Show us your record collection!

OK, I think amongst my 2,000 Hawaiian/exotica LPS this one has to take the cake for being the most bizarre. I've posted it sideways so you can see the artwork a bit better, which , for some unknown reason, was printed sideways on the slipcover. It's called "Clayton Scott "Kalakona Koka" Delights You With Six Faces Of Hawaii - Plus Two"..WHATEVER the heck THAT is supposed to mean. Recorded in Brockton, Mass in 1979. A few of the songs have more than one rendition..once a female vocal, then an almost Elvis-type male vocal. Nearly every Hawaiian word is completely massacred....tracks include "Waimea Thunder","Hawaiian Dreams-Kakalina","Hawaii Hula Maiden-Kanoelani","Hawaii Hula Wahine-Beverly","Surf's Up At Waikiki","Hawaii Hula Maiden-Kauilani", etc. It's bad..but bad enough to be good...you know, a lounge act that "thought they were going somewhere", maybe. It's the kind of record you put on the turntable when friends over, not telling them what it is...and people going "Dude...wtf are we listening to??"

The "Sleepwalk" guitars of Santo & Johnny are a classic sound and I LOVE both the music on this LP and the jacket. I think this was Santo & Johnny at their stylistic best.

For some reason, there were quite a number of French Canadian steel guitarists putting out "Hawaiian-styled" pop tune cover LPs. Maybe they sold well in Canada at the time because of Santo & Johnny, etc...? Anyway, here's one that I particularly like. I don't actually KNOW most of these songs in their original form, but they worked well on steel....and this chic is very stylin'.

Marlene Sai came right out of high school and into the musical spotlight here in Hawaii. She has decades of LPs behind her and had a beautiful deep voice. I just selected this LP "Magic Moods Of Waikiki" as I like the stylized jacket, and it was recorded with a full orchestra and has many classics on it "Waikiki","Dahil Sayo","Akaka Falls", etc..a very nice Hawaiian album.

Finally today, from Japan, Buckie Shirakata & His Aloha Hawaiians really get their groove on with the strangely titled LP "Wide Hawaiian: Tropical Rhythm Of Tahiti." Here is a collection of Tahitian songs, played by a typical steel guitar combo, but with Tahitian log & drums thrown in here & there throughout the songs. It's interesting, if a bit jolting at times and I wish a non-Japanese steel player would have done a similar LP, as the Japanese steel players tend to be so heavy on the single-note playing, you really don't get the drippy, sweet harmonies that much, which would have been nice...but, oh well, it's an interesting spin for sure!

Well, quite unusual, an album of mine on world release by EMI was released by Toshiba records in Japan as a Red vinyl sampler on the Odeon label OP-8327 (yax-3414) and called :- Mood Deluxe Melodies for Best Dresser ???? Originally entitled "Shades of Hawaii" I can't begin to figure out the reason for the alternate title..

There are more details about this and other albums of mine HERE

On 2009-10-03 16:00, basilh wrote:
Well, quite unusual, an album of mine on world release by EMI was released by Toshiba records in Japan as a Red vinyl sampler on the Odeon label OP-8327 (yax-3414) and called :- Mood Deluxe Melodies for Best Dresser ???? Originally entitled "Shades of Hawaii" I can't begin to figure out the reason for the alternate title..

I think you will find the answer to that title change here:

http://www.engrish.com/ :D

Kaiwaza, PTD, everyone here:

I love all this eye candy you are finding and posting, thank you!

On 2009-10-03 13:23, Kaiwaza wrote:
The Surfers had a long recording career here in the islands. I've seen some of their material reissued on CD by a Japanese firm and also on an UK CD, but nothing stateside...outside of their last 1980s LP that was put on CD locally. Since they guys were all young good-looking Hawaiians they were usually all featured in some state of undress on their record jackets, which were ALL very colorful. Obviously, I like this one for the tiki action.

This one being shot at the entrance of Stephen Crane's Luau, no less, affording us a close up view of the entrance/logo Tikis!

I will have a Surfers track from the other album photographed at The Luau on my upcoming "The Sound of Tiki" CD:

These guys were discovered and their first album recorded at the Glendale Junior College in L.A. - a complete mainland fabrication of Polynesia. :)

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-10-04 02:30 ]

Four more today...

