The world deserves to hear Little Albert sing, his music is pure and powerful.įor a small guy, he brings more than most singers with each performance: presence, charisma, and a voice like gold. Movin' In is one of those classic soul albums cherished by some but unknown by many. Lil Albert - Movin' In - Silvercloud Records - 1976 (?) If there's one place to start exploring Hawaii's black music scene, it's here. In my opinion, this is the quintessential Hawaiian black music album because it represents a musician who is pushing the Hawaiian sound to new heights, experimenting with jazz, funk, and soul. Start with his band's debut album, Macky Feary Band, and you'll discover quality rare grooves like 'A Million Stars' and 'You're Young'. Hawaii radio stations still spin 'The Hurt' on regular rotation.īut Mackey's discography runs much deeper. Ongs like 'The Hurt' represent the local pop music sound of the seventies. Starting with the group Kalapana and later debuting his own band, Mackey invented a new sound of the islands, mixing soul, AOR, jazz, and rock to create music that fit perfectly with Hawaii's breezy, laid-back lifestyle. Mackey Feary is the cornerstone to contemporary Hawaiian music. Mackey Feary Band - Macky Feary Band - Rainbow Records - 1978 Here's your introduction, brought to you by the Hawaiian rare groove blog Aloha Got Soul. People wanted to get down, and Hawaii's newly appointed masters of groove brought some of the funkiest music ever heard throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Dance music of R&B artists like Earth Wind & Fire, Herbie Hancock, and Tower of Power inspired a different kind of nightlife scene in the islands. You'll find traditional Hawaiian music performances in Waikiki any night of the week.īut a lot of people don't know about the B-side of Hawaiian music, the urban sounds that fueled Honolulu nightclubs in the seventies and eighties. This is Hawaiian music to most people around the world.Īll these images are true to life. They imagine falsetto singers and hula dancers swaying with palm trees as a brilliant sunset fills the sky on Waikiki Beach.

When people think of Hawaiian music, their minds fill with the gentle sounds of ukulele, lap steel guitar, double bass and slack key guitar. Like Brazil, Hawaii is home to some of the most beautiful music in the world. Roger Bong of Aloha Got Soul holds one of his favorite albums in front of a record wall at Hungry Ear Records in Kailua, Hawaii. Now, I present to you my Top 10 Hawaiian Black Music albums, in English. Thanks to the ohana over at coletivoACTION and Trip Magazine for translating my Top 10 article into Brasilian Portuguese and publishing it online here.

Hawaii music cd track lists