The Fabulous Echos- Breakin’ It Up At Dukes!

This little gem was a dollar.  Had a real good track list.  A bit all over the place but that is how we like it on the Show. Previously owned by one J. J. who took the time to dot his initials. Trying to churn this post out before I go to Half Price this morning.

Them Fabulous Echos, formed sometime in the 1960’s, in old Hong Kong.  Consisting of mostly Filipino’s raised in the big city as well as a Scotsman and an American, the six members enjoyed a variety style act which included songs sung in various styles and languages.  AT some point the band became popular in Hawaii and that seems to be where they stayed  They would change their name (and add a member) to become The Society of Seven.  Some form of this group still plays today I believe.

Web Page.

Anyway, here is this recorded live at Duke Kahanamoku’s, a club in Waikiki in 1960’s.  Named after the island’s famed surfer and five time Olympic medal winning swimmer, big acts such as Don Ho and Martin Denny were regular performers.  This was released in 1965.  Kahanamoku would die of a heart attack three years later.  He was 77.

Reference to Duke’s with pictures

This record features the group tear thru 12 songs.  Pretty good stuff.  I mean it sounds like a very well polished lounge act.  The numbers are tight .  Overall I liked it.  Not sure why I went with “Walk On The Wild Side”, which is a largely instrumental album.  Maybe it was the double keyboard/ trombone act. Plus I truly enjoy the song as well as the movie where it came from. Also, now that I remember this a bit more, every other song skipped and I was just too lazy to clean the record.

Pretty decent album.  Satisfactory.

 

Dick Jensen- Giant of Hawaii

This was one dollar.  There is an autograph on the cover but I am unsure if it from the artist or the owner.  In tribute to Hawaii, I started to write this post in all haiku but that got old real quick.  Some day but not today, the all haiku post will happen.

Dick Jensen, born in Kalihi, Oahu, HI in 1946 was a “White hot soul” singer who maintained a respectable amount of success not only on the island but on the mainland as well.  His stage style was compared to Jackie Wilson and James Brown due to his electric movements on stage He as nicknamed The Giant due to his size.  He parlayed this success to TV where he started in bit roles on popular shows of the time.  Towards the end of his career, he became a Christian minister.  Lou Gehrig’s Disease took his life in 2006.  He was 64.

Jensen’s Obit

 

This record was released somewhat mid career I believe in 1975.  Apparently he was working on new material when his label dropped him.  Therefore, this material was released on his own label, Record Club of Honolulu.  Pretty decent album.  Does not reflect the high energy of his stage show but it is good musicianship.  I was going to write more but I decided to defer to this rather lengthy post from a fellow music blogger. Perhaps this idea of trying to get current on posts has backfired as I am stressing time wise for getting these out.

Stereo Candies

For a sample, I went with the opening track ” Papa Was A Music Man” as it was the best track on the record.

Satisfactory.

 

Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra- Blue Hawaii

This puppy was a buck.  Got it for the songs, most of which I like.  What is going on this week, other than zipping thru posts?  Well, nothing as much to make note of but still too much to dedicate too much time to writing this.

On that note, Billy Vaughn has always been hit or miss with me.  Well this album from Dot Records, released in 1959, is pretty much a miss.  I found the arrangements to be a tad slow and boring and not really in the whole tropical vein.  Of course, exotica was never really Vaughn’s bag and perhaps this is not fair, but what do you expect me to do about it today?

Well, for a sample, I went with one of my faves, “Hawaiian War Chant”.

Meh. Sorry Billy.  I’ll get you the next time around.

 

Annette- Hawaiiannette

DSCN2393This was $5.00. I got it at the August Infinity Record Convention at the SW Hilton.

annette-funicello-650

I know it has been discussed in detail in other forums, but notice how modest Annette Funicello (1942-2013) is on the cover. On one picture, she is even wearing a Muu Muu. It is well known that Walt Disney wanted to preserve the pure image, asking her not to expose her navel in her beach movies and such. Compare this to the fact that I have seen Brittney Spears’ privates. How times have changed.

 

annette-surfboard

This is a fun album of Annette singing Hawaiian songs. The songs on this album range from traditional to new songs written by the Sherman Brothers. Highlights include the title track, “Blue Hawaii”, “Date Night in Hawaii”, “ Blue Muu Muu”, and “Aloha Oe”. The album was released in 1960 and it produced one of Annette’s best singles, “Pineapple Princess” which charted at # 11. The album itself charted at # 38. From what I can tell, it was her third album.

DSCN2394

For a sample, I went with the Sherman Brother’s “Pineapple Princess” and the standard “My Little Grass Shack”.

A photo session featuring Annette Funicello from the set of the made-for TV movie, A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story. Image dated September 4, 1995. Copyright © 1995 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Credit: CBS Photo Archive.

This is a pretty fun record. I am going to give it a Top Rating.

 

Henry Mancini- Music of Hawaii

DSCN1071A friend of mine bought this for .70 cents. I owe her a dollar to maintain journalistic standards for this but have not gotten around to pay her yet. Will do next time I see her.th

Henry Mancini, known as the greatest composer in film, made over 90 albums in his career, as well as winning four academy awards and twenty Grammy’s. This album, however, made in 1966, focuses on arrangement and orchestration rather than composing. Not to say that he does not do a good job, but it does mean this album is taking away one of Mancini’s chief skills. With one Mancini penned song on the album, the rest of it goes thru his take on the genre of Hawaiian Music. There are many standards including “Hawaiian War Chant” , “Tiny Bubbles”, “Aloha Oe”, and “Blue Hawaii”. These are quite well done. The orchestration is lush . Could have used some more steel strings. Some good chorus vocals though on a few of the tunes.DSCN1072

For a sample, I chose ‘Quiet Village”. Composed by Les Baxter, this tune seems to borrow heavily if not outright plagiarize both Ary Barroso’s “Bahia” and Ravel’s “Bolero”. It would later be covered by Martin Denny who maybe not popularized it , but brought it as much recognition as it would receive.

Satisfactory album. Thanks Jenn. I owe you a dollar next time I see you.