Hawaiian music from the '50s

I haven't posted in a while, but still read the posts. Does anybody know where Jimmy Buffett gets his fonts? (heh heh)

err, seriously, today I received a tape and CD from my uncle in Hawaii. (He and my aunt are singer/songwriters there.) Tim has been singing and playing the ukulele since the late '30s, and sent me a bunch of Hawaiian songs, some recorded in his living room just for me to learn, and the other (the CD) taken from an LP he appeared on in the '50s, "Jon Hall Brings Music from Hawai'i." Curious, I went looking at the IMDb for Jon Hall and discovered that Hall was part Tahitian and had acted in quite a few films in his career. He also produced another compilation LP, another Mercury release, "Jon Hall Directs Music from Honolulu." I found this really interesting, and sure enough I was able to locate a few references to both on the web.

I'm really enjoying the music. My favorite track is one whose title I'm not familiar with, but it reminds me a LOT of Les Baxter's "Jungalero." The Palm Serenaders were comprised of Tim Monro, Earl Apo, Leo Kupo, Vic Alo and Roland Enos. The Bamboo Trio was comprised of Bill Coelho, Mary Coelho and Babalu.

Does anyone have either of these records, or have you heard of them?

No.

No, but they sound cool.

On 2004-02-06 12:10, Sneakytiki wrote:
No, but they sound cool.

So does this...

I have both of them in my collection. Oddly, "Jon Hall Directs Music From Honolulu" was recorded at a bar in Lahaina, Maui..and it sounds like it too. It has a cover of Quiet Village, Tangi Tika, Singing Bamboo, and a number of hula numbers. Unlike the other LP, the "Hawaiian" woman posing with him is smiling rather than grimacing from a distance. I guess they got to be on friendlier terms by the second LP.

Thanks, Kaiwaza. I figured surely someone here, of all places, would know about these LPs. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on them. Too bad they're so old and are OOP. But can probably track them down if I snoop around long enough.

Yeah, I have the one Jon Hall album, But you (and probably a few others) ain't gonna like what I'm gonna show you. I have alot of Hawaiian albums. When I buy them, I pay $.50cents or a $1. It has to be really cool for me to pay more. When I find ones with cool covers and either no records or records that look like they have been drug behind someones car, I throw the record away and staple the album cover the the inside wall of my hut.


This album always made me laugh. The lady in brown has a pissy look because her other half is picking up on the girl in red. Anyway, its hanging on the wall of my hut. Sorry man.
Erich

Cool cover. Wasn't the lady in brown hitting on that hunky guy in the background? So what's her problem? :wink:

If the LPs are no longer any good, you may as well enjoy the covers. Nice work!

The Jon Hall record has been reissued on CD in Japan and can be found at CDUniverse for a not-too-princely sum. It's really good and has a nice version of 'Quiet Village.'

Cheers,
Rupe

Also, the musicians on the Jon Hall LPs are uncredited, but they sound a lot like Johnny Spencer & The Kona Koasters who put out a great LP called "S'Pacifica." Johnny Spencer sang and played a rather rocking piano, which is also ont he Jon Hall LPs.

Yes, "Jon Hall Directs Music From Honolulu" is available as a LIMITED EDITION CD in Japan only. If it is still available, you might want to jump on it ASAP! There are actually quite a few vintage Hawaiian LPs that have been released in Japan recently. Sadly, many are already out of print as they were limited editions to begin with.

I have a fairly good run down the recent Hawaiian CD's from Japan on my blog site:

http://www.digitiki.com

sshhhheck it out!