Normie Rowe was discovered at age 14 by legendary radio DJ, Stan "The Man" Rofe who first saw Normie perfoming in a school music concert. By introducing Normie to a number of dance promoters, Normie was soon performing live around Melbourne. By the time he recorded his first single in 1965, he had several years of experience behind him.

His first single "It Ain't Necessarily So" was well received and reached number 8 in the national charts. This was followed up in August with a cover of Ben E King's, I Who Have Nothing, reaching the same peak position in the charts.

Then came the double sided single that hit number one and turned Normie into one of Australia's first genuine stars - Que Sera Sera and Shakin All Over. From that time on, Normie's concerts were greeted with the same massed hysteria that band had been "enjoyed" by bands like The Beatles.

In 1968, after a string of top ten hits, Normie was conscripted into the Australia Army to serve in Vietnam. There has been speculation that his birthday was not one of the balloted dates and that in fact he was conscripted because of the PR value he would attract.

By the time he left the army, another Melbourne boy, Johnny Farnham, had taken his mantle as King of Pop. As a result, Normie was never able to reach the level of pop stardom he had previously enjoyed. He moved into live performances on the NSW Leagues Club circuit and starred in a range of TV and stage productions.

He has become a spokesman for the Vietnam Veterans movement and regularly performs at reunions and other veterans events.

Normie was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2005.