Later,

PTD

Going through the "t, u, & v's" today, most of what I pulled today is here because of it's obscurity.
"The Three Sounds of Kona" was made up of Kay Edsman, Executive Housekeeper of Kailua-Kona's Hukilau Hotel, Glen Auna, star of the Polynesian Review at the Kona Hilton, & Gene Pickett, on Hammond organ, performer at Reuben's. For some reason, the LP was recorded at Bill Hunter's recording studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I loved the back cover photo taken in the studio, I had to included it.

Many of us are probably familiar with steel guitarist Bud Tutmarc & his many, many Hawaiian arranged-LPs of gospel tunes. Obviously, THIS one is a bit "out-of-whack" with the rest of his rather staid photo pictures, but...who can resist the fake lei, fish nets & fake MONKEY...it's beautiful...and it's good for your soul..lol.

These three gentlemen did double duty as musical entertainers and nightly conch-shell blowers & lighting the torches along the lagoon at the famous Coco Palms Hotel on Kauai. (Hence the name.."The Torchlighters") Both the look of the LP and the music itself is great..beautiful falsettos harmonies in old Hawaiian style doing many favorites "Magic Isle","Wedding Song","Now Is The Hour" etc.

"Islands of Fantasy" by Vanua Levu was recorded in Germany ..not dated, maybe 70s, 80s I'd think. Amazingly, I ran across a double CD with all these & even MORE of Vanua Levus "hits." Such songs as "Hawaiian Rose","Suma Hana", Honolulu Love Song","Island Of Dreams" and more. I don't seem to find much information on this guy (I'm assuming Vanua Levu is referring to ONE guy rather than a group..?), but I'd venture a guess that's he's either Filipino or Indonesian. It's MOST interesting music....totally Abba-esque, "let's go Euro-beaching", early Venga Boys..lol. I love it actually. Any one know anything about Vanua Levu??

Well, this LP is ANYTHING but obscure...I'll bet 90% of us have at least one copy of it. And I'll proudly admit that I happen to LOVE Billy Vaughn's twin saxophone treatment of everything. I find myself imagining what his LPs would sound like today trying to cover the current hits. Anyway, I put this here because it is a FAVORITE of mine, both for the music & for the very feminine, sexy, enigmatic cover. It's almost iconoclastic & it was a HUGE selling LP..I'm really surprised no contemporary group has ever made a copy version of this cover photo. I mean, the wierd look on her face...like she's got a broomstick up her behind, and I've ALWAYS wondered..WHAT THE HECK IS THAT PINK POUFFY THING in the background?? What is it?? It's one of the great mysteries of record history to me...

[ Edited by: Kaiwaza 2009-10-10 21:03 ]

Ken Ufton, steel guitarist, has recorded a few LPs all on rather obscure labels (including one for Maple's Sweet Steel Guitar Series). On this particular record, he is a "one-man-band" playing all the guitars. Blame Canada for this one...c1987.

How could I pass on posting this one? The Tiki Serenaders were all employees of Honolulu's Tiki Transportation Company and while not singing, were chauffeuring around visitors in their fleet of late model limousines. A mix vocal group with a mix of Hawaiian & hapa-haole tunes.."Yellow Ginger Lei","Singing Bamboo", Na Ka Pueo","Pearly Shells", etc.

And last but not least today, we take you to the Banyan Tree Room of the Hale Koa Hotel where "Tami's Hula Nanis" take you on an exotic journey through Polynesia. This was one of the longest running revues in Waikiki...there seem to have been SEVERAL of the longest running revues in Waikiki with LPs out..:) BTW, in case you're wondering, Tama is the guy to the left of the big drum...beating the logs.

Found the oft-repressed (or re-pressed I should say) Kaino -

And, a local record store has Chaino's "Jungle Echoes" for a total of $20 as well as a Korla Pandit LP with the bonus of an autographed back cover additionally signed "Vancouver, 1961", I guess when on tour or on a visit. That one's up for $10.
Must make a decision, soon!

Even though I was crawling all weekend, that didn't prevent me from hunting. From 6:30 a.m. Sunday...

Later,

PTD

I noticed after I posted these two are basically the same covers:

The record companies sure seemed to get a lot of mileage out of their photos!

