Post #533896 by bigbrotiki on Thu, Jun 3, 2010 9:46 AM

Great photos of Ella, that leopard one would have been a close contender for my Jackie Susann/ Cruella DeVille photo in Tiki Modern! That and her feline demeanor makes me regret now that I did not use her for that section.

I always loved African Lullaby and Uskadara too, but most of Ella's exotic songs are on that ONE great album, her 1956 "That Bad Eartha", which gave her that jet set/ports of call international flair. Basically I am in agreement with your Ella adulation, but as you said, I would really keep her in the Lounge category, not Exotica, and not Polynesian pop. And as we know, Lounge is a neighboring islet of Exotica. :)

Also I am not so sure that Tiki began in 1953: After surveying much more Post-BOT evidence, the Luau stayed Tropics-style/Pre Tiki for a while, then Tiki Bob's opened in 1955, so that connection to her hit is tenuous. It was in the mid to late 50s that the Luau went fully Tiki, together with its expansion to the Kon-Tikis.