Hawaii Calls
Encyclopedia
Hawaii Calls was a radio program that ran from 1935 through 1975 that featured live Hawaiian music conducted by Harry Owens
, the composer of "Sweet Leilani
". It was broadcast each week, usually from the courtyard of the Moana Hotel
on Waikiki Beach
but occasionally from other locations, and hosted by Webley Edwards
for almost the entire run.
The first show reached the West Coast of the continental United States through shortwave radio. At its height, it was heard on over 750 stations around the world. However, when it went off the air in 1975, only 10 stations were airing the show. Because of its positive portrayal of Hawaii, the show received a subsidy for many years—first from the government of the Territory of Hawaii
, and then from the State of Hawaii. The termination of the subsidy was one of the reasons that the show went off the air.
Hawaii Calls is credited with making many Hawaiian performers household names across the US and around the world. Among the regulars of Hawaii Call were Alfred Apaka
, John Kameaaloha Almeida
, Haunani Kahalewai, Nina Keali'iwahamana, Boyce Rodrigues, Lani Custino, and Pua Almeida. Other well known Hawaiian performers such as Martin Denny
, Hilo Hattie, Ed Kenny, Benny Kalama
, hula dancer Beverly Noa and Arthur Lyman
also made appearances. The show also occasionally featured performers from other parts of the world who sang or played Hawaiian music.
Each show opened with the sounds of the pounding surf and the enthusiastic bounding voice of Webley Edwards
proclaiming, "The sound of the waves on the beach at Waikiki."
During the height of the show's popularity (1950s and into the late 1960s/early 1970s) Webley Edwards served the role of producer of numerous records, released on the Capitol Records label, under the title of "Webley Edwards present Hawaii Calls." The albums contained renditions of popular Hawaiian and hapa haole songs as arranged by the "Hawaii Calls" musicians. In addition to appearing on the many "Hawaii Calls" albums, many of the stars of "Hawaii Calls" also enjoyed successful careers as solo artists
Several of the "Hawaii Calls" CD releases listed below are still in print and available from Mele.com. There are also several compact disc compilations released by Hula Records, the company that owns the rights to the "Hawaii Calls" name and the show's surviving archives. They feature also songs from some of the classic radio shows and may include Edwards' colorful commentary. These are available at www.hularecords.com.
In 1992, "Hawaii Calls" was revived for a one-year run at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, but it failed to attracted enough financial support to continue. A one-night "Hawaii Calls" show that combined live performances and archival audio and video material was presented at the Hawaii Theater in Honolulu, Hawaii
on Friday, November 14, 2008. The show was co-produced by Burton White, Artistic Director of the Hawaii Theatre, and Don McDiarmid Jr., Chairman of Hawaii Calls Inc., and President Emeritus of Hula Records. The show included live performances by vocalists Nina Keali'iwahamana and Aaron Sala, hula dancer Kanoe Miller, and the Hawaii Calls Quintet, and also archival performances by Alfred Apaka, Lani Custino, Hilo Hattie, Haunani Kahalewai, Ed Kenny, Charles Kaipo Miller, Beverly Noa, Ponce Ponce and Boyce Rodrigues. Webley Edwards was shown introducing some of the archival performances and audio clips of his voice were used to introduce most of the live performances.
Compact Discs
Harry Owens
Harry Owens was an American composer, bandleader and songwriter.-Biography:Harry Robert Owens was born April 18, 1902, in O'Neill, Nebraska. He learned how to play a cornet in a small band on an Indian reservation in Montana.-Early years:He worked the vaudeville circuit by age 14. Owens studied...
, the composer of "Sweet Leilani
Sweet Leilani
"Sweet Leilani" is a song from the 1937 film, Waikiki Wedding. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and was popularized by Bing Crosby who recorded it in 1935....
". It was broadcast each week, usually from the courtyard of the Moana Hotel
Moana Hotel
The Moana Hotel, also known as the First Lady of Waikīkī, is a famous historic hotel on the island of Oahu, located at 2365 Kalākaua Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii. Built in the late 19th century as the first hotel in Waikiki, the Moana opened its doors to guests in 1901, becoming the first large hotel...
on Waikiki Beach
Waikiki
Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....
but occasionally from other locations, and hosted by Webley Edwards
Webley Edwards
Webley Edwards was a World War II news correspondent and Hawaiian radio personality.-Early life and education:...
for almost the entire run.
The first show reached the West Coast of the continental United States through shortwave radio. At its height, it was heard on over 750 stations around the world. However, when it went off the air in 1975, only 10 stations were airing the show. Because of its positive portrayal of Hawaii, the show received a subsidy for many years—first from the government of the Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
, and then from the State of Hawaii. The termination of the subsidy was one of the reasons that the show went off the air.
Hawaii Calls is credited with making many Hawaiian performers household names across the US and around the world. Among the regulars of Hawaii Call were Alfred Apaka
Alfred Apaka
Alfred Apaka was born Alfred Aholo Apaka Jrin Honolulu, Hawaii to vocalist Alfred Aholo Apaka Sr. Alfred was a graduate of President Theodore Roosevelt High School where he was an athlete and ROTC cadet captain...
, John Kameaaloha Almeida
John Kameaaloha Almeida
John Kameaaloha Almeida , was born John Celestino Almeida Jr. in the Pauoa Valley on the island of Oʻahu in Hawai‘i, to Portuguese contract laborer John Celestino Almeida Sr. and his wife Honolulu lei seller Julia Kamaka Almeida...
, Haunani Kahalewai, Nina Keali'iwahamana, Boyce Rodrigues, Lani Custino, and Pua Almeida. Other well known Hawaiian performers such as Martin Denny
Martin Denny
Martin Denny was an American piano-player and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing well into his 80s, he toured the world popularizing his brand of lounge music which included exotic percussion, imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and...
