Country folk love Hawaiian music. Hawaiians like country music. The common denominator is the soothing pedal steel guitar. My grandfather, who as far as I know never ventured west of the Mississippi river, had several Hawaiian music records in his limited LP collection. I have obviously inherited an appreciation for the island sounds. Living here on Siesta Key (some say it reminds them of Hawaii) helps to set the mood very nicely. I recently picked up the two LPs seen above at my local Goodwill store. Marty Robbins served in the Pacific during WWII, which led to his love for the songs of Hawaii. Little Roy Wiggins played steel for Eddy Arnold and others before recording his homage to Hawaii on the old Starday record label. Both LP’s are great and highly recommended. Each features the requisite colorful leis and swaying hula girls. Think you can find the Robbins collection on CD (try Amazon.com). Good luck with the Wiggins LP, which is long out of print and a true collector’s item. The video clip above is Jerry Byrd and Marty Robbins performing an unknown hula tune.
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