A banana farmer in Samoa, Sam Ah Chookoon, has stormed up the YouTube channel with 1.4 million views of his cover of the Beatles classic, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da. His rendition is at the top of the New Zealand charts.
Samoa Observer reports the music video by Samoan country music sensation, known in entertainment circles as Mr. Cowboy, features Samoan style living on the farm, showing joy and brotherhood despite being out in the plantation.
The video was shot in Samoa.
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With well over a million views and climbing, Mr. Cowboy’s latest release has been trending at number one since its’ release on December 15, 2022, on the official channel of the record label.
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” has reached 20.5K likes on YouTube in the three weeks since it was released. It’s in its third week at the number 1 slot on the NZ music charts.
The country music star from Vaitoloa in Samoa was a hit at a fundraiser for the Pacific Island seasonal workers a couple of years ago in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
The singer said, he has been encouraged by the support from fellow Pacific Islanders.
A Samoan country song he recorded in 2019, got him an appearance with guitarist Josh Mase on Sydney’s Radio 2GB show hosted by Ray Hadley and was one of the first Polynesian artists to play at the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Chookoon credits Johnny Cash as one of his influences and used to listen when he was young to artists such as Jim Reeves, Dwight Yoakam, Charley Pride, George Strait and Patsy Cline.
