Anyone know what the second best-selling album in the U.S. was during the 1960s, behind – inexplicably – the soundtrack to West Side Story? Was it Abbey Road? The Doors’ debut album? Led Zeppelin II? Let It Bleed? Surfer Girl? Whipped Cream & Other Delights? (That last one isn’t a joke; it was the best-selling album in the U.S. in 1966, likely more due to the album cover than any widespread affinity for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass). Actually, at that time, rock was still in its nascent stages. For the first half of the decade, the best-selling album each year was typically a movie musical soundtrack, culminating with Mary Poppins in 1965. So, given the public’s preference for musical soundtracks combined with the growing popularity of rock and roll, perhaps it’s no surprise that the second best-selling album of the entire decade in the United States was none other than the soundtrack to Elvis Presley’s film Blue Hawaii. This album showcases Elvis Presley Singing Blue Hawaii along with a collection of ballads and up-tempo tracks that cemented his role in Hollywood musicals, albeit controversially.
The Album That Changed Elvis’s Path
I know I should hate Blue Hawaii. We all should – at least, anyone who appreciates Elvis Presley as a serious artist should. Blue Hawaii is arguably the album that put Elvis on a trajectory away from artistic relevance for the next seven years. The massive success of Blue Hawaii – both the movie and the album – is directly responsible for setting Elvis firmly on the path toward such movie musical atrocities as Harum Scarum, Double Trouble, Frankie and Johnny, and about two dozen other truly abysmal movie soundtracks. Elvis’s popularity was so immense that it took a few years for people to stop buying into that formula, but eventually, even the hardest core fans realized that the movies and their attendant soundtrack albums were largely hopeless schlock. They had been, to a significant extent, conned by that biggest carnival barker of all time, “Colonel” Tom Parker, the infamous manager who tragically kept Elvis from reaching his full potential as an artist. It is a testament to the irrepressible abundance of Elvis’s talent that he accomplished as much as he did with the almost insurmountable barrier of Parker’s greed and artistic indifference.
So, Blue Hawaii is often seen as the album that “ruined” Elvis Presley’s artistic trajectory, at least up until his iconic Comeback Special in 1968. If the film had flopped and the non-soundtrack album Something for Everybody had outsold the Blue Hawaii soundtrack instead of the other way around, the 1960s might have unfolded very differently for The King. We can speculate how the King of Rock and Roll might have responded differently to the British Invasion and the rise of Psychedelia had he not been sidetracked with awful movie soundtracks. However, when he finally shook off those movie soundtrack shackles late in the decade, he demonstrated a remarkable capacity to adapt to contemporary trends. His comeback conclusively proved he had the ability to adapt – although the years that followed also proved he had difficulty maintaining interest in staying artistically relevant. So who knows? Elvis might have struggled even without the movies, just as he certainly did in the mid-70s even without churning out three trashy films a year. All that is certain is that Blue Hawaii was the first major step towards the movie musical hell for the world’s most popular hip swiveler. While he’d made movies of varying quality before it, Blue Hawaii set the definitive template for the next several years of his career. elvis presley most famous song
The Album Itself: More Than Just a Soundtrack
However, it must be said, the album itself isn’t inherently bad. In fact, I have to confess, it remains my second favorite Elvis album. My relationship with the album is complicated – I dislike it intensely for the negative impact it had on Elvis’s career path, but I genuinely love it for being the great musical experience that it is. I know many listeners don’t see it that way; when asked about the King’s death, John Lennon famously remarked that Elvis died when he went into the army, and countless fans agree. For many Elvis aficionados, nothing can surpass what Elvis created pre-Army, and they certainly have a valid point. But two things are absolutely undeniable about the Blue Hawaii sessions:
- At the time he recorded Blue Hawaii, Elvis was 110% committed to the material he was singing, pouring his heart into every track.
- The material itself was surprisingly good, about a thousand times better than the songs he’d soon be singing in films like Kissin’ Cousins, Easy Come, Easy Go, and Clambake.
Consider his performance on “No More,” for instance. He sounds just as smooth, suave, and emotionally resonant as he ever did, and Elvis was arguably the most remarkably emotive singer of his time, if not of all time. And I must give the album credit – the Hawaiian flavoring throughout the tracks is actually fairly authentic. Having lived in the Hawaiian Islands for two years and heard a great deal of local music, I can say the slide guitar, ukuleles, and Polynesian-sounding drums (some of them played by the legendary Hal Blaine – who knew?) aren’t too far off from what you might hear on KAPA Hawaiian FM. While perhaps closer to the commercial version of Hawaiian music popularized by Don Ho than the more innately traditional sounds of groups like the Makaha Sons of Niʻihau, the effort is evident. elvis presley most popular song Elvis and the production team could have easily churned out a typical, generic Elvis movie soundtrack, but credit where credit is due, they genuinely put effort into crafting an album that authentically sounded Hawaiian. “No More” succeeds as a great melody with more than acceptable love song lyrics (lyrically, it easily surpasses something like “My Heart Will Go On” played at many weddings) and successfully incorporates pseudo-Hawaiian motifs. It captures a Hawaiian vibe that, while not 100% pure authenticity, isn’t drastically removed from what some Hawaiian artists themselves were producing commercially at the time. It feels closer to the spirit of island music than, say, Don Ho’s “Tiny Bubbles.” I genuinely think “No More” is a great song, and Elvis must have agreed; he recorded it again immediately after the 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert, albeit in an inferior version compared to this original.
