Paradise, Hawaiian Style is the twenty-sixth album by Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3643, in June 1966.Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, on July 26 and 27, and August 2, 1965. It peaked at number 15 on theTop Pop Albums chart.[1]
Contents[]
Content[edit][]
Presley found himself in 1965 recording soundtrack albums for films that were almost a year away from release — gone were the days when the turnaround time from the final session for Elvis Is Back! to its arrival in the shops was less than one week.[2] While working on this album, his most recent film in the theaters was Tickle Me, and Presley had completed three more movies since then. With titles like "A Dog's Life" and "Queenie Wahine's Papaya" he openly ridiculed the material, wasting time before finally approaching the microphone to do the job.[3] He begrudgingly accepted songs given him that he would have rejected outright years earlier. He always finished the work, but in essence Presley had become a hired hand in his own career.[3]
No singles were issued from songs on the album. Ten songs were recorded at the sessions for the soundtrack, but only nine were used in the film. The omitted song, "Sand Castles," was included on the album to bring the running order to ten tracks. Sales for the album were under 250,000, a new low for Presley's LP catalogue.[4] The good news was the single issued in June 1966 two days before the album, the 1945 Victor Young standard"Love Letters" backed with Clyde McPhatter's 1958 rhythm and blues hit "Come What May". It made a respectable number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, and at least reflected Presley's actual tastes away from obligations to the soundtrack recordings.[5] It was also his first contemporary record release in three years since "(You're the) Devil in Disguise" in June 1963, arriving in stores less than two weeks after it was recorded.[6]
Personnel[edit][]
- Elvis Presley – vocals
- The Jordanaires – backing vocals
- The Mello Men – backing vocals (on "Drums Of The Islands")
- Bernal Lewis – steel guitar
- Scotty Moore, Barney Kessel – electric guitar
- Charlie McCoy – acoustic guitar
- Howard Roberts, Allan Hendrickson – electric guitar ("Sand Castles")
- Larry Muhoberac – piano
- Ray Siegel – double bass
- Keith Mitchell – bass guitar ("Sand Castles")
- D.J. Fontana, Hal Blaine, Milt Holland – drums
- Victor Feldman – drums ("Sand Castles")
Track listing[edit][]
| Side one | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | July 27, 1965 | 2:39 | ||||||
| 2. | "Queenie Wahine's Papaya" | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | July 27, 1965 | 1:35 | ||||||
| 3. | "Scratch My Back (Then I'll Scratch Yours)" | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | July 26, 1965 | 2:16 | ||||||
| 4. | "Drums Of The Islands" | Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett | July 26, 1965 | 2:34 | ||||||
| 5. | "Datin'" | Fred Wise and Randy Starr | July 26, 1965 | 1:23 | ||||||
| Side two | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "A Dog's Life" | Ben Weisman and Sid Wayne | July 27, 1965 | 1:59 | ||||||
| 2. | "House of Sand" | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | July 27, 1965 | 2:04 | ||||||
| 3. | "Stop Where You Are" | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | July 27, 1965 | 2:06 | ||||||
| 4. | "This Is My Heaven" | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | July 27, 1965 | 2:36 | ||||||
| 5. | "Sand Castles" | David Hess and Herb Goldberg | August 2, 1965 | 2:58 | ||||||