, Hilo Hattie, Ed Kenny, Benny Kalama
Benny Kalama
Benny Kalama , was born Benjamin Kapena Kalama in Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii. Honey-voiced falsetto legend Benny Kalama was a talent staple of Hawaii's music industry, but his contributions were often overshadowed either by those of the singer he is credited with discovering and nurturing,...
, hula dancer Beverly Noa and Arthur Lyman
Arthur Lyman
Arthur Lyman was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His group popularized a style of faux-Polynesian music during the 1950s and 1960s which later became known as exotica...
also made appearances. The show also occasionally featured performers from other parts of the world who sang or played Hawaiian music.
Each show opened with the sounds of the pounding surf and the enthusiastic bounding voice of Webley Edwards
Webley Edwards
Webley Edwards was a World War II news correspondent and Hawaiian radio personality.-Early life and education:...
proclaiming, "The sound of the waves on the beach at Waikiki."
During the height of the show's popularity (1950s and into the late 1960s/early 1970s) Webley Edwards served the role of producer of numerous records, released on the Capitol Records label, under the title of "Webley Edwards present Hawaii Calls." The albums contained renditions of popular Hawaiian and hapa haole songs as arranged by the "Hawaii Calls" musicians. In addition to appearing on the many "Hawaii Calls" albums, many of the stars of "Hawaii Calls" also enjoyed successful careers as solo artists
Several of the "Hawaii Calls" CD releases listed below are still in print and available from Mele.com. There are also several compact disc compilations released by Hula Records, the company that owns the rights to the "Hawaii Calls" name and the show's surviving archives. They feature also songs from some of the classic radio shows and may include Edwards' colorful commentary. These are available at www.hularecords.com.
In 1992, "Hawaii Calls" was revived for a one-year run at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, but it failed to attracted enough financial support to continue. A one-night "Hawaii Calls" show that combined live performances and archival audio and video material was presented at the Hawaii Theater in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
on Friday, November 14, 2008. The show was co-produced by Burton White, Artistic Director of the Hawaii Theatre, and Don McDiarmid Jr., Chairman of Hawaii Calls Inc., and President Emeritus of Hula Records. The show included live performances by vocalists Nina Keali'iwahamana and Aaron Sala, hula dancer Kanoe Miller, and the Hawaii Calls Quintet, and also archival performances by Alfred Apaka, Lani Custino, Hilo Hattie, Haunani Kahalewai, Ed Kenny, Charles Kaipo Miller, Beverly Noa, Ponce Ponce and Boyce Rodrigues. Webley Edwards was shown introducing some of the archival performances and audio clips of his voice were used to introduce most of the live performances.
Listen to
Discography
LPs- Hawaii Calls, Capitol Records T-470, 1956
- Hawaii Calls At Twilight, Capitol Records T-586, 1957
- Favorite Instrumentals of the Islands, Capitol Records T-715, 1957
- Waikiki, Capitol Records T772, 1957
- Island Paradise, Capitol Records ST-1229, 1957
- Hawaiian Shores, Capitol Records T0904, 1958
- Hula Island Favorites, Capitol Records T-987, 1958
- Fire Goddess, Capitol Records ST-1033, 1959
- Hawaiian Strings, Capitol Records ST-1152, 1959
- Hawaii Calls Greatest Hits, Capitol Records ST-1339, 1960
- Let's Sing With Hawaii Calls, Capitol Records ST-1518, 1961
- Exotic Instrumentals, Capitol Records ST-1409, 1961
- Stars of Hawaii Calls, Capitol Records ST-1627. 1961
- A Merry Hawaiian Christmas, Capitol Records ST-1781, 1961
- Hawaii Calls Show, Capitol Records ST-1699, 1962 (live show recording)
- Romantic Instrumentals, Capitol Records ST-1987, 1964
- Waikiki After Dark, Capitol Records ST-2315, 1965
- Hawaii Today, Capitol Records ST-2449, 1966
- Webley Edwards presents "Hawaii Calls" Alfred Apaka's Greatest Hits, Vol.2, Capitol Records DT-2572, 196?
- Best From the Beach at Waikiki, Capitol Records ST-2573, 1967
- More Hawaii Calls Greatest Hits, Capitol Records ST-2736
- Blue Skies Old Hawaii, Capitol Records ST-2782, release year unknown
- Soft Hawaiian Guitars, Capitol Records ST-2917, release year unknown
- The Hawaii Calls Deluxe 2-LP Set, Capitol Records ST-2182, release year unknown (3-LP set is actually a repackaging of Favorite Instrumentals, Alfred Apaka's album Golden Voice of the Islands and Hawaii Calls Greatest Hits)
- The Best of Hawaii Calls, Capitol Records ST1-141, release year unknown
Compact Discs
- Blue Hawaii Hula Records HCS-924A
- Hawaii's Greatest Hits, Vol. I, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-921A
- Hawaii's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-922A
- Hawaiian Wedding Song, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-923A
- A Merry Hawaiian Christmas, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-925
- Hawaii Calls Greatest Hits, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-927 (the best selections from Hawaii's Greatest Hits Volumes I & II)
- Memories of Hawaii Calls, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-928
- Memories of Hawaii Calls Vol. II, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-930
- The Land of Aloha, Hawaii Calls, Inc. HCS-920
- Hawaii Calls: The All-Time Favorites From the Famous Radio Program, Cema Special Markets CDL-57608, 1991
External links
- Article on Hawaii Calls in The Honolulu Advertiser
- Article on John Rodgers Flight 1925