VA - Hulaland, The Golden Age of Hawaiian Music [2015] (4 x CDs)

HAWAIIAN

VA - Hulaland, The Golden Age of Hawaiian Music [2015] (4 x CDs)

If you’ve ever dreamed of drifting through a Technicolor luau with steel guitars humming and palm trees swaying, Hulaland is your passport. Released in 2015 by RockBeat Records, this 4-CD box set is a sprawling, sun-drenched celebration of Hawaiian music’s golden age, 105 tracks spanning nearly five decades, from the 1920s to the early ’70s.

Each disc is its own island. 

Disc One, From Hollywood to Honolulu (1931-1957), captures the moment when Hawaiian sounds swept through American pop culture. You’ll find Louis Armstrong teaming up with Andy Iona, Jo Stafford swinging through “Hawaiian War Chant,” and Dorothy Lamour melting through “My Little Grass Shack.” It’s playful, romantic, and occasionally surreal, Ethel Merman and Betty Boop even make cameo appearances.

Disc Two dives into the tiki craze with Splendor in the Grass Shack (1958-1974), where exotica meet surf. Martin Denny, The Ventures, and TV themes like Hawaiian Eye conjure a cocktail-soaked fantasy of island life. 

Disc Three rewinds to Hawaiian Classics (1927-1940), spotlighting native musicians and traditional melodies.

Disc Four, Contemporary Hawaiian Music, adds a twist with novelty gems like “Yiddish Hula Boy” and “Everybody Does It in Hawaii.”

The packaging is a treat: a hardbound book filled with vintage sheet music covers, memorabilia, and liner notes by James Austin that read like a love letter to the genre. This compilation traces how Hawaiian music shaped and was shaped by the mainland’s imagination.

Whether you’re a collector, a curious listener, or just someone who wants to feel the breeze of a bygone paradise, Hulaland delivers. It’s joyous, strange, and utterly charming, like stumbling into a forgotten postcard and hearing it sing. (B)

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Track lists

CD1     From Hollywood To Honolulu: Hawaii Goes Eclectic, 1931-1957

01 Louis Armstrong With Andy Iona and His Islanders - On A Little Bamboo Bridge 3:16

02 Tau Moe - Hula Blues 2:53

03 Felix Mendelsson & Hawaiian Sisters & George Barclay - Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula 2:36

04 Rudi Wairata & Mena Moeira Minstrels - Pua Jka Lani 2:52

05 George Kainapau - Ke Ka'upu 2:06

06 Sol K. Bright's Hollywaiians - Heat Wave 3:04

07 Jo Stafford - Hawaiian War Chant 2:09

08 Dick McIntyre & Jerry Byrd - Twilight Blues 2:17

09 Ethel Merman - Ukulele Lady 2:42

10 Ukuele Ike - Sweet Leilani 2:31

11 Edward F. Cline - Hawaii Calls 0:36

12 Roy Smeck - Crazy Uke 1:41

13 Burns & Allen - Gracie Allen's Hawaiian 0:37

14 Gracie Allen - Honolulu 3:37

15 Dorthy Lamour With Dick McIntyre - My Little Grass Shack 2:40

16 Hal Aloma and His Hawaiian Orchestra - Pretty Maui Girl 2:46

17 Andy Iona and His Islanders - Vana Vana 2:29

18 Sol Hoopii's Novelty Quartet - King Kamehameha 3:09

19 Frances Langford With Dick MC Intire - In Waikiki 2:32

20 Gino Bordin - Crépuscule Hawaien 2:36

21 Betty Boop - Max Fleischer - Betty The Hula Dancer 0:46

22 Moana Serenaders - On The Beach at Waikiki 2:50

23 Felix Mendelsson's Hawaiian Serenaders - Mood Indigo 3:12

24 Jules Ah See - Sand 3:02

25 Slim Whitman - Hawaiian Cowboy 2:04

26 Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant - My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua Hawaii 2:43

