49th State Hawaii Records - Beyond Tiki

T Tiki_Bong Member Huntington Beach, CA Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: -16	T Tiki_Bong Posted posted on Wed, Feb 12, 2003 9:23 AM A while back someone (Swanky?) posted something about some Hawaiian music from the 40's that came from 49th State Hawaii Records. I replied back that the name was odd in that Hawaii was the 50th State. After buying some old recordings of some steel guitar tunes, I happened upon the history behind the 49th State Hawaii Record company. George K Ching began recording Hawaiian music on his record label, "49th State Hawaii Records" in post World War II in Honolulu. "49th State" was so named because businessmen were anticipating Hawaii's eventual attainment of statehood. However, no one realized that Alaska would actually gain that distinction, and Hawaii would end up as the "50th State". Most "49th State" 78 rpm recordings were made using an acetate record cutting machine, in a make shift studio at Ching's own home. To guarantee authenticity in the recording performances, Ching enlisted John Kameaaloha Almeida, the "Dean of Hawaiian Music", as the label's musical director.
K Kilikopela Member Houston, TX Joined: Jun 23, 2002 Posts: 53	K Kilikopela Posted posted on Fri, Feb 14, 2003 10:03 PM Ahhh, thank you. I did end up getting a stack of 45s (actually 46 45s) from a guy here in Houston and they are really great (if you like pre-50s Hawaiian music). Thanks again for the info! K

A while back someone (Swanky?) posted something about some Hawaiian music from the 40's that came from 49th State Hawaii Records.

I replied back that the name was odd in that Hawaii was the 50th State. After buying some old recordings of some steel guitar tunes, I happened upon the history behind the 49th State Hawaii Record company.

George K Ching began recording Hawaiian music on his record label, "49th State Hawaii Records" in post World War II in Honolulu.

"49th State" was so named because businessmen were anticipating Hawaii's eventual attainment of statehood. However, no one realized that Alaska would actually gain that distinction, and Hawaii would end up as the "50th State".

Most "49th State" 78 rpm recordings were made using an acetate record cutting machine, in a make shift studio at Ching's own home. To guarantee authenticity in the recording performances, Ching enlisted John Kameaaloha Almeida, the "Dean of Hawaiian Music", as the label's musical director.