PTD

As a kid living on the mainland listening to my grandfather's Hawaiian LPs, I was always confused by a Honolulu records company named "49th State Hawaii Records." I mean, HELLO, everyone knows Hawaii is the 50th state. Years later, living in Hawaii, I learned the story of this record company. Run by George Ching, it began production in 1948, pre-statehood, when EVERYONE thought Hawaii would be named the 49th state. Alaska snuck in by surprise just before Hawaii as there were still some concerns about admitting a state with a Caucasian minority population. Anway, 49th State Hawaii records was a non-union company employeeing many not very well rehearsed musicians recording in people's living rooms. Many of Genoa Keawe's earlier recordings are on the 49th label and although the company recorded for just 10 years their repackaged LPs and 45s were STILL selling in the 1980s. In fact, Cord International has re-issued a fair amount of 49th State material on CD. However, they DON'T have the FABULOUS photographs on ALL the 49th State records..they just SCREAM 1950s Hawaiiana and I couldn't help but post several of their dozens of LPS. They are just beautiful! In good condition, these LPS go for big bucks in the islands today.
BTW...For whatever reason, Cord Int'l has chosen NOT to reissue any of the beautiful steel guitar instrumentals that primarily feature Benjamin Rogers & The Harmony Isles Group that are on one side of most of these LPs. Their combination of steel guitar & vibes is THE iconoclassic Hawaiian sound of the 1950s and I don't know WHY they don't put together a CD. If you like that sound, I highly reccomend a more recent steel CD by Herbert Hanawahine that is a direct copy of this 1950s vibes/steel sound...same style as Benjamin Rogers Harmony Isle Group.

Here's a reissue of some Viking Records music recorded in New Zealand, issued by NY's Fiesta records. Fiesta seems to have specialized in re-issuing foreign music recorded overseas & released many Hawaiian LPS by New Zealand and European based acts. I like Bill Wolfgramme's playing, but I just also love this jacket...it "pops" as they say.

Imagine Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass on a Hawaiian Jet-Set vacation and you get "Frank Valdor's Hawaii Beat A Go-Go." For me, this is one of those fantasy LPs that you figure wouldn't exist in reality & yet it does. Great groovy brass swinging to "Moon Over Waikiki","Hula Shuffle","Mini Grass Skirt","Marching Guitars","Island Hopper","Waikiki Beat" and more...it's just awesome. And what about the jacket? I mean, none of these photos has ANYTHING to do with Hawaii at all. It's treasure.

Here's a simple compilation of actual Hawaiian recording artists recorded for the opening of the Ilikai Hotel in Waikiki. You might know the Ilikai as beeing the hotel where Jack Lord is first seen in the "Hawaii Five-O" opening credits. Nice period artwork here. I wonder if this was given out or sold to guests at the hotel?

Finally today, here's a record that is of interest, not so much for the content, but or the gatefold artwork. It essentially a hula instruction LP...common enough at the time called " The How & Why Of Hula" 1961, Starburst sales, featuring The Lurline TRio & The Matsonia Trio..instructions on side one, a few hula tempo numbers on side 2. This must have been sold on the cruise ships themselves (Matsonia & Lurline) as evidenced from "The Log" on the inside cover. There is NO CREDIT given for the artist (not even a signature on the paintings themselves), yet, is it not FANTASTIC? I've posted several pages from the gatefold pages.

A few from today...

Later!

PTD

A very nice Hawaiian LP from Likelike Weisbarth who sang at "Pat's At Punalu'u" on the North Shore of Oahu island. I used to play this one a lot when I worked in both college and professional Hawaiian radio.

Lion Records put out this compilation of earlier material. One side is by Lani McIntyre, the other by Hal Aloma full orchestra. The Lani McIntyre stuff is out there is several forms, but this is the only time I've run across these particular Hal Aloma full dance orchestra recordings..usually it's just a small combo. Hal's big band swing arrangement of "Kuu Lei Makamae" is particularly nice. Pretty jacket as well.

"OK, Madge, let's go out by the driveway and shoot us a Hawaiian record cover picture." Another photographic treasure from Starday Records of Tennessee.

Paradise is a state of mind.

[ Edited by: Kaiwaza 2009-10-17 19:49 ]

"A Latin From Manhattan In Hawaii" by Ernie Warren & The Hula Rhythm Boys" is a flat out amazing LP...A few standards & many Hawaiian originals performed as cha-chas and latin numbers. Both Sam Makia and Hal Aloma are artists on this LPs and "Hula Cha" (aka Hawaiian War Chant Cha Cha Cha) is absolutely killer. You MUST get this LP if you ever see it!

