Tiki Artist Martin Denny
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 the 1950s and 1960s. One of the most popular tiki artists, whose work is still quite popular today, is Martin Denny.
The use of the name “exotica” to represent tiki music actually comes from an album created by Martin Denny in 1947. He has even been described as the father of exotic music, and according to many, his songs best represent this genre, a fusion of jazz and jungle with a Caribbean drum beat.
Like many tiki artists, Denny was not born on a Polynesian or Hawaiian island as his music would suggest. He was actually born in 1911 in New York, though he was raised in Los Angeles. In his early years, Denny studied classical piano. Later he would tour South America with an orchestra, where he first became fascinated by the Latin rhythms that would later make their way into his music. During these early years, he also developed a large collection of ethnic instruments from cultures worldwide, which he would use both in recordings and in his live performances.
Denny is particularly well-known for songs written to celebrate tiki culture, as well as re-recordings of popular songs with the incorporation of his unusual tropical style. Often these songs incorporated not only exotic instruments, but also bird calls and even frogs croaking.
Like many involved in the tiki craze, he served with United States Armed Forces during World War II. Upon his return, he immediately resumed his musical training, studying piano, composition, and orchestration at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and at the University of Southern California.
In 1954, Denny was invited by Don the Beachcomber, founder and owner of the world-famous chain of Don the Beachcomber tiki-themed restaurants and bars, to perform in Hawaii for two weeks. As a result of this two-week engagement, Denny was soon signed to Liberty Records, where Denny played piano with other band members joining him. One of them, Arthur Lyman, would soon become a well-known tiki artist in his own right.
Martin Denny’s first album, Exotica, was released in 1957 and soon reached #1 on the charts. In 1958, Denny was invited to be on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. Denny’s recording career, spanning over two decades, includes dozens of studio albums in addition to many compilations of his best work, owing to his popularity over the decades. Due to his prolific career, he often had three or four albums on the charts simultaneously.
Martin Denny performed well into his 1980s and toured the world to popularize his unique style of exotic lounge music. In 2005, Martin Denny passed away at the age of 93 in Honolulu.
Rene Thompson,
Thursday, November 19th