Introduction to Hawaiian music

If you said Don Ho , or couldn't think of one, this is the page for you.

Whatever you think you know about what Hawaiian music sounds like, it's quite possible that you're wrong. If you think it all sounds alike, you're wrong for sure.

I've put up a couple of internet "radio stations." Unlike most internet radio, I'll tell you the name of the artist on each song, plus there's a popup box that will show you song title and artist. (They're on Live365. You do not have to register to listen, but if you do, the site will let you set a list of favorites, like setting pushbuttons on the car radio. It only takes a minute, and it's well worth doing.) If you're not very familiar with Hawaiian music, these stations are here to introduce you:

Hawaiian 101; An Introduction to Hawaiian Music - It's over 300 of the best songs from the biggest Hawaiian albums from the last quarter century (over 20 hours of music), just the thing to introduce you to what you've been missing in contemporary Hawaiian music. You'll hear old Hawaiian songs, pop hits, some reggae, some rock, and a bunch of Hawaiian one-hit-wonders; it's 56k.
Slack Key Paradise - All Hawaiian slack key guitar, all the time. Also, some interviews from Dancing Cat Records artists mixed in. This one's set on Shuffle, so you may hear the same artist back to back occasionally, but it's all great. 24k, so even dial-up connections should be able to get it.

If you're already a Hawaiian music fan, there's lots more to hear on the web; visit my mikini mele page, the Hawaiian Music Machine, to find all the Hawaiian music on the internet that I know about.

Quick test: Name a Hawaiian music artist.

Updated April 6, 2012