Indonesia/Holland's Rudy Wairata played steel guitar for many years with the Kilima Hawaiians and also had successful groups of his own. Here's a Dutch LP with tracks such as "When We Do The Hula-Hula Beat","Swinging Steel Guitar","A Ship Is Sailing","Farewell To Samoa", etc. However, I particularly am drawn to the fetching outfits worn by the band members. These people know how to have a luau even if it is in a brick garden....extra bonus points for the accordian muumuu.

Another rare Wairata offering..."Stereo Cruise." This LP is unusul in that it features Wairata instrumentally on steel playing selections backed by a full orchestra..."Hibiscus","Love Song Of The Tropics","Moon Dream", and others.
I'm ready for my shipboard mai tai.

I have a "soft-spot" for Belgium's "The Waikikis" as I had some of their LPs at a very early age..6 or 7. THeir music, oddly, imprinted am image of what I thought it would be like to live in a "modern Hawaiian city" somehow. At any rate, here's a seldom seen LP in the U.S., their Canadian issue of "On The Beach" with typical Waikikis renditions of songs like "Cecilia You're Breaking My Heart","Anchors Aweigh","Strike Up The Band", and great originals like "Hula Party" & "Exciting Noise."

Here's a rarity...Soundscapes Creative Dynamic Records (no, I've never heard of them either) release "Polynesian Interlude" by Al Wagner & The Philharmonic Strings..a few standards, plus "Avarua","Beautiful Lagoon","Samoa","Paradise For Two" etc. Typical orchestral offering, just a seldom seen LP and a strange hut on the cover that seems to be either incomplete or for very short natives...? Or maybe they just took a picture at one of the "Survivor" camps.

I like the directness here. In case you didn't know what this was a recording OF...it's "Hawaiian Songs." I like the photo, too...looks like she's a little pissed off that the ship is coming in.

A lovely LP jacket....very 1950s Hawaiiana. Featuring "Popular Hawaiian Orchestras...The Royal Garden Islanders (aka Hal Aloma), Ray Kinney, etc.

New Zealand's Viking Records did a lovely job of re-issuing a lot of their older Bill Sevesi, George Tumahai, & Daphne Walker material into spiffy new LPs . Here's one of several in my collection..I like this one as it features a seldom seen yet common item on Hawaiian beaches...the floatation device. Selections on this one include "Id Like To See Samoa Of Samoa","Vikings On The March","Nothing Else To Do In Ma-La-Ka-Mo-K-Lu", among others.

Here's an absolutely beautiful recording, and a rarity.."Singing Bamboo" the songs of (well-known composers) Maddy Lam & Mary Pukui. I've only seen this LP once or twice & it's a beauty. Classic hapa-haole & hula tunes by various artists..."Ka Lehua I Milia","My Hawaiiana","Our Paradise","When The Orchestra Plays Aloha Oe", etc. a 1958 gatefold with lyrics inside by Island Recording Studio.

Well, the appeal here is obvious. An Italian release of steel guitarist Roy Wiggins instrumentals.

I don't know who Johnny Hoes is, but the Dutch person "presented" at least two "Hawaiian" LPs featuring The Honolulu Strings and various singers. The usual European mix of Indonesian, Hawaiian, & European numbers. I like the cover.

Love this German release! The Waikiki Party Band & The Hilo Singers take us to a "Hawaiian Beach Party." 24 songs arranged in groovy steel/vocal chorus medleys. Kind of "James Last-ish." Songs include "Hawaii Tattoo","Fern Am Strande Von Samoa","Vaya Con Dios" (found on a shockingly LARGE number of European-Hawaiian records...did they think this was actually a Polynesian song??), "Blume Von Hawaii", etc., etc. It's a party disc..:)

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I just posted in the Marketplace a bunch of cheesecake LP's which I'm offering up for FREE to anyone who wants 'em. I'm just asking for $4.00 shipping.

Follow the linky...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=34272&forum=12&2

My personnal record colecting tastes are a bit odd & I have always had a GREAT love of the budget labels....Crown, Diplomat, Spin-O-Rama & a dozen other labels mostly sold in grocery stores & department stores. In the pop music field, they'd usually have one or two tracks by a known artist, and slap them on a record with 8 other tracks by some unknown person or studio orchestra and package it to look like it was all by the known artist "PETULA CLARK....and others" Anyway, obviously there weren't any "known" Hawaiian stars at the time, so they made up ridiculoius artist & song titles and took about 40 songs and repackaged them into 1,000 LPs. Today, I'm just posting some of my faves from the budget category, mostly because they actually did some fun cover art.

