this fourteenth album of steel guitar music with a Hawaiian flavor has a selection of some of the prettiest tunes composed, many having found their way to fame as vocals, together with a few originals.
waikiki: There's a feeling deep in my heart/ Stabbing at me just like a dart/ It's a feeling heavenly/ I see mem'ries out of the past / Memories that always will last/ Of that place across the sea… pua lilia: Listen to the rain /
Creeping silently across the cliffs …the sweet fragrance of my flower/
You are a flower, always to wear as a lei.. /
The fragrance of my lily blossom/.. trade winds: Down where the trade winds play /Down where you lose the day / We found a new world where paradise starts….recollecting billy vaughn who made a lovely instrumental version of this tune in the late 50s with his signature twin-saxophones. my sweet sweetie: My adornment, a rainbow lei/ Lies spreading over the pili grass/When lifted by the Kiu wind/…./Come, let us be together/ My sweet sweeting/….Never more to be separated… kawohikukapulani: You are a lei for the grandparents/And a darling for your parents/Cherished with love/..You are my beautiful, unforgettable child/… We call, you answer/Kawohiku Kapulani your name….Composed for helen elizabeth kawohikukapulani beamer, on the occasion of her wedding on April 3, 1941. maria elena: A long time favourite from 1932, the instrumental version first made famous by los indios tabarajas. ei nei: As evening shadows fall/ I hear your sweet melody/That brings me fond memories of you/…/I'll be so lost without you.Ev'ry thing seems so blue/ acquamarina: an original composition, thinking of crystal clear waters and multiple shades of blue and green in the tropics close to the South Seas I used to once live in. my isle of golden dreams: Out of the mist, lips I have kissed/…./ Drifting in dreams, drifting it seems/Back to the shore/Where hand in hand, over the sand/We'll stroll once more/… could i have this dance? : I'll always remember the song they were playin'/The first time we danced and I knew/As we swayed to the music and held to each other/I fell in love with you/…. lau nahele: steel guitar original, inspired by visions of the peaceful and beautiful green hills and the flora of the Hawaiian islands. on a white sandy beach in hawaii: I saw you in my dreams/We were walking hand in hand/… love song of kalua: This is the night of love/The shining hour of Kalua/Her song is in the air/Her lips are waiting there/Who will be Kalua's only love? whispering lullaby: made famous by Hawaiian steel guitarists david keli’i and alan akaka using a lot of harmonics. I decided to contrast those versions here using the lower registers. sand written in the 1930s by andy iona (1902 - 1966), one of Hawaii’s most influential musicians. jules ah see played the first definitive version. stardust: And now the purple dusk of twilight time/Steals across the meadows of my heart/ High up in the sky the little stars climb / Always reminding me that we're apart/..Composed in 1927, one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. twilight in hawaii: …/When the sun is low/Brings me thoughts of someone/I knew long ago/. This became the theme song for Webley Edward’s “Hawaii Calls”. night time: a Jerry Byrd favourite, though not one of his best known tunes. Can't think why. A vocal version was popularized by Noelani Cypriano..
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