27 Andy Iona & Jerry Byrd - How D'Ya Do 2:55

28 Rudy Wairata & His Hawaiian Minstrels - Rock & Roll and Breezes 2:33

29 Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant - Ka-Lu-A 2:10

30 Louis Armstrong - On A Coconut Island 3:09

CD2     Splendor In The Grass: Tiki And Exotica, 1958-1974

01 Warren Barker - Hawaiian Eye Theme 1:17

02 Bobby Christian - Caravan 2:11

03 Arthur Lyman - Jungle Drums (Lyman) 2:26

04 Passions - Jungle Drums (The Passions) 2:32

05 Milt Raskin & His Orchestra - Koko Head 3:33

06 The Ventures - Taboo 2:52

07 Alan Smithee - Surfing Soft Drink Commercial 0:51

08 Wout Steenhuis - Puka Paka 2:27

09 Lincoln Trio - Garden of Eden Pt. 1 2:18

10 Waikiki's - Remember Boa Boa 2:38

11 Mary Kay Trio - Hilo Boy 1:46

12 Martin Denny - Banana Choo Choo 2:16

13 Paul Page - Castaway 1:37

14 Waikikis - Sugar Moon 2:35

15 Original Hula Hawaiians - My Honolulu Hula Girl 2:02

16 Robert Drasnin - Chant of The Moon 2:30

17 Alan Smithee - Newport Cigarettes 0:48

18 Santo & Johnny - Adventures in Paradise 2:46

19 Alan Smithee - C & H 0:51

20 Morton Stevens - Hawaii Five-O 1:37

21 Rob E.G - Peter Gunn Goes Hawaiian 2:46

22 Robert Drasnin - Tambuku 3:22

23 Earl Grant - House of Bamboo 2:56

24 Richie Allen - The Quiet Surf 2:12

25 Webley Edwards - Alika 2:30

26 Alan Smithee - Hawaiian delight 0:32

27 Surfers - Ulili E 2:04

28 Anna Valentino - On A Tropical Island 2:31

29 Billy Mure - Pink Hawaii 2:00

30 Ethel Azama - Green Fire 2:52

31 Walt Steenhuis - Albatross 3:08

CD3     Hawaiian Classics, 1927-1940

01 Hawaiian Serenaders - Honolulu Stomp 3:21

02 Jim and Bob - Hula Blues 2:44

03 Sam Alama - I Went to Hilo 3:05

04 King Benny Nawahi - My Girl From The South Seas Isles 2:56

05 Kanui and Lula - Oua Oua 2:53

06 Sol Hoopii's Novelty Quartet - Hula Girl 3:09

07 Sol Hoopii's Novelty Quartet - La Rosita 2:58

08 Eddy's Hawaiian Serenaders - Down in Waikiki 3:17

09 Kalama's Quartet - Inikiniki Malie (Gentle Pitches of Wind) 3:04

10 King Nawahi's Hawaiians - May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii 3:25

11 Sam Ku West - Huehue (Hawaiian Hula) 3:08

12 Emma Bush - Lei E 3:21

13 Hoot Gibson - Mai Givee (Don't Give it All Away) 3:07

14 Kalama's Quartet - Tu-Tu-E, Tu-Tu-Hoi 3:00

15 Jim and Bob - Sweet Georgia Brown 2:06

16 Sol Hoopii Quartet - I Like You 3:15

17 King Bennie Nawahi - Hawaiian Capers 2:58

18 Andy Iona & His Islanders - Hawaiian War Chant 2:46

19 Clara Inter (Hilo Hattie) - Hilo Hattie Does The Hilo Hop 3:04

20 Andy Iona & His Islanders - Naughty Hula Eyes 3:12

21 Clara Inter (Hilo Hattie) - Ukulele Lady 2:46

22 Sol. K. Bright's Hollywaiians - Hawaiian Cowboy 3:05

23 Little Brown Gal - Little Brown Gal 2:46

24 Andy Iona & His Islanders - Minnnehaha 3:08

25 Mike Hanapi - Kuu Lei (Wreath of Flowers) 2:42

26 Andy Iona & His Islanders - Hawaii Sing to Me 2:59

CD4 Contemporary Hawaiian Classics

01 Ken and Bob - Palakiko Blues 3:30

02 Casey MacGiill and Orville Johnson - I Wonder Where Little Hula Girl Has Gone 2:53

03 Ken and Bob - Hapa Haole Girl 4:25

04 Robert Armstrong & Sourdough Slim - The Cat's Whiskers 2:22

05 Sourdough Slim and Robert Armstrong - Everybody Does it in Hawaii 3:10

06 Sweet Hollywaiians - Singin' The Blues 2:27

07 Janet Klein and The Parlor Boys - Yiddish Hula Boy I Ain't Coming Back 3:03

08 Joy Buzzards - Moana Chimes 3:46

09 Elaine Hoffman with Ken and Bob - Pidgen English Hula 2:51

10 Prlor Boys - Honolulu Stomp 2:40

11 Ken and Bob - Shanghai Lil 3:29

12 Casey MacGill & Orville Johnson - Native Guitars 3:50

13 Ken and Bob - Tiger Shark 3:12

14 Joy Buzzards - Someday Sweetheart 5:46

15 Ken and Bob - Fish and Poi/In A Canoe 3:56

16 Ken and Bob - Waltz Don't Run 4:24

17 Coconut Entertainers - In A Little Hula Heaven 2:53

18 Ken and Bob - Hawaiian War Chant 4:08

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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