In 1970, Panini Records approached the Sons. The new, island-based label wanted to record an album on state-of-the-art equipment and package it in a way worthy of the material. “This was intended to be — and was — a very big deal,” says Brown. The ambitious album would feature a hardcover book about Hawaiian music with historic photos taken in the 1910s and ’20s, a poster, and striking artwork by Herb Kane, an influential Hawaiian artist and historian.
“I think local people were proud that Hawaiian music warranted such treatment . . . this was music meant for us here in Hawai‘i. It wasn’t for a Broadway show or a Hollywood movie; it was for us,” Brown explains.
The Sons recorded fourteen songs, including old favorites “Kanaka Waiwai” and “Manu
Kapalulu” [“The Quail”] by Queen Lili‘uokalani, and new compositions — “Aloha Chant” and “Mauna ‘Alani” — about West Maui’s mountain. Moe Keale, a versatile ‘ukulele player whose singing complemented Pahinui’s, joined the original lineup.
