APRA Top 100
New Zealand Songs Of All Time

In 2001 to celebrate 75 years of its existence, APRA (the Australasian Performing Right Association), invited its members and an academy to vote on what they believe are to be New Zealand's top songs of all time. They were asked to select songs from a list of 900 entries. The resultant top 100 songs are listed below.

As with any list produced, there will always be controversy involved. It is suggested with this list, that these are the best, but what has not been clearly stated is, what is the criteria. Did the song have to have been written by a New Zealander, or just performed by a New Zealand artist or group. In the fifties, sixties and early seventies, New Zealand artists relied heavily on material from overseas. From this they made hit records out of songs that left the originals in their wake.

If you look at the statistics below the listing, you will see that the Top 100 of All Time is very heavily biased towards the end of the century. New Zealand didn't have its own locally produced record until 1949, but that still leaves 50 years from which to select.  Looking at the list shows that 74% of the songs were from the 80's or 90's. If you add in 1979 and the year 2000 you now have 86% of the songs. Is this really a true representation of the best songs New Zealand has produced over the last 50 years. I have not seen the list of the other 800 songs, and if anyone has access to that list I would very much appreciate seeing a copy.

You could almost call this list the Top 100 New Zealand Songs of the 80's and 90's. Below the list I have named a number of songs that I believe deserved to be in the Top 100. I am sure that you will recall many of them and even be able to sing many of the words, as compared to many in the Top 100 list.

The song "Blue Smoke" is really out of place in this collection. Is it really only there because it was the first New Zealand song recorded? It is also interesting to note that APRA produced a similar list of the Top 30 Australian songs. Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" came in at number 7 on that list as well. Under what criteria do they get classified Australian or New Zealand ?

I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong with any of those songs listed, I like them all, but what good would it be producing a list if it didn't stir up the emotions of other "so called" musical experts.