The voice in a million has been silenced.
Singer Eddie Low on Saturday among whānau after a long battle with cancer.
He was 81.
Low was born blind after his mother, Rangi Ratana McRoy, contracted German measles and tuberculosis during her pregnancy.
She died shortly after giving birth to Eddie and his twin, who did not survive.
Low was educated at the Foundation for the Blind School in Parnell and learned to play numerous instruments by ear and feel.
He was also an outstanding track and field athlete, a black belt in karate and an international blind golfing champion.
His eldest daughter, Maria, says her father never thought of his blindness as a disability – it was just something he happened to have.
With his friend John Rowles, he moved to Australia in 1964 to pursue a music career, eventually joining the Māori Quin Tikis in 1966 and going solo in 1969 under impresario Joe Brown.
Low was the New Zealand Entertainer and Songwriter of the Year in 1980 and is a member of both the Australian and New Zealand Country Halls of Fame, as well as being made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006 for services to music.
The family will hold a service in Christchurch, and a tribute concert is being planned for 2025.
