"Blue Hawaii" was released in October 1961 and was the soundtrack of a movie with the same name. On the "Top LPs Chart" the album had a run of 79 weeks, 20 of them at the number one! As early as December 1961 Elvis received a Gold Award for the domestic sales of "Blue Hawaii", in 1992 the status was updated to Double Platinum, in 2002 the RIAA updated again to Tripple Platinum. In Great Britain the longplayer stayed at the number one spot for 17 weeks, in total it stayed on the chart for 65 weeks. Worldwide RCA was able to sell 10 million copies, which was three times as much as the current studio album "Something For Everybody". According to the RIAA 10 million physical sales eqal 1.5 billion paid streams of the complete album or 15 billion paid streams of individual tracks. The National Association Of Record Merchandisers awarded "Blue Hawaii" as the "Best Selling Album Of 1961", the Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences nominated the longplayer for a Grammy in the category "Best Soundtrack Album Or Recording Of Original Cast From Motion Picture Or Television". The "Blue Hawaii" soundtrack turned out to be Presley's most successful longplayer. In fact, it would become the second best selling album of the whole decade, only surpassed by the soundtrack of "West Side Story". Today "Blue Hawaii" clocks in at more than a billion streams on Spotify alone.

The cover presented Elvis in a hawaiian shirt, with a lei around his neck and an ukulele. The image of the rock'n'roll singer was passe', the king had turned into an ever-smiling all american boy, an entertainer for the whole family. The backside of the sleeve included four screenshots from the movie.

On the streaming platforms "Blue Hawaii" is presented the way it was issued in 2016 as part of the set "The Album Collection". For this project all tracks were scanned with high-resolution equipment and remastered. Therefore the album can be presented with the golden Hi-Res emblem. The better sound of these versions is owed exclusively to the new mastering (the elimination of interfering noise). Because first one cannot turn an analogue recording into a high resolution recording just by scanning the tape with hd equipment and second even an old cd with 16 bit/44.1 kHz exceeds the auditory sense of a human being.

The sessions took place between March 21st and 23rd, 1961 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood/California. The recordings were produced by Joseph Lilley and engineered by Thorne Nogar. The band consisted of Scotty Moore (guitar), DJ Fontana (drums), Hank Garland (guitar), Hilmer J. Timbrell (guitar), Bob Moore (bass), Hal Blaine (drums), Bernie Mattinson (drums & percussion), Floyd Cramer (piano), Dudley Brooks (piano & celeste), Homer Randolph (saxophone) and George Fields (harmonica). For the hawaiian flair ukuleles (played by Fred Tavares and Bernie Lewis) and a steel guitar (played by Alvino Rey) were added. The harmony vocals were provided by The Jordanaires (Gordon Stoker, Hoyt Hawkins & Ray Walker) and The Surfers (Pat Syla, Bernie Ching, Clay Naluai & Alan Naluai). The song "Steppin' Out Of Line" was neither used in the movie, nor on the soundtrack album. It was released a year later on the lp "Pot Luck With Elvis". The "Blue Hawaii" album has a running time of 32:02 minutes.

In 2009 Follow That Dream Records released a collector's edition, that also included several outtakes. For a review tap HERE.

The song was written by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger and recorded by Bing Crosby in 1937. Patti Page and Frank Sinatra had also recorded "Blue Hawaii" before Elvis. The track provides a cozy holiday atmosphere and therefore was made the titlesong of the movie. Elvis recorded it on March 22, 1961 within seven takes. In early 1973 he re-recorded "Blue Hawaii" for his television special "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite", but sounded rather tired than romantic.

Fred Wise and Ben Weisman turned the traditional "Alouette" into "Almost Always True". The narrator confirms to have always been faithful to his girlfriend...at least almost. In the movie Joan Blackman also sings a few lines, but on the album we hear just Elvis. He needed eight takes to record "Almost Always True" on March 22, 1961.

This one wasn't a new song either. "Aloha Oe" was written by Kamekeha Liliuokalani, the last queen of Hawaii, and recorded for the first time in 1905 by The Royal Hawaiian Troubadours. Elvis taped his version on March 21, 1961, the master-take is a splice of the takes number 5 and 7. Two days later The Surfers recorded harmony vocals. Here the 4th attempt became the master. 

