Sam Ah Chookoon

Sam Ah Chookoon aka Mr. Cowboy 62 is a country singer from Western Samoa. He attracted attention following a guest appearance on the Ray Hadley show on Radio 2GB.

Sam Ah Chookoon
Also known asMr Cowboy 62
BornWestern Samoa
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)Farmer, musician
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active2018 to present

Background

A banana farmer from Vaitoloa in Apia, Western Samoa,[1][2] Ah Chookoon first fell in love with country music at the age of eight after his father introduced him to it.[3] Johnny Cash is one of his influences.[4] Other music he listened to when he was young were artists such as Jim Reeves, Dwight Yoakam, Charley Pride, George Straight and Patsy Cline.[5]In October, 2019 , he made an appearance with guitarist Josh on Radio 2GB show hosted by Ray Hadley. While there Sam with instrumental accompaniment by Josh, he did a cover of Grandpa" which was originally done by The Judds. He made a big impression on the host who said "I’m overwhelmed". Hadley also predicted big things for his future.[6][7] By December that year he had already attracted millions of views online and thousands of followers across the world with his music.[8] In an interview with The Coconet, he said that he never intended to be the Pied Piper of country but since sharing his music on social media, he was encouraged to see a lot of fellow pacific islanders supporting the genre. By early 2019, he had recorded and released a country song in Samoan.[9]

Along with Uili Lafaele Junior who is a former Pesega College music teacher, Chookoon has set up a recording studio in Samoa to work with aspiring artists.[10]

Venues

He appeared at the Penrith Hotel on October 19th, 2019.[11] He appeared at the 2020 Tamworth Country Music Festival with his nine-piece band The Western Samoans which is made up of Samoan musicians.[12]

He is to appear at the 2021 Tamworth Country Music Festival event as part of an International Showcase.[13]

gollark: The second (or third, I forgot in the 20 seconds since reading the list) biggest room appears to be for Rust.
gollark: Well, there are at least three separate ones for psychedelic drugs, what sound like NSFW ones, "conspiracy", Russian meshnet cryptolibertarians, some people working on adding more vegan locations to openstreetmap, bizarrely large amounts of activity from Perth, London biohackspace, "femboys", "science", and a weirdly popular bodyweight fitness one.
gollark: Matrix public rooms seem to be split between random open source projects and incredibly weird things
gollark: Mysterious.
gollark: With 443 members.

References
  1. Northern Daily Leader, January 22 2020 - Country Music Festival: Mr Cowboy debuts at TCMF - Madeline Link
  2. tvnz.co.nz, Thursday, December 19th - Samoa's 'Mr Cowboy' holding Hawke's Bay fundraising concert for measles crisis gripping island nation - Sean Hogan
  3. The New Zealand Herald, 17 Dec, 2019 - (Hawkes Bay Today), Samoan Cowboy headlines Flaxmere benefit concert By: Shannon Johnstone
  4. Northern Daily Leader, January 22 2020 - Country Music Festival: Mr Cowboy debuts at TCMF - Madeline Link
  5. The Coconet, Feb 8, 2019 - E le'o a'u se fufulu ulo - Mr Cowboy
  6. 2GB 873 AM, 17/10/2019 - News, ‘I’m overwhelmed’: Ray Hadley gets his Samoan discovery to perform live in the studio
  7. WORKING BULL Country Music & Life, October 22, 2019- Meet Mr Cowboy 62 by Mindy
  8. tvnz.co.nz, Thursday, December 19th - Samoa's 'Mr Cowboy' holding Hawke's Bay fundraising concert for measles crisis gripping island nation - Sean Hogan
  9. The Coconet, Feb 8, 2019 - E le'o a'u se fufulu ulo - Mr Cowboy
  10. Samoa Observer, 21/04/2020 - Former teacher, student give artists exposure By Vaelei Von Dincklage
  11. 2GB 873 AM, 17/10/2019 - News, ‘I’m overwhelmed’: Ray Hadley gets his Samoan discovery to perform live in the studio
  12. The Daily Telegraph, January 24, 2020 - Samoan cowboy trades banjo for ukulele at Tamworth Country Music Festival
  13. Tamworth Country Music Festival - Toyota Park, International Showcase
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