Hawaiian Holiday In Hi-Fi - Jack La Delle

Hawaiian War Chant

Blue Hawaii

Hawaiian War Chant

Blue Hawaii

Hawaiian Holiday In Hi-Fi
The Genius Of Jack La Delle
Cover Photo Courtesy Pan American Airlines
Design Records DLP 53
1957

From the back cover: Aloha, good friend. Welcome to the softest, sweetest, loveliest music anywhere. To the uninitiated, let me say, "Yes, there is a reason for titling this album "The Genius of Jack LaDelle." Why?... Simple. Every musical note. Every word sung. Every instrument played on this album is the work of Jack LaDelle. One of America's most talented and versatile musician-entertainers. Jack plays thirty two... that's right, thirty-two 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 the amazing feat. I had first seen Jack perform at Allen Rich's lovely Southward Inn up on Cap Cod. He was, without a doubt, the most versatile and entertaining man I had ever seen. He did a one man show and after a hour and a half, the crowd still wouldn't let him off. Jack then did the darnedest closing I'd ever seen. He sat down underneath a tree on the terrance and softly crooned a medley of love songs made famous by Bing Crosby. You could close your eyes and Crosby was in the room. At the end of the medley, several of the couples were dancing dreamily, and the rest were strolling 'neath that big Cap Cod moon. From the excitement of his fast paced and very often riotously funny show, Jack had in moments transferred the Southward into the lover's paradise it was built to be. I made a date with Jack and back in New York we mapped out the album presented herewith.

I never dreamt 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 recorded 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 sang. He sang three part harmony with himself. He played three part harmony with himself on clarinet. Every beat counts in advance. Every note precisely on time and in perfect pitch.

A fantastic four miles of recording tape went into the production of this album.

Blue Hawaii
Sweet Leilani
Lovely Hula Hands
Song Of Old Hawaii
Hawaiian War Chant
Song Of The Islands
Sing Me A Song Of The Islands
To you, Sweetheart, Aloha
On A Little Bamboo Bridge
Aloha Oe