Mike Perjanik is a New Zealand-born musician, record producer, composer, arranger and bandleader who became well known in Australia from the late 1960s for his work on pop and rock recordings, and as a composer, arranger, bandleader and producer of music for film, television and advertising.
Although largely self-taught as a keyboard player, arranger and composer,[1] Perjanik's skills soon made him a prominent figure on the thriving New Zealand music scene of the mid-1960s.
One of the Perjanik Group's first sessions was backing a new singing duo discovered by Viking Records boss Ron Dalton; the duo, Sue and Judy Donaldson (who were childhood friends of La De Da's guitarist Kevin Borich) were renamed by Perjanik as the Chicks; The Mike Perjanik Group backed them on their debut single "Heart of Stone"/"I Want You To Be My Boy" and in 1966 they also backed The Chicks on their single "The Rebel Kind".
Impressed by her powerful voice Perjanik informed Ron Dalton of his discovery and she was soon brought to the Viking studio to record "Tumblin' Down", which was released under the singer's new stage name Maria Dallas.
He also wrote, produced and arranged the theme songs for the TV programmes Home and Away, A Country Practice and The Restless Years, which was a hit for Renee Geyer, released on RCA Australia.