree was planted for her at Falls Park in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

Personal life

Tocker had a daughter in 1982. Tocker came out openly as a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

. She openly talked about her diagnosis with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

Discography

Albums muzic.net.nz
/ref> * 1985 ''Clothesline Conversation'' * 1987 ''I'm Going Home'' * 1996 ''Mahinarangi'' * 1997 ''Te Ripo'' * 2002 '' Hei Ha!'' * 2002 ''Touring'' (With Charlotte Yates) * 2005 ''The Mongrel in Me''

References

1955 births 2008 deaths 20th-century New Zealand women singers Deaths from asthma Lesbian singers New Zealand lesbian musicians New Zealand LGBTQ singers Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand Māori women singers Ngāti Maniapoto people Ngāti Raukawa people Ngāti Tūwharetoa people People from Taumarunui People with bipolar disorder 20th-century New Zealand LGBTQ people 21st-century New Zealand LGBTQ people {{Māori-bio-stub