Hawaii Calls

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Hawaii Calls
Photograph of a Hawaii Calls show that was broadcast from the Moana Hotel during World War II.
Genre	Hawaiian music
Running time	30 min
Country	United States
Languages	English, Hawaiian
Starring	Webley Edwards
Recording studio	Moana Hotel, Waikiki, Hawaii
Air dates	July 3, 1935 to August 16, 1975
No. of episodes	2083

Hawaii Calls was a radio program that ran from 1935 through 1975 that featured live Hawaiian music. It was broadcast each week from the courtyard of the Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach and was hosted by Webley Edwards. 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.^[1]

Hawaii Calls is credited with making many Hawaiian performers household names across the US and around the world. Among the regulars of Hawaii Calls were Alfred Apaka, Haunani Kahalewai and Pua Almeida. Other well known performers such as Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman also made appearances. 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 shows popularity (50's and into the late 60's/early 70's) 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 typical renditions of hawaiian classic songs. In addition to the many "Hawaii Calls" albums, many of the stars of "Hawaii Calls" released solo albums and enjoyed quite properous careers. Sadly today, none of the "Hawaii Calls" releases are still in print or available on compact disc. However, there are a few compact discs compilations released by Hula Records, the feature songs from some of the classic radio shows and include Edwards' colorful banter.

In 1992 another program used the name for a one year run in another Waikiki hotel but failed to attracted enough financial support to continue.

1 Listen to
2 Discography
3 Notes
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Listen to

[edit] 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
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)
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

[edit] Notes

^ See: Kanahele, George S., Hawaiian Music and Musicians: An Illustrated History

[edit] References

Kanahele, George S. (1979). Hawaiian Music and Musicians : An Illustrated History. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii. ISBN 082480578X.
Ruymar, Lorene (1996). The Hawaiian Steel Guitar and Its Great Hawaiian Musicians. Anaheim Hills, CA: Centerstream Publishing, p.171. ISBN 1574240218.