The series of oldies continues with an adaptation of  "La Paloma". In the movie Chad (Elvis) explains, that he had brought the song from Italy, but in fact Sebastian Yradier wrote this tango in the 1850s as a tribute to Cuban music. Don Robertson and Hal Blair turned the classic into "No More", of which Elvis recorded 13 takes on March 21, 1961. Afterwards he also taped three insert-takes of the song's finale. The master is a combination of take 13 and insert-take 3. Because Joseph Lilley didn't number the insert-takes separately, the official splice is 13/16. In 1972 CAMDEN re-released the tender ballad on the album "Elvis Sings Hits From His Movies - Volume 1", the following year the king recorded a new version of "No More" for the US edition of his television concert "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite".

Once again we get a reincarnation of an old song and once again the movie isn't accurate regarding the origin. This time the leading role claims to sing along to an Austrian music box, but in fact "Can't Help Falling In Love" is based on the French "Plaisir d'amour", which was written in 1785 by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian and Johann Paul Aegidius Martini Schwarzendorf. It was adapted by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss. On March 23, 1961 Elvis needed 29 takes to come up with a satisfactory performance. It surely wasn't an easy task, but the result is one of the greatest love songs ever. It's just achingly beautiful! When RCA wanted to re-release "Can't Help Falling In Love" on a single, Colonel Parker rejected the plan. He feared a commercial flop, because the track was already available on the album. However, he changed his mind, when the label guarranteed royalties for a million copies. In the end "Rock-A-Hula Baby" / "Can't Help Falling In Love" became a global hit and sold four times as many units. Later the song was also used on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970) and on the album "A Legendary Performer - Volume 1" (1974). Live versions can be found on the albums "Elvis" (1968), "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" (1969), "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972), "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" (1973), "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974) and "Elvis In Concert" (1977). But the king never even came close to the perfection and beauty of his studio recording.

This is an original song, written by Fred Wise, Ben Weisman and Dolores Fuller. The latter one said in an interview, that she was inspired by "The Twist". At the time RCA also wanted to benefit from the latest dance craze and promoted the song as "twist special". In my view "Rock-A-Hula Baby" is a solid movie tune. On March 23, 1961 Elvis recorded the song within five takes. It was supposed to be the a-side of the afore mentioned single, but it was "Can't Help Falling In Love", which propelled the sales and became a chart hit. RCA re-released the tune in 1970 on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1".

Back in 1957 the "Moonlight Swim" had been a minor hit for Nick Noble (#37) as well as Tony Perkins (#24). Elvis recorded his version on March 22, 1961. Harmony vocals were added six days later. In both cases take 3 was used. The writers of "Moonlight Swim" are Sylvia Dee and Ben Weisman.

This is another ballad by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss. Elvis also re-recorded it in 1973 for the US version of his television concert "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite", but once again he sounded rather tired than romantic. However, his original recording from March 21, 1961 sounds mighty fine and belongs to his best movie tunes. He needed nine takes to deliver this great performance. By the way: The Hawaiian word "Ku-u" means "sweetheart".

The song describes the eating behaviour of a guy named Ito. From my view neither the topic, nor the pun is funny. Because the track also offers very little musical value, "Ito Eats" is the low-point of this album. Elvis also didn't seem to care all that much, because he simply sang to a pre-recorded music track. He did so on March 22, 1961 and needed nine attempts to get it right. The responsible writers are Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett.

The worst song of the soundtrack is followed by the second-worst one. The king taped this unintentional rock'n'roll parody on March 21, 1961 and struggled through 19 takes. Once again the culprits are Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett.

The third Tepper/Bennett track in a row might forefeel atrocities, but this time the duo delivered a wonderful ballad. "Hawaiian Sunset" creates a chilling holiday atmosphere and is performed very well. Elvis recorded the song on March 21, 1961. The master is a splice of the takes number 4 and 7.

After a fight Chad (Elvis) lands in jail and gets the "Beach Boy Blues". Of course the song cannot be compared to "Reconsider Baby" (1960) or "Stranger In My Own Hometown" (1969), but for a movie tune it holds up well and even offers some humor. On March 23, 1961 Elvis taped the song within two takes. Once again the originators are Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett.

You'll never guess, who wrote that song. It's Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett! The assembly line workers describe the beauty of Kauai and once again manage to create a cozy holiday atmosphere with a dash of romance. Elvis recorded the ballad on March 22, 1961 and spend 13 takes on it. Without doubt it was worth the effort.

The album closes with another classic. "Ke Kali Nei Au" was written in 1926 by Charles King for an opera named "Price Of Hawaii", two and a half decades later Bing Crosby sang an English version named "Here Ends The Rainbow". In 1959 Andy Williams recorded a version called "The Hawaiian Wedding Song", this time written by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning. Because it perfectly fit the movie, Elvis covered it on March 22, 1961. Astonishingly he needed just two attempts to deliver this great performance.