Obviously, we all love the tiki action here. They folks at Wyncote records need to be given special recognition for their multiple spellings of "Hawaii" & "Hawaiian". So MANY of the LPs have a variety of misspellings on the labels & liner notes.."Hawai","Hawaiia","Hawiin", etc etc. I mean, really, is it THAT difficult??

I've always found this a lovely cover. One LP of MANY containing a rip-off version of Any Williams "Hawaiian Wedding Song."

I'm guessing this one is actually somewhat rare. I've only seen it once. It's a later budget release..post 1970 as it features an orchestral "Hawaii Five-0" attached to the usual suspects. Kind of a groovy image.

Even Montgomery Ward stores got into the budget label Hawaiian action. This picture was, of course, used on many budget LPs. "Montgomery Ward Presents Aloha From The Islands"

Paradise is a state of mind.

[ Edited by: Kaiwaza 2009-10-21 17:00 ]

I have a sentimental soft spot fr this budget LP. I was 6 or 7 and I saw it at our local candy/convenience store and bugg
ed my parents every day for a week before they relented and bought it for me...lol. I still find the jacket fetching.

Another typical budget LP, but, again, I like the picture.

Ah..."Vacation in Hawaii", relaxing by a waterfall grooving to Leilani's bongo rhythm.

I like this one...enjoying the beach...which is rather obviously NOT in Hawaii.

Hot artwork.

Nice artwork on a LP by the Plymouth Hawaiian Orchestra...who knew? Actually, these are early Hal Aloma recordings released by several earlier budget labels under various pseudonyms. I also like the misspelling of "Hawaiian". :)

Guadeloupe is the new Hawaii, in case you didn't know. This is a classic. The cover photo is courtesy of British West Indian Airways. It's an early Jimmy Buffett concept, I think.

And something very interesting happens when you slid these two early budget label LPs together. WE have a lovely picnic on the beach with sandwiches & beer. I've seen these same two ladies on the same beach on covers for Latin American budget records..they got around without leaving the same strip of sand..

A few from today...

Later,

PTD

Maybe it's been said, but thanks for posting all the great record covers everyone, especially Kaiwaza! This thread is a treasure trove. This one is a great observation, very cool...

On 2009-10-21 16:57, Kaiwaza wrote:
And something very interesting happens when you slid these two early budget label LPs together. WE have a lovely picnic on the beach with sandwiches & beer. I've seen these same two ladies on the same beach on covers for Latin American budget records..they got around without leaving the same strip of sand..

Hey Kaiwaza, how about your namesake? I have one record by Kaiwaza, that has some nice gems. What do you know about him/her/them? Somehow I always thought the LP I have sounds a little more modern in the production than others, but who knows.

-Randy

Yes, I have that ONE Wyncote LP by "Kaiwaza","Hawaiian Holiday", whici Dearly love. I just LOVE the fairly simple arrangements & yes, more lush, contemporary feel to it than the other budget groups. As per usual, they reissued the Kaiwaza cuts under a hundred titles and mixed up on LPs with alll the other "Luke Leilani" groups. I have no idea who the original artist actually is or was & haven't run across any named artist LPs that sound like it might be him/her. I actually ran across a vocal rendition of "Bird of Paradise" also on a budget Wyncote LP by a fake Dean Martin. Otherwise, I've never seen the other cuts in any other version.
Thanks for the compliments...still have some things to post..haven't gotten to the exotica and South Pacific stuff yet..:)

Earlier, I posted several LPs from the "49th State Hawaii" label which ceased after the founder left for the mainland.. Another company much in the same vein started up where "49th State Hawaii" left off & that was "Waikiki Records" which started production in 1958. They recorded literally hundreds of 45 rpms geared mainly towards the hula market. Eventually more than 30 LPs were put together of some of these 45s and packaged as compilations by "various native artists." Unlike "49th State Hawaii" though, these were studio recordings of great quality & arrangement & when I was working in Hawaiian music radio in the 1980s, we were still playing Waikiki records on a daily basiseven though they ceased p[roduction in 1966. These are just a few of their lovely compilation LPs:

This "Waikiki" label LP (and it's companion vol. 2,) heavily features Gabby Pahinui (featured on the cover here) who became an icon of traditional Hawaiian sound, much like Genoa Keawe. There are many Pahinui tracks spread through most of the "Waikiki" LPs.