Album cover for Elvis Presley’s classic 1961 Blue Hawaii soundtrack album
The Enduring Ballads
There are plenty of other great love songs on the album just like “No More.” “Ku-U-I-Po,” “Hawaiian Wedding Song,” “Hawaiian Sunset,” and “Island of Love” are all wonderful ballads. No one on the planet could sing a love song quite like Elvis, and on these tracks, he is by turns tender, passionate, and powerful in his delivery at exactly the right moments. He truly had no parallel in his ability to deliver a song with maximum emotional impact, his voice acting as the perfect communicator of each different emotion moment by moment within the lyrics. Of course, the absolute pinnacle of this album, and perhaps of all love songs, is “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” It’s potentially the greatest love song ever written and features one of the greatest vocal performances of a love song of all time. Honestly, I’m halfway convinced Elvis is in love with me every time I hear it; the performance is that genuine and heartfelt. I don’t know who he was thinking about when he sang it, but he must have truly loved her (at the time anyway, and probably not for very long, as Elvis could be quite fickle). elvis presley the best of elvis presley songs The song possesses a hymn-like, reverent majesty, more so than almost any other secular song I can recall (and often more than most sacred songs I’ve heard, to be frank). Its stately grace and majesty have rarely been equaled in the history of recorded music. It’s a love song for the ages. It’s me and my wife’s song, and for that, it will always hold a special place in my heart. The original version of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” from Blue Hawaii is the absolute exemplar of how a love song should be handled. In stark contrast, the live version Elvis used to close nearly every concert with in the 70s serves as a tutorial on how not to handle a love song, with the schmaltz factor cranked to maximum and all the gloopy strings, screaming horns, and cloying background vocals the cheesiest decade in human history had to offer. His live versions of that song are, in my opinion, some of the most unspeakable musical blasphemies I’ve ever witnessed. They are vile, profane, and I would just as soon pretend no version of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” like that had ever existed, however often the Elvis Presley Estate attempts to remind me by releasing every concert the guy ever performed.
“Can’t Help Falling in Love” is timeless, unparalleled, and deservedly iconic. By itself, it justifies the existence of the Blue Hawaii soundtrack album. But the other ballads are excellent too, suffering only by comparison in the shadow of that mighty track. All of them feature great melodies, plenty of emotion, and fit snugly within their faux-Hawaiian trappings. Sure, they may be a bit overly sentimental, but then why is that such a bad thing when they are delivered with such heartfelt honesty by Elvis Presley Singing Blue Hawaii‘s best material? I have no issue with sentimentalism as long as it isn’t phony or emotionally manipulative, and none of these songs fall into that trap. Take “Hawaiian Sunset” – I’ve watched many beautiful sunsets in Hawaii, and however sentimental it may be, if I close my eyes listening to the song, I’m almost transported back there, listening to the waves and watching the sun slip over the edge of the world – singing along to “sleep Hawaii sleep.” “No More” is just as wonderful, and Elvis’s delivery on that song is masterful. “Island of Love” might bore some listeners, but having lived on Kauai briefly, I think it’s a wonderful, dreamy tribute to the Garden Isle. I also love the gentle sway of “Moonlight Swim,” a song whose slightly swinging rhythm fairly bobs along on the waves washing onto the shore. Elvis gives “Ku-U-I-Po” a passionate reading, and who doesn’t want to hear the charmingly simple and heartfelt declaration, “I love you more today / More today than yesterday / But I love you less today / Less than I will tomorrow”? Credit must also be given to Elvis for including the traditional Hawaiian song “Aloha Oe.” In my estimation, he treats the song with the respect it deserves, featuring a Hawaiian language intro and a solemn delivery. Even a final bluesy “until we meet again” by Elvis doesn’t mar the authentic Hawaiian vibes of the song or compromise its cultural relevance within the album’s context. elviss biggest hits
The title song, “Blue Hawaii,” deserves special mention. The dreamy slide guitar and laid-back island rhythm are as evocative of the Islands as any song I know. “Dreams come true in Blue Hawaii,” indeed. I’ve always found the way the piano seems to stumble in after Elvis sings “Night and you and Blue Hawaii” the first time a little odd, but other than that minor quirk, the song is a slice of Hawaiian steel guitar paradise.
