Hawaii Tattoo
Encyclopedia
"Hawaii Tattoo" is an instrumental by The Waikikis
, released in the US in 1964, on Kapp Records
.
"Hawaii Tattoo" was recorded in Belgium in 1961 and spent two months in the Belgian charts. It was also a huge hit in Germany, spending 37 weeks in the Top Ten and also reached the Top Fifty in the US, Canada and the UK.
As a result of its chart hit status, "Hawaii Tattoo" joined the ranks of such songs as "Sweet Leilani
", "Hawaiian Wedding Song
", "Tiny Bubbles", and others as sort of a "Hawaiian" standard song and was recorded by many artists such as Martin Denny
, The Kilima Hawaiians, Webley Edwards Hawaii Calls Orchestra, and nearly every act recording a "Hawaiian" LP in the 1960s. However, it seems to be better known outside of Hawaii, where it is seldom heard.
and Martin Böttcher
for some music pieces. Martin Böttcher did not respond at first, but after some personal words he delivered a composition within half an hour. Being known in Germany for a completely different music style Böttcher decided to take his pseudonym
"Michael Thomas" for this composition.
In 1961 the first four tracks for a record by the Waikikis were produced, among them "Hawaii Tattoo", that soon gained international fame. In Germany some 600.000 copies were sold and internationally about 2.5 million, Horst Fuchs remembered. In December of 1961 "Hawaii Tattoo" entered the top 50 of the German music charts, being listed for 37 weeks with a top rank on place 4. Three years later the song also was listed in the American Billboard charts
.
The arrangement of the published track was probably by the leader, arranger and piano player of "The Waikikis", Willy Albimoor. Martin Böttcher himself recorded a version under the title Hawaii Tattoo Dixie with a formation he called Mike Thomas and his Wall Street Babies. In 1962 he included the famous version by the Waikikis in his soundtrack of the Heinz Rühmann
movie Max, der Taschendieb (Max the pickpocket), where it could be heard coming from a jukebox.
The Waikikis
The Waikikis were a Belgian studio band, mostly known for their single "Hawaii Tattoo", released in the U.S. in 1964, on Kapp Records. "Hawaii Tattoo" was recorded in 1961 in Belgium and spent two months in the Belgian chart...
, released in the US in 1964, on Kapp Records
Kapp Records
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp . David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca Records and RCA Victor Records. Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK.In 1967, David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc...
.
"Hawaii Tattoo" was recorded in Belgium in 1961 and spent two months in the Belgian charts. It was also a huge hit in Germany, spending 37 weeks in the Top Ten and also reached the Top Fifty in the US, Canada and the UK.
As a result of its chart hit status, "Hawaii Tattoo" joined the ranks of such songs as "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....
", "Hawaiian Wedding Song
Hawaiian Wedding Song
"Hawaiian Wedding Song" is a 1926 love song written by Charles King for his operetta, Prince of Hawaii. It was originally entitled "Ke Kali Nei Au" - Hawaiian for "Waiting Here for You"...
", "Tiny Bubbles", and others as sort of a "Hawaiian" standard song and was recorded by many artists 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...
, The Kilima Hawaiians, Webley Edwards Hawaii Calls Orchestra, and nearly every act recording a "Hawaiian" LP in the 1960s. However, it seems to be better known outside of Hawaii, where it is seldom heard.
history
The piece originated by initiative of record producer Horst Fuchs, who had contact to a Belgian group of studio musicians, calling themselves "The Waikikis" and for whom Fuchs looked for compositions with a certain "Hawaiian flair". He contacted the composers Hans BlumHans Blum
Hans Blum was a German journalist and writer.-Biography:Born Johann Georg Maximillian Blum, he was a son of Robert Blum, and was educated in the universities of Leipzig and Bern, sat in the North German Reichstag 1867-70, and was a barrister in Leipzig 1869-1897...
and Martin Böttcher
Martin Böttcher
Martin Böttcher is a German composer, arranger and conductor.-The beginning:Böttcher began taking piano lessons at an early age. But his first passion was flying, and he wanted to become a test pilot...
for some music pieces. Martin Böttcher did not respond at first, but after some personal words he delivered a composition within half an hour. Being known in Germany for a completely different music style Böttcher decided to take his pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Michael Thomas" for this composition.
In 1961 the first four tracks for a record by the Waikikis were produced, among them "Hawaii Tattoo", that soon gained international fame. In Germany some 600.000 copies were sold and internationally about 2.5 million, Horst Fuchs remembered. In December of 1961 "Hawaii Tattoo" entered the top 50 of the German music charts, being listed for 37 weeks with a top rank on place 4. Three years later the song also was listed in the American Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
.
The arrangement of the published track was probably by the leader, arranger and piano player of "The Waikikis", Willy Albimoor. Martin Böttcher himself recorded a version under the title Hawaii Tattoo Dixie with a formation he called Mike Thomas and his Wall Street Babies. In 1962 he included the famous version by the Waikikis in his soundtrack of the Heinz Rühmann
Heinz Rühmann
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a popular German film actor.-Life and work:Rühmann was born in Essen, Westphalia. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor throughout the 1930s and early 1940s...
movie Max, der Taschendieb (Max the pickpocket), where it could be heard coming from a jukebox.