This one looks like it should be a Leetag painting, don't you think?

"The Duke" isn't performing here, but "Waikiki" gave him his own record.

This might just look like an assortment of island beauties, but there's some history in this picture. Back "in the day", instead of electing just one beauty queen, The University of Hawaii held a competition where one winner was chosen for each of the major ethnic groups of Hawaii at the time...I don't know which year this was, but from left to right, they are
Cosmopolitan (mixed race), Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Caucasian, and, seated, Native Hawaiian.

A couple of nice jackets from some of the Decca Hawaiian compilations...

"Waikiki Swings" featured all the hot, happening island artists of the day..Don Ho, Kui Lee, Zulu, Alvan. And it features a scene not really unlike any typical day you'd see today in Waikiki.

Here's another in a series of..."she looks familiar" or, how many LPs can one photo shoot find it's way onto.
Here we see the same lady on a few budget labels & a New Zealand LP. Also interesting, is this SAME back drop features a different model coming up later in several shots. They got their money's worth out of that grass shack..and why not?

I think this one is particularly fetching & deserves a close-up:

Nice, I've only seen two of those before.

This is one of the things I love about TC, when people are able to re-connect things from a bygone era that went different paths.

-Randy

:lol:

Excellent! :) Flawless execution in its restraint. You really had me there for a moment! An undiscovered gem that bombed and had been forgotten!!? When I got to about the third song title I got it.

With many vintage LPs in frames around my house... I have found it really bizarre how many of the records I have purchased/found where the owner had WRITTEN THEIR NAME or put a label on the LP cover somewhere.

Sometimes it was discreetly written on the back... other times it was in giant ink letters right through the face of the people on the cover.

In all my years of owning CD's I cant ever recall being compelled to write my name on the cases... why would they ever get mixed up with someone elses if they only sat in MY car or house?

With a record, the portability is even less (house only) so Im unclear why so many record owners were compelled to write all over them and ruin otherwise lovely cover art.

Anyone have any insight as to why?

I used to bring records to parties when I was a teen-ager. To make sure they didn't get mixed up with anyone else's, we wrote our names on the covers, although usually on the back.

Does that help?

I've noticed it too. Especially at garage & estate sales where at one sale, every record in the box will have the owner's signature scrawled across it in pen. Then at the next sale, no signatures.

My guess is that buying a record was a more-significant expenditure back in the 50s and 60s than buying a cd is today. I think people must have lent them out like books.

I've also had a hint at Lodge Sales, (like an Elks lodge), Club Sales (like a motorcycle club), and Church sales, when they're clearing out the location's own record collection (as opposed to just a box of donations). At a few of these, almost every record in the box had a signature and the signatures were different. This makes me think that the lodge or church listening library was made up of donations from its members and that these were expected to be returned to their rightful owners at some time.

I've also noticed that in CD collections owned by DJs, sometimes every CD will have the owner's name written on the case in grease-pencil.

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2009-11-04 11:12 ]

While on a trip to LA last year I noticed an abundance of records with the name Ira Cook scribbled very large on the cover of every album this guy owned. Some scrawled right over someones face!! I thought to myself "what an idiot". My Dad noticed a bunch of these as well and was downright disgusted that anyone would do this.

Later, I found out that Ira Cook was a big DJ in LA back in the 60's and 70's and even wrote liner notes for LP's as well.

Maybe this was his way of keeping his personal collection away from the radio station copies, I don't know.

Either way it's a senseless act of vinyl vandalism!!!

My 2 cents, carry on...........

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

As far as removing those signatures on lp covers, I've had some good success using Clean Cover Gel on a damp Magic Eraser.

http://www.sicpress.com/surface.html

The Clean Cover Gel is great for cleaning and restoring luster to record covers on its own, applied with a paper towel or cloth. Just make sure you apply to the paste-down art itself and don't get any on the spine or edges of the jacket as these areas can soak up the gel and get discolored. However, applied to the glossy artwork on a record cover, it acts like Armor-All does to car interiors. It can even minimize scuffs and ringwear. And it sure cleans out that ingrained dirt and dust.

