Thanks sweetie and thank YOU for tuning into episode eleventeen hundred three thousand and forty-three of Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl. 

 

I might as well say anything I want anymore, because according to the liner notes on this album, the featured artist played all 32 instruments and sings like Bing Crosby.

 

While the singer’s voice does bear a remarkable resemblance to der Bingle, I had two Artificial Intelligence platforms arguing about if anything about Jack La Delle is real. 

 

While I’ll of course cover that story in a while, there is no mistaking the beauty of the music on this record, which I can only prove – through photos and videos for myself – the beauty of the island nation it represents.

 

So get ready to hang loose, hang ten, then bid a sweet aloha in Volume 243: Hi-Fi Hawaii.

 

 

[Music: Blue Hawaii]

 

 

Blue Hawaii

written by Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger

First recorded by Jack Denny and His Orchestra – Vocal by Sonny Schuyler on February 19, 1937. According to Second Hand Songs dot com, that song has been recorded 235 times. My favorite is Elvis Presley’s version.

 

Ok…Why this record for this episode?

 

Well, first of all, there is some surprisingly good music on this record, regardless if we know who actually performed it or not.

 

While I’ve never been to Hawaii, my girlfriend talks about her trip there quite frequently. She visited with a cousin shortly after high school.

 

A college classmate owns a house on one of the islands even though he owns a PR firm in DC. I always appreciate his posts from the island.

 

A college professor friend of mine was born and raised there and I often get to hear stories from what seemed to be a care-free life. She’s the one who also supplied me with a more appropriate closing line to this episode.

 

And then my parents visited this beautiful state on one of their dream trips later in life. My mom never stopped talking about that visit.

 

There is also something about the beauty of the music itself. And how it is easily recognizable as being from that set of Pacific Islands.

 

Next up. Everyone on the island knew her.

 

 

[Music: Sweet Leilani]

 

 

Sweet Leilani

written by Harry Owens

First recording by Ted Fio Rito and His Orchestra – Vocal Chorus by The Debutantes and Muzzy Marcellino on February 19, 1937

 

Now let me tell you about my dad’s vinyl I am spinning for this episode.

 

Jack La Delle – Hawaiian Holiday In Hi-Fi, the Genius of Jack La Delle

Label: Design Records – DLP 53

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album

Released: 1958

Genre: Pop, Folk, World, & Country

 

We will hear 6 of the 10 tunes on this album.

 

The liner notes are written by the same, possibly fictitious, Roy Freeman who seems to write the liner notes on all of the records my dad owns from the Design Record label.

 

I’ll read part of them here. And by the way, LaDelle is spelled differently in these notes than it is on the rest of the cover. The notes do not have a space between the la and the dell.

 

Aloha good friend. welcome to the softest, sweetest, loveliest music anywhere. to the uninitiated, let me say, quote yes, there is a reason for titling this album The Genius of Jack liddell. why? simple. every musical note. every word song. every instrument played on this album is the work of Jack liddell. one of America’s most talented and versatile musician entertainers. Jack plays 32, that’s right, 32 instruments. he plays them well enough to be carried in the Musicians Union records as a recognized professional on each. I’ve searched and I know of no one who can equal or even approach this amazing feat.

 

 It goes on to tell an interesting story about one concert where the people would not let him leave the stage and it finishes with, Design is very proud to present here, the album debut of an American artist who we believe can be described best only as a musical genius. Take yourself a Hawaiian Holiday in Hi-Fi and see if you don’t agree. 

 

And I think it is pure fiction, including the line A fantastic four miles of recording tape went into the production of this album.

 

But of course I did the math. At 30 inches per second, the common recording speed of tape, it comes out to less than six hours. That’s not bad for someone who played 32 instruments and sang all of the music on ten songs.

 

OK…Let’s see what prices this record is being sold at on discogs dot com.

 

$9.40 High

$1.12 Low

 

$3.74 Average

$3.00 Median

 

Last sold on Jul 28, 2024 for $6.

 

My dad’s record is in poor condition. Lots of crackling and hiss. There are a couple of skips on the record as well. 

 

The surface proves that this record must have been played a ton. It looks like he might have bought this record soon after it came out in 1958.

 

The cover is in poor condition. While the top and back edge are clean, sometime in the past the bottom must have had a big slit, because there is some of dad’s famous black electrical tape holding it together.

 

There’s a green magic marker streak on the back along with the word posted stamped there. There are three address labels on the front. You can tell the bottom one was for my parents’ first house.

 

So I’ll value my dad’s vinyl at a buck.

 

This next one describes what I imagine Hawaii smells like.

 

 

[Music: Song Of Old Hawaii]

 

 

Song Of Old Hawaii

written by Johnny Noble, Gordon Beecher

First released by Al Kealoha Perry and His Singing Surfriders on August 15, 1938.

