The famous tiki musician Don Ho was born in Honolulu in 1930. With Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German ancestors, Don Ho was born Donald Tai Loy Ho, and would become a Hawaiian pop musician and entertainer at the height of the tiki craze in the 1950's and 1960's. Even today, his songs stand out as beautiful Hawaiian melodies.
Ho grew up in Honolulu and O'ahu, before entering the Air Force in 1954. While stationed in Concord, California, he bought an electronic..
When you think of Hawaiian musical instruments, you probably think of the ukulele – but this is certainly not Hawaii's only contribution to Western music! Another instrument to come from Hawaii, the lap steel or “Hawaiian” guitar, has had an immense impact on musical styles of the last century.
According to legend, the lap steel guitar was invented in Hawaii in 1885 by Joseph Kekuku, a young student. As the legend goes, he began experimenting with sliding..
Polynesian music is a fun and vibrant musical style originating from the Polynesian islands of the South Pacific. The sounds of this ancient culture have begun to find their way into modern music, reflected by the tiki craze of the 1950s and 1960s and even in today's pop culture. Even the Beastie Boys have sampled traditional Polynesian music in their songs. In Polynesia, western-style music, instruments, and rhythms have made an impact on the traditional songs found..
Arthur Lyman is one of the most popular exotica artists ever, known for his unique sounds on the vibraphone and marimba. Born in 1932 in Kauai, Hawaii, Lyman began playing at an early age, becoming a professional musician by the time he graduated from high school. Lyman's early practice made him adept at a four-mallet style of playing, producing a fuller sound than the more common 2-mallet style used by most virbraphone players.
In 1954, Lyman was playing in a hotel bar..
Blue Hawaii is perhaps one of the most well-known films to come out of the tiki craze that swept the nation during the 1950s and 1960s. This musical film set in Hawaii starred rock n' roll legend Elvis Presley. It was the first of three Elvis movies shot in Hawaii; the others were Girls! Girls! Girls! In 1962, followed by 1965's Paradise, Hawaiian Style. Blue Hawaii was his most successful film.
The storyline featured Presley as Chadwick Gates, a soldier who has recently..
The ukulele, or uke, is a Hawaiian stringed instrument. This instrument was developed in the late nineteenth century in Hawaii, and was based on a small instrument similar to a guitar brought to the islands by immigrants from Portugal. In particular, three cabinet makers are credited as the inventors of the first ukulele. The Portugese immigrants were known to play folk songs on the dock, where native Hawaiians were impressed not only by the sweet sounds of the..
The popular Tiki artist Les Baxter was actually born in Texas in 1922. In his teens, Baxter joined several dance bands as a saxophonist. A product of the Big Band era, in his early years Baxter focused on jazz and popular music. After studying as a pianist, he then turned to arranging and conducting, working on several early Nat King Cole hits. After arranging several popular hits, Baxter then turned to concept albums mixing popular beats with exotic sounds, a genre in..
If you are hosting a tiki party, then you are undoubtedly in search of some tiki music. This style of music, which can make listeners feel as though they are on a tropical island, began as part of the tiki craze in the 1940s and 1950s. A style known as “exotica” or “exotic lounge music,” this style fits in perfectly with hula girls, tiki statues, and other symbols of tiki culture. It was often played at the most popular tiki bars and restaurants of..