I've been here for three years but have only generated 29 posts, which is sad, since I wanted to get to know everyone here, talk story, get homesick, etc. With some of the projects I'm wanting to do, I hope to be able to talk with many of you so I figured I would begin here again.
I am a kama'aina living in Washington State, and I'm a music journalist (soon-to-be-author), artist/producer, record collector/junkie, and an info freak. I've been a music journalist for 24 years, reviewing everything from soul to funk, jazz to punk, but have always shined the spotlight on music from back home, be it traditional or contemporary. I used to run a website called "Hawaiian Music Corner", which reviewed then-new music but also looked at some of the Hawaiian music and artists that may have been forgotten. I want to start a series of articles on my new website that will look at some of these old records, and have it be used towards a bigger book project. One publisher has seeked interest, but it's a way of at least getting the information out there.
Last week I was looking on eBay for whatever Hawaiian records were being sold, and I did a search for Melveen. However I came across a 45/7" single by someone named Melveen Reed. One, there aren't too many people I know named Melveen, and not one with a very similiar sounding name. I was a kid in the 70's and I remember her music very well on KCCN, and all of the telethon appearances she made, I was raised literally on her voice, the famous "country tita". So to see a record by a Melveen Reed came as a shock, so I did some research. Nothing. It was on the Ligaya label, looked it up again. Nothing.
What convinced me that it was her? The record, a cover version of "Wooly Booly", featured backing from the Bernie Hal-Mann Orchestra. On the early albums Leed did for Makaha Records, she was also backed by Berne Hal-mann, except "Wooly Booly" was recorded in Hollywood. I bought the 45, and it happened to be someone who lived in the same area. I picked it up a few minutes ago, placed it on my turntable and... it's definitely Leed, as Reed.
"Wooly Booly" is done pretty straightforward, but instead of singing it as "woolay boolay", it's literally "woolee boolee". The B-side, "My Lost Dream", is credited to L.J. Rea, or Ligaya J. Rea, the Ligaya in Ligaya Records. This one is a pop/jazz ballad and is very true to what she would become known for.
I visited Leed's website and made an attempt to get in contact with her or her management for a possible interview, as I'd like to know about this record as well as her albums on Makaha back when she looked like this:
Has anyone heard this record before? Anyone know who Ligaya J. Rea is/was?
I am a kama'aina living in Washington State, and I'm a music journalist (soon-to-be-author), artist/producer, record collector/junkie, and an info freak. I've been a music journalist for 24 years, reviewing everything from soul to funk, jazz to punk, but have always shined the spotlight on music from back home, be it traditional or contemporary. I used to run a website called "Hawaiian Music Corner", which reviewed then-new music but also looked at some of the Hawaiian music and artists that may have been forgotten. I want to start a series of articles on my new website that will look at some of these old records, and have it be used towards a bigger book project. One publisher has seeked interest, but it's a way of at least getting the information out there.
Last week I was looking on eBay for whatever Hawaiian records were being sold, and I did a search for Melveen. However I came across a 45/7" single by someone named Melveen Reed. One, there aren't too many people I know named Melveen, and not one with a very similiar sounding name. I was a kid in the 70's and I remember her music very well on KCCN, and all of the telethon appearances she made, I was raised literally on her voice, the famous "country tita". So to see a record by a Melveen Reed came as a shock, so I did some research. Nothing. It was on the Ligaya label, looked it up again. Nothing.
What convinced me that it was her? The record, a cover version of "Wooly Booly", featured backing from the Bernie Hal-Mann Orchestra. On the early albums Leed did for Makaha Records, she was also backed by Berne Hal-mann, except "Wooly Booly" was recorded in Hollywood. I bought the 45, and it happened to be someone who lived in the same area. I picked it up a few minutes ago, placed it on my turntable and... it's definitely Leed, as Reed.
"Wooly Booly" is done pretty straightforward, but instead of singing it as "woolay boolay", it's literally "woolee boolee". The B-side, "My Lost Dream", is credited to L.J. Rea, or Ligaya J. Rea, the Ligaya in Ligaya Records. This one is a pop/jazz ballad and is very true to what she would become known for.
I visited Leed's website and made an attempt to get in contact with her or her management for a possible interview, as I'd like to know about this record as well as her albums on Makaha back when she looked like this:
Has anyone heard this record before? Anyone know who Ligaya J. Rea is/was?
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