 

This is where I usually stop for the artist bio. But I could not find a thing online about Jack La Delle. You would think somebody who was union certified in 32 different instruments and had a voice like Bing would have a little bit more known about him.

 

The only mention of a Jack La Delle was one that ChatGPT found of him as a regular guest on the Steve Allen show. It continued to pursue the idea that Design used a fictitious version of his name to release two albums.

 

I basically had ChatGPT and Perplexity arguing about the veracity of the existence of this supposed artist. So the moral there is, don’t trust AI. But I think we knew that.

 

So what was left was more of the fiction from the back cover of the album. Let me read a couple of passages.

 

I never dreamed  what the recording sessions would be like. Jack would play each instrument in turn. His arrangements are all in his head. He would first play rhythm guitar and we’d record it. Then, wearing earphones so he could hear what had been recorded before, he would play steel guitar, bass, ukulele, drums, clarinet, flute and more and more and more. then he’s saying. He’s saying three-part harmony with himself. He played three-part harmony with himself on clarinet. every beat counted in advance. every note precisely on time and in perfect pitch. 

 

Sounds like there was some AI hallucination back in the mid 50s. Of course, who knows what drugs they were on then.

 

So? What do you think? Jack La Delle. Fact or fiction?

 

Next up. Let’s take a close look at that necklace.

 

 

[Music: Na lei o Hawaii (Song Of The Islands)]

 

 

Na lei o Hawaii or Necklace of Hawaii (Song Of The Islands)

written by Charles E. King

First released by R. K. Holstein and Octette in June 1916.

 

Time now for this episode’s interesting side note and it has to do with what makes Hawaiian music Hawaiian music.

 

You know that feeling when you hear just a few moments of a Hawaiian tune and you’re instantly transported to sunny shores? That “unmistakable” sound comes from a blend of unique ingredients. Hawaiian music is anchored by a surprisingly simple, flowing structure and melodies, often made bright and happy with major chords, but then spiced with 7th chords and an occasional minor for emotional depth. There’s a fluidity and storytelling focus in Hawaiian tunes that’s different from the tighter structure of Western pop. The signature high, clear falsetto singing style you’ll sometimes hear was shaped by historical traditions, when men would sing in higher registers as women weren’t allowed to perform in ancient times.

 

And then there are the instruments—arguably the heart of the “tropical” vibe. There’s the ʻukulele, with its light, bouncy strum, which practically radiates island cheer. It’s joined by the slack-key guitar, easily recognized by its open tunings and finger-picked style, and the mesmerizing steel guitar, invented in Hawaii, which produces those smooth, sliding notes you just can’t get anywhere else. Traditional Hawaiian music also brings in percussive flavors from the ipu (a hollowed gourd drum) and the pahu (a sharkskin-covered drum), essential for hula rhythms. And if you ever hear the sweet, haunting sound of a bamboo nose flute—that’s pure Hawaii too. Toss all those together, and you’ve got a sound world that’s instantly, unmistakably Hawaiian.

 

Next up, it looks like I put the request after the song requested.

 

 

[Music: Sing Me A Song Of The Islands]

 

 

Sing Me A Song Of The Islands

written by Mack Gordon, Harry Owens

First recording by Ray Kinney and His Hawaiian Musical Ambassadors on December 19, 1941. It was released January 30 of 42.

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.

 

I thought the music was quite pleasant on this record. And since is not the only album of Hawaiian music my dad has, I know he must have enjoyed this genre.

 

I think I remember this album cover from my growing up days in the house.

 

Because it has a beautiful woman on the front cover wearing a traditional Hawaiian garb. One thing I would not have noticed in my youth is the fact she is white and not a Pacific Islander.

 

She’s seated in one of those big Addam’s Family wicker chairs holding a bowl of flowers I’m assuming is covering an alcoholic beverage. There are lots of palm fronds and flowers around.

 

It says Hawaiian Holiday in Hi Fi in large red and white sans serif font and in smaller lettering The Genius of Jack La Delle.

 

The back is your typical one from the 1950s. A third is the fiction I read to you earlier. A third is the lineup of songs on the record. And the last third is all about the Spectra sonic sound you will find on the album.

 

A finally. This is only goodbye for a week.

 

 

[Music: Aloha Oe]

 

 

Aloha Oe

written by Liliuokalani (luh-lee-uh-wow-kuh-laa-nee)

 

That’s Queen luh-lee-uh-wow-kuh-laa-nee to you and me. She was the only ruling queen and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

 

The first recording was by a Quartet of Hawaiian Girls from Kawaihao Seminary on July 1, 1904

 

And there you have selections from an album filled with sweet music from some sweet islands.

 

So thanks for tuning into Volume 243: Hi-Fi Hawaii

 

however you did. If you want more information about this SHOW, head over to spinning my dad’s vinyl dot com.

 

I’ll be back next week with all my skips, scratches, and pops 

 

FOR Volume 244: Big Band Vocals

 

Until then,

Malama pono my friends.