The Less Successful Rock Attempts
Unfortunately, the Blue Hawaii album stumbles badly whenever it attempts to rock, and the King of Rock and Roll should have known better. It’s unclear if the songwriters lacked the ability to write a compelling rock song, or if, more likely, the movie’s producer, Hal Wallis, wanted to ensure nothing raucous or even remotely rocking scared off the moviegoing families of America. Whatever the reason, the faster songs on the album are universally toothless and lame, although most of Elvis’s subsequent soundtrack songs would be even more so. “Rock-a-Hula” is downright embarrassing, and I suspect Elvis didn’t like it any more than the rest of us, although bafflingly, it went to #23 in the U.S. and #1 in Australia. It’s a horrible, horrible song, though nowhere near the depths to which Elvis would soon sink with tracks like “(There’s) No Room to Rumba in a Sports Car” or “Yoga Is as Yoga Does.” However, I do appreciate the quicksilver guitar runs in the background (whether played by Scotty Moore or Hank Garland is debatable, but I lean towards Scotty Moore); they’re pretty cool and perhaps slightly redeem the song from utter worthlessness. “Slicin’ Sand” aims to be fun but comes off as phony and annoying, a generic and uninteresting attempt at a sunny beach song. Even here, though, Elvis Presley singing Blue Hawaii‘s weaker tracks still injects a bouncy, sunny vocal performance. He likely knew it was subpar material but still did his best with what he had to work with – a far cry from the time when he would simply phone in the vocals for his later soundtrack songs, which barely even deserved that much effort. “Beach Boy Blues” is entirely forgettable. And the less said about “Ito Eats,” the better; it’s easily the worst song on the album, which is saying something considering the company it keeps with “Rock-a-Hula.” Yet, even “Ito Eats” features some cool Polynesian drums, although they can’t save it from being total crap as a song. Elvis’s mock “wo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh” at the end of the song might very well have been an actual groan of pain and artistic frustration. presley songs list
The only faster song on the album that isn’t completely unpalatable is “Almost Always True,” which I find kind of clever and fun. It even manages to rock a little in a Bill Haley and the Comets sort of way. It’s pretty cute in its simplicity: “I was always / Baby I was always / Well almost / Always true to you.” But on the whole, the general rule of thumb on the Blue Hawaii album is clear: the faster the tempo, the worse the song tends to be.
A Complicated Love for a Flawed Masterpiece
So by now, you are probably wondering if having lived in Hawaii and having a strong love for the islands hasn’t hopelessly compromised my critical judgment of the album. And maybe it has. But it is absolutely undeniable that for perhaps the last time until How Great Thou Art in 1967, Elvis sounded like he genuinely cared about the material he was singing. He poured his heart and soul and everything he had into these Blue Hawaii songs, and it was the last time he’d be featured in a movie that gave him much material truly worthy of his talent. I adore the ballads – they are melodic, tuneful, and possess just enough Hawaiian flavor to feel a little authentic. While not wholly pure Hawaiian in execution, the production is not drastically far off from the type of traditional Hawaiian music I’d hear on the radio when I lived there, and it’s not like Don Ho was producing 110% authentic Hawaiian music at the time either; home-grown local artists had been blending a pop sensibility into their Hawaiian music for many years by that point. So, the ballads are wonderful, and on the whole, the arrangements are great, but the pathetic attempts at rock are weak and embarrassing, with the slight exception of “Almost Always True,” which is a fun, catchy song.
Promotional photo of Elvis Presley from the Blue Hawaii movie era, linked to his singing performances
But in spite of the wimpy, almost “Kidz Bop”-level “rock” songs, the love songs are great enough that I simply “Can’t Help Falling in Love” with the Blue Hawaii album. Even though I know its immense success redirected Elvis into seven years of soundtrack hell, into a Hollywood exile that would have doomed a lesser talent, you’ll never get anything but sincere admiration and love for this album from me. After the success of the Blue Hawaii movie and its chart-topping album, Colonel Parker notoriously switched gears from plans for one soundtrack and one non-soundtrack release per year to a relentless schedule of three movies (and mostly no non-soundtrack releases) for the majority of the 1960s. That albums like Elvis Is Back and Something for Everybody were artistically outstanding was of no concern to the Colonel; if schlocky, shoddily produced soundtrack albums turned a profit, that was all he cared about. And so it was that Elvis squandered precious years in his artistic prime making some of the most musically regrettable content of the decade. If the overall quality of the songs on the soundtrack albums that followed Blue Hawaii had been as consistently good, it might have been forgivable. But the Colonel was intent on producing product with the absolute minimum amount of effort possible, with a distinct lack of concern for the quality of either the movie or the songs Elvis was forced to record for it. And Elvis, for a time, went along with it, like a kid stuck in the back seat of a car with no chance of taking the wheel, until he finally grabbed the wheel for a few short, brilliant years in the late 60s before tragically letting go of it again.
So, go ahead and critique Blue Hawaii if you feel you must, but be clear about criticizing it for the negative impact it had on Elvis’s career and legacy, not because it’s a bad album in and of itself. Because if you can separate it from its complicated historical Elvis context, you discover an album featuring beautiful ballads, cool Hawaiian-ish arrangements, passionate vocal performances – and yes, a few utterly lame rockers that you can easily skip. As for me, especially hearing Elvis Presley singing Blue Hawaii‘s unforgettable ballads, I’ll love this album until my dying day.
