- He was the feature of a 2008 documentary entitled The Secret Life of John Rowles.
- Rowles had another Top 20 hit in the UK with "Hush . . . Not a Word to Mary", also in 1968. This song also charted in the Netherlands.
- Rowles was born in Whakatane, New Zealand, and is part Maori.
- In the US, "Cheryl Moana Marie" got noticed in the summer of 1970 by some West Coast radio stations, but it took until the end of 1970 for the song to chart nationally, peaking at number 64 in the Billboard Hot 100 and number 78 in the Cash Box Top 100 respectively, in early 1971.
- Rowles is best known in New Zealand and Australia, though he has also performed in the United States, particularly Las Vegas, Nevada and Hawaii, where he was managed by Kimo Wilder McVay.
- Rowles' birth name was simply John Rowles; he added the middle name "Edward" after his brother of that name died at a young age.
- He was most popular in the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, and he is best known in New Zealand for his song from 1970, "Cheryl Moana Marie", which he wrote about his younger sister.
- In the United Kingdom he was best known for the hit, "If I Only Had Time", which reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in spring 1968, and stayed in the chart for eighteen weeks. This was a cover version of the French song "Je n'aurai pas le temps" with which the French singer Michel Fugain had a hit in 1967; he co-wrote the song with Pierre Delanoë. The song also charted in the Netherlands, reaching number 2, after which the Franck Pourcel Orchestra had a minor hit with an instrumental version of the song, bearing the original French song title. In Germany, Schlager singer Peter Rubin charted with the German translation "Hätt ich nur einmal mehr Zeit". In the USA, Nick DeCaro and his orchestra charted with his instrumental version, released as the B-side of the single "Caroline, No" in late 1968, peaking at number 71 in the Cash Box Top 100 in early 1969.
- Rowles had a cameo role in the 2008 New Zealand film, Second Hand Wedding.
- His father, Eddie Hohapata Rowles, played for the 1938 Maori All Blacks. His mother was European.
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