John Lockett Devlin MNZM (born 11 May 1938)[1] is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, and musician known for his influential role in the country's early rock and roll scene.

[2][3] His cover of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" in 1958 went to number one in the New Zealand charts with sales of more than 100,000, launching a long-term career.

[3] He spent much of his time in Australia from 1959 touring in support of The Everly Brothers and making appearances on Australian television shows such as Bandstand, Six O'Clock Rock and The Go!!

[5] The family soon shifted to nearby Ohakune and then Marton before eventually settling in Wanganui, where John spent his formative years.

He received a guitar for his eleventh birthday and alongside his parents and three brothers, they formed a group called the Devlin Family.

The four brothers, plus the odd friend or cousin, continued to perform as the River City Ramblers, playing country and western, skiffle, and later Bill Haley style rock 'n' roll.

On weekends, Devlin would often go to Palmerston North and whenever he had the chance he would sing his Presley songs in talent contests run at the youth club there, by pioneering New Zealand rock 'n' roller Johnny Tahu Cooper.

The first to recognise potential in Devlin, Johnny Cooper took him under his wing, coached him in the art of stagecraft and persuaded him to practice his moves in front of a mirror.

In Palmerston North, he met Dennis Tristram, a rock 'n' roll dancer, who tried to persuade Devlin to move to Auckland.

Devlin's debut at the Jive Centre featured an all-Presley repertoire and, although there was a general buzz in the audience before he commenced, no-one was prepared for what was to follow.

Phil Warren, a part-time drummer, began working at Begg's Music Store in 1955, and later formed Prestige Records, primarily to distribute overseas releases from independent labels.

Dunningham pressured Warren into recording Devlin, so they came to an agreement and selected a poor-selling Presley release, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" for the debut single.

[1] It was recorded at the Jive Centre one Sunday afternoon in May 1958, using the Dixielanders as the backing group, and given the primitive circumstances of the session and surroundings, the quality was awful, but "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" launched Johnny Devlin as New Zealand's first superstar, when it was released in June 1958 on the Prestige label.

Although the single achieved little airplay, and the broadcast panel thought it was not of sufficient quality, it was snapped up by Auckland's teens in an unprecedented frenzy.

"Slipping Around" / "Straight Skirt" sold a lot better and without the Presley influence, it demonstrated that New Zealand could produce credible rock 'n' roll.

Over the next two weeks he performed for close to 20,000 ecstatic fans in Wellington, Palmerston North, Masterton, Napier, Gisborne and Tauranga.

He invited MP and Cabinet Minister Mabel Howard to a champagne party followed by the Devlin show, and after the pair would be driven off to meet up with Max Merritt.

The EP was just called "Johnny Devlin" and contained "High Heeled Shoes", "Hard to Get", "Big Green Car" and "Your Cheatin' Heart".

The only remaining highlight came when in Wellington, he met the touring evangelist Billy Graham and the Prime Minister Walter Nash.

Meanwhile, Warren received a phone call from Sydney-based American promoter, Lee Gordon, who was in the process of organising an Australasian tour for The Everly Brothers.

They agreed and with no fuss, fanfare or farewell concert, Johnny Devlin and the Devils slipped out of New Zealand in the last week of May 1959.

With his new Australian manager John Collins he founded his own "Teen" label, for which he had three moderate hits: "Turn the Lights Out Johnny" (December 1959, written by Devlin), "Gigolo" (September 1960, Mitchell Torok) and "Got a Zac in the Back of Me Pocket" (November 1960, Nat Kipner).

In 1963 and 1964, he recorded "Stomp the Tumbarumba" (written by Devlin), "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", the Bee Gees singing backup vocals on all three songs.

[6] Devlin wrote several songs for other artists, notably "Good Looking Boy", a hit for Patsy Ann Noble in 1961,[5] and "Surfside" (1963) for Digger Revell and the Denvermen.

He was transferred to St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney in a critical condition and received a triple bypass which saved his life.

Widely traveled around Australasia, he eventually settled in New South Wales, working more in the jazz field than the rock 'n' roll which launched him.