Elvis Presley Blue Hawaii - Soundtrack (LP, 180g Vinyl)

(My Generation Music) 12 tracks - The soundtrack recordings from the 1961 motion picture

'Blue Hawaii (Paramount, 1961) Presley's eighth film was Blue Hawaii, filmed in the tropical paradise of the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Kauai. The film was his biggest commercial success. With 14 songs, more than any other Elvis film, the soundtrack album spent a total of 79 weeks on Billboard's pop album chart, with 20 of those weeks at #1. Blue Hawaii, a musical comedy originally titled Hawaiian Beach Boy, became the most successful film of Presley's career. Elvis stars as Chad Gates, whose wealthy family owns a successful pineapple plantation in Hawaii. At the beginning of the film, Chad has just returned from the Army and his family is eager for him to pursue the family business. Instead, and against his families wishes, Chad lands a job as a guide in the tourist agency where girlfriend Made, played by Joan Blackman, also works. His new vocation not only allows him to use his knowledge of the Islands' most beautiful sites but also affords him enough time to cavort on the beach with his native Hawaiian buddies. Tension mounts as Chad's blue-blooded mother, played by Angela Lansbury, objects to his job, his girlfriend, and his beach-loving friends. Chad eventually proves a success in the tourist business and he finally wins the approval of his family by marrying Maile and making plans to open his own tourist agency.

Filming for Blue Hawaii began on March 27th, 1961, in the lush islands of Hawaii. Location shooting took place on the islands of Oahu and Kauai and was finished by April 17th. The cast and crew then returned to Hollywood where filming continued until May 23rd. The famous wedding scene was shot on Kauai at the Coco Palms Resort Hotel which had been in operation since 1953. Unfortunately, the resort closed after Kauai was hit by the devastating Hurricane Iniki in September 1992. In the 1800s, the land where the Coco Palms is located was the ancestral home of Kauai's last reigning queen, Queen Deborah Kapule. The 'Call to Feast' featured in the film with its ceremonial torch lighting had taken place there every night at 7:30 PM for 40 years until Iniki hit. Elvis loved Hawaii. It was one of his favourite places to vacation and this movie provides us with a glimpse into the beauty of these islands. That, combined with the romantic tropical music Elvis sings, creates within us all the desire to visit Blue Hawaii.