Hawaii Calls

Hawaii Calls was a radio program that ran from 1935 through 1975 that featured live Hawaiian music conducted by Harry Owens for the first two years, the composer of "Sweet Leilani". Ray Andrade was a charter member of the Harry Owens Royal Hawaiian Hotel Orchestra, he also became one of the first vocalists on the “Hawaii Calls” radio show.[1] It was broadcast each week, usually from the courtyard of the Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach but occasionally from other locations, and hosted by Webley Edwards for almost the entire run. Al Kealoha Perry was musical director for thirty years, 1937–1967.[2]

This article is about the radio program. For other uses, see Hawaii Calls (disambiguation).
Hawaii Calls
GenreHawaiian music
Running time30 min
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English, Hawaiian
StarringWebley Edwards, Hawaiian Musicians and Singers
Created byWebley Edwards
Written byWebley Edwards
Directed byWebley Edwards
Executive producer(s)Webley Edwards
Narrated byWebley Edwards
Recording studioMoana Hotel, Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, Ilikai Hotel, Hawaiian Village Hotel, Waikiki, Hawaii
Original releaseJuly 3, 1935 – August 16, 1975
No. of episodes2083

The first show reached the West Coast of the continental United States through shortwave radio. At its height, it was heard on over 750 stations around the world. However, when it went off the air in 1975, only 10 stations were airing the show. Because of its positive portrayal of Hawaii, the show received a subsidy for many years—first from the government of the Territory of Hawaii, and then from the State of Hawaii. The termination of the subsidy was one of the reasons that the show went off the air.[3]

Hawaii Calls is credited with making many Hawaiian performers household names across the US and around the world. Among the regulars of Hawaii Calls were Alfred Apaka, John Kameaaloha Almeida, Haunani Kahalewai, Nina Keali'iwahamana, Boyce Rodrigues, Lani Custino, Jules Ah See[4] and Pua Almeida. Other well known Hawaiian performers such as Martin Denny, Hilo Hattie, Ed Kenny, Benny Kalama, hula dancer Beverly Noa and Arthur Lyman also made appearances. Haleloke Kahauolopua was discovered by Arthur Godfrey while a regular on the show. The show also occasionally featured performers from other parts of the world who sang or played Hawaiian music.[3]

Each show opened with the sounds of the pounding surf and the enthusiastic bounding voice of Webley Edwards proclaiming, "The sound of the waves on the beach at Waikiki."

During the height of the show's popularity (1950s and into the late 1960s/early 1970s) Webley Edwards served the role of producer of numerous records, released on the Capitol Records label, under the title of "Webley Edwards presents Hawaii Calls." The albums contained renditions of popular Hawaiian and hapa haole songs as arranged by the "Hawaii Calls" musicians. In addition to appearing on the many "Hawaii Calls" albums, many of the stars of "Hawaii Calls" also enjoyed successful careers as solo artists

Several of the "Hawaii Calls" CD releases listed below are still in print and available from Mele.com. There are also several compact disc compilations released by Hula Records, the company that owns the rights to the "Hawaii Calls" name and the show's surviving archives. They feature also songs from some of the classic radio shows and may include Edwards' colorful commentary. These are available at www.hularecords.com.

In 1992, "Hawaii Calls" hosted by Bill Bigelow was revived for a one-year run at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, but it failed to attract enough financial support to continue. A one-night "Hawaii Calls" show that combined live performances and archival audio and video material was presented at the Hawaii Theater in Honolulu, Hawaii on Friday, November 14, 2008. The show was co-produced by Burton White, Artistic Director of the Hawaii Theatre, and Don McDiarmid Jr., Chairman of Hawaii Calls Inc., and President Emeritus of Hula Records. The show included live performances by vocalists Nina Keali'iwahamana and Aaron Sala, hula dancer Kanoe Miller, and the Hawaii Calls Quintet including Sally (Sarah) Kamalani, and also archival performances by Alfred Apaka, Lani Custino, Hilo Hattie, Haunani Kahalewai, Ed Kenny, Charles Kaipo Miller, Beverly Noa, Ponce Ponce and Boyce Rodrigues. Webley Edwards was shown introducing some of the archival performances and audio clips of his voice were used to introduce most of the live performances.

Listen to

Discography
LPs
  • Hawaii Calls, Capitol Records T-470, 1956
  • Hawaii Calls At Twilight, Capitol Records T-586, 1957
  • Favorite Instrumentals of the Islands, Capitol Records T-715, 1957
  • Waikiki, Capitol Records T772, 1957
  • Island Paradise, Capitol Records ST-1229, 1957
  • Hawaiian Shores, Capitol Records T0904, 1958
  • Hula Island Favorites, Capitol Records T-987, 1958
  • Fire Goddess, Capitol Records ST-1033, 1959
  • Hawaiian Strings, Capitol Records ST-1152, 1959
  • Hawaii Calls Greatest Hits, Capitol Records ST-1339, 1960
  • Let's Sing With Hawaii Calls, Capitol Records ST-1518, 1961
  • Exotic Instrumentals, Capitol Records ST-1409, 1961
  • Stars of Hawaii Calls, Capitol Records ST-1627. 1961
  • A Merry Hawaiian Christmas, Capitol Records ST-1781, 1961
  • Hawaii Calls Show, Capitol Records ST-1699, 1962 (live show recording)
  • Romantic Instrumentals, Capitol Records ST-1987, 1964
  • Waikiki After Dark, Capitol Records ST-2315, 1965
  • Hawaii Today, Capitol Records ST-2449, 1966
  • Webley Edwards presents "Hawaii Calls" Alfred Apaka's Greatest Hits, Vol.2, Capitol Records DT-2572, 196?
  • Best From the Beach at Waikiki, Capitol Records ST-2573, 1967
  • More Hawaii Calls Greatest Hits, Capitol Records ST-2736
  • Blue Skies Old Hawaii, Capitol Records ST-2782, release year unknown
  • Soft Hawaiian Guitars, Capitol Records ST-2917, release year unknown
  • The Hawaii Calls Deluxe 2-LP Set, Capitol Records ST-2182, release year unknown (3-LP set is actually a repackaging of Favorite Instrumentals, Alfred Apaka's album Golden Voice of the Islands and Hawaii Calls Greatest Hits)
  • The Best of Hawaii Calls, Capitol Records ST1-141, release year unknown
Compact Discs
  • Blue Hawaii Hula Records HCS-924A
  • Hawaii's Greatest Hits, Vol. I, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-921A
  • Hawaii's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-922A
  • Hawaiian Wedding Song, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-923A
  • A Merry Hawaiian Christmas, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-925
  • Hawaii Calls Greatest Hits, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-927 (the best selections from Hawaii's Greatest Hits Volumes I & II)
  • Memories of Hawaii Calls, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-928
  • Memories of Hawaii Calls Vol. II, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-930
  • The Land of Aloha, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-920
  • Hawaii Calls: The All-Time Favorites From the Famous Radio Program, Cema Special Markets CDL-57608, 1991
  • Al Kealoha Perry & His Singing Surfriders: Aloha, Hula Hawaiian Style (1996, Hana Ola Records)[2]

See also

Notes
  1. "Listen". gridserver.com. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  2. "Aloha Hula Hawaiian Style". Territorial Airwaves. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  3. Kanahele, George S.; Berger, John, eds. (2012) [1979]. Hawaiian Music & Musicians (2nd ed.). Honolulu, HI, USA: Mutual Publishing, LLC. ISBN 9781566479677. OCLC 808415079.
  4. Ruymar, Lorene (1996). The Hawaiian Steel Guitar and its Great Hawaiian Musicians. Anaheim Hills, California: Centerstream Publishing. p. 80. ISBN 1-57424-021-8.

References
  • Ruymar, Lorene (1996). The Hawaiian Steel Guitar and Its Great Hawaiian Musicians. Anaheim Hills, CA: Centerstream Publishing. p. 171. ISBN 1-57424-021-8.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.