Charles Dant & His Orchestra - Chimes of Hawaii (single)

Here's a slice of vintage Hawaiian music from 1958, courtesy of Charles Dant and His Orchestra. This 45 (Swing Hula was on the flip) was taken from the album The Isle of Enchantment.

Although Dant was not Hawaiian (he was born in Indiana), he had a long association with the islands and would move there later in life. He died in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, in 1999 at age 92.

In the 1960s, Dant, who was often billed as Charles (Bud) Dant, was West Coast A&R head for Decca Records and produced the Irish Rovers' chart-topping hit The Unicorn. He also produced many of the LPs released by Pete Fountain in the '60s.

Here then is a link to Chimes of Hawaii, with the MP3 taken from the 45 single.

Chimes of Hawaii



Dant recorded relatively few titles under his own name and only two of them have made the transition to the digital age. The Golden West, an early album for Decca, and Hawaii's Latest and Greatest, an album Dant recorded in 1980 while living in the 50th state, are both available as downloads.

For The Isle of Enchantment, you'll have to hope to stumble across a used LP somewhere.