Dilworth Karaka, frontman of the band Herbs, was a humble man with a musical soul. Born in 1950, Karaka was an aspiring league player until a devastating injury cut short his sporting ambitions. He co-founded Herbs in Auckland in 1979 with Toni Fonoti, Spencer Fusimalohi and Fred Faleauto. He was Herbs’ regular guitarist and lead singer for the next 40 years, which spanned five albums and more than a dozen singles. Combining the influences of Bob Marley and the music of their Polynesian heritage, Herbs were pioneers of a Pacific reggae sound. As well as their own projects, Herbs collaborated with some big local names including Tim Finn, Annie Crummer and most successfully with Dave Dobbyn on the hit single
Slice of Heaven, off the movie soundtrack
Footrot Flats. It reached No 1 in October 1986, staying there for eight weeks, and also topped the Australian charts for a month.
Karaka sang songs which promoted tino rangatiratanga, environmentalism and the nuclear-free message, in some cases long before such sentiments became mainstream. Karaka died on March 15 aged 75. — Agencies/Allied Media
