This is a sampler of the finest Hawaiian recording artists from the Golden Age (1927-1938) of acoustic Hawaiian lap steel guitar. The styles here range from turn-of-the-century military ragtime to hot `moderne' swing style. Along the way there are all sorts of traditional Hawaiian hulas with light and heavy tempos, and some beautiful vocals.00:00 Palolo ‚ Sol Hoopii Trio (3:13)03:13 Fort Street ‚ Madame Riviere's Hawaiians (3:22)06:35 Sassy ‚ Kalama's Quartet (3:21)09:56 St. Louis Blues ‚ Jim & Bob (2:51)12:47 Spanish Shawl ‚ The Three Jacks (2:55)15:42 La Rosita ‚ Sol K. Bright's Hollywaiians (2:55)18:37 Honolulu Bound ‚ King Nawahi (2:46)21:23 Black Boy Blues ‚ King Nawahi (2:49)24:12 Hawaiian Melody ‚ King Nawahi (2:30)26:42 White Birds ‚ Hawaiian Orchestra (3:15)29:57 Palolo ‚ Kane's Hawaiians (3:21)33:18 Melodias Populares Mexicana ‚ Trio De Hawaii (2:47)36:05 Maui ‚ Palakiko & Paaluhi (2:46)38:51 Hula Girl ‚ Sol Hoopii Quartet (4:02)42:53 Leilehua ‚ Honolulu Players (2:44)45:37 Wabash Blues ‚ Tubize Royal Hawaiian Orchestra (3:05)48:42 Lei E ‚ Kalama's Quartet (3:11)51:53 Hawaiian Cowboy ‚ Sol K. Bright's Hollywaiians (2:53)54:46 The Song Of The Range ‚ Jim & Bob (3:05)57:51 Indiana March ‚ Roy Smeck's Tropical Serenaders (2:52)1:00:43 Huehue ‚ Sam Ku West (3:00)1:03:43 Mai Givee ‚ Hoot Gibson (3:01)1:06:44 Lepe Ulaula ‚ Sam Alama & His Hawaiians (2:56)1:09:40 Hula Shake That Thing ‚ Kaai Serenaders (3:00)1:12:40 Na Mo Kueha ‚ Hoot Gibson (2:22)1:15:02 Ticklin' The Strings ‚ Mena Moeria Minstrels (2:49)Elements of Hawaiian music, including slack-key tuning methods and lap-style steel guitar (typically a National tricone), became popular with Americans around 1900, close to the time when the island group was annexed by the United States government. The influence of these innovations cannot be underestimated as they not only contributed to the creation of an entirely new genre that could be exploited by the recording industry but also were enthusiastically adopted by blues and country music instrumentalists in subsequent years. Even more fascinating are the elements of European music that had already been established in Hawaii by the time it became an American territory. In his booklet notes, Bob Brozman explains, "The entire 'tradition' of waltz and march music on the steel guitar can be traced to 1870 when King Kalakaua imported German band master Henry Berger to create a European-style 'royal band' for special events." When these facts are taken into consideration, one can see that this collection doesn't strictly focus on artists from Hawaii nor does it feature music that is purely Polynesian. Instead, these tracks demonstrate both the versatility of the islands' musicians as well as the extent to which Hawaiian-style steel guitar playing was effectively incorporated into various musical genres in the United States and other parts of the world during the early decades of the 20th century.