However, if you pair it with a damp Magic Eraser, it can remove some pen marks. The Clean Cover Gel diminishes the abrasive effect of the Magic Eraser. I apply it very gently and I've had pen marks disappear like magic on without effecting the color underneath. However, some pens (like markers) soak in too deep into the label and by the time you make progress removing the ink, you've also removed the color underneath. So be careful - but since the cover was already marred by the pen signature, a little removal of the color isn't necessarily worse.

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2009-11-04 12:22 ]

Who knew.....

http://www.laradio.com/index3.htm

Ira made a career out of his association with Hawaiian music. He played one Hawaiian song an hour and brought Don Ho to the Mainland at the height of Ho's career. “In college I became intrigued with Hawaiian music and I went to the Islands for 12 years straight.” Another of his popular features was "Star of the Day," in which Ira featured one track from one artist every half-hour. Between 1960 and 1972, Ira hosted over 3,000 AFRTS programs "It was really fascinating getting letters from servicemen in Iceland asking about Hawaiian music. It seemed to be as popular there as country music."

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

[ Edited by: Jeff Central 2009-11-04 13:24 ]

I have a few Ira Cook artifacts as well. Thanks Jeff for clearing up the "Who is this guy and why he does he want to wreck the covers?!" question I've been asking myself.

Today, I'm going through the old 10-inch LP records, a format that just preceded the 12 -inch platters and in fact, they co-existed for a while. The ones I've selected are rare or strange..:)

Now, THIS is a gem of musical history interest. King's serenade vol. 1 (I've never seen vol. 2 if it was ever recorded) features the compositions of wildly famous Hawaiian composer, Charles E. King...responsible for hundreds of songs, many still performed today. However, what's interesting here is that Charles E. King himself gives a descriptive introduction to each selection. Hal Aloma performs Hawaiian Wedding Song, Eleu mikmiki, and others.

This is an American release on Mercury, but features French steel guitarist Marcel Bianchi & His Hawaiian Orchestra. Blue Hawaii, Hawaiian sun, Kahoula serenade, and others. Nice cover art.

An Australian release, Aloha Hawaii features this unlikely list of artists: Lila Lani, Ko Latane, with Nalu Mehana & The Pacific Islanders. A very inviting cover, don't you think?

Released by Terna Hawaii Records (The only thing I've ever seen from Terna...?) this compilation of Hawaiian classics for the hula is volume 1. Was there a volume 2..? Never seen it. Great artwork.

Some nice early recordings by famous Hawaiian crooner Ray Kinney & his Hawaiians....features My tane, Parting day, Tomi tomi, etc. Again, cool period artwork.

More terrific cover art on this RCA Victor release from Sam Makia & his Waikikians. Sam Makia was one of my favorites steel players. His playing was always very sweet, quivering, almost like he was ready to have an emotional breakdown..lol...very beautiful. This earlier release, however, seems to rely more on the vocal stylings of The Waikikians.

Budget label Remington put out this treasure by The Waikiki Wanderers Orchestra....Hal Aloma recording under a pseudonym. These same recordings would be repackaged by others early budget labels as The Plymouth Hawaiian Orchestra on Plymouth Records, etc., etc. I like the hula girls enclosed by the floral wreath.

The Tau Moe Family spent most of their lives AWAY from Hawaii travelling around the world performing their music only returning to Hawaii for occassional family visits. Here's proof. The Tau Moe Family in a release from Yugoslavia.

The aforementioned 49th State Hawaii record company, in addition to it's hundreds of 45 rpm singles, collected songs into compilations of 'native artists' in both 12 inch and 10 inch formats. While the 12 inch LPs had amazing and varied photographs, for whatever reason, their 10 inch releases featured either a plain red or yellow jacket with lettering only OR this far superior painting. The were all called Souvenir songs of Hawaii and each simply had a different volume number with the same artwork. This is volume 26.

Without a doubt, a BEAUTIFUL, exotic painting. It's the type you wish you could find the original or a print and blow it up to frame...just fantastic. I distinctly recall my jaw dropping the moment I found this as I'd never seen it before and the cover is just breathtaking. An early Jerry Byrd steel guitar lp.

A Japanese recording of typical dance band tunes with no relationship to Hawaii that I can decipher, but a great jacket nonetheless.

Distinctive artwork on this German 10 inch featuring the likes of Club Indonesia, Valentinos Hawaiian Band and others. I really enjoy some of the German 'Hawaiian' releases & this one is no exception. A great rendition of West of Samoa and Domingo Santo Domingo (well...it's a tropical island, right?).