The Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album was an honor presented to recording artists from 2005 to 2011 for quality Hawaiian music albums. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".

Campaigning resulted in the Hawaiian category's establishment in 2005. Prior to its creation, Hawaiian music recordings were eligible for the Best World Music Album category but no Hawaiian musician or group had ever won a Grammy Award. During its seven-year history, awards were presented to Charles M. Brotman for Slack Key