Hawaiian music must have been very popular in the 1950s and 60s judging by the number of ultra-cheap albums of this genre that flooded bins in discount, grocery and drug stores. Seldom did record stores carry albums like Songs of Hawaii by the Honolulu Guitars.
Like many of these low-priced LPs, which often sold for as little as 99 cents, Songs of Hawaii contains absolutely no credits -- no musicians, no composers, no source, not even a release date. This probably came out in the mid- to late 60s, although the music sounds like it was recorded years earlier.
The recording could well have been done by session cats in the continental U.S., possibly in Los Angeles. In any case, below is a sample from the LP, with a rather generic Hawaiian title. Despite the "mono" label on the picture above, this track is in very echoey stereo, likely doctored from a mono recording.
Aloha
There were several LPs released by the Power label under the moniker of the Honolulu Guitars. One, titled simply Hawaii, is available as a download from Amazon. Listen before buying, however, as it's probably dubbed from vinyl.
The Power label albums show up regularly on the online auction sites, but there's something about paying $6 and up for an album that originally sold for 99 cents (sometimes less) that turns me off. What makes matters worse is that these albums are often of poor technical quality -- lots of hiss and vinyl pops and clicks even when new.
My suggestion is to keep an eye on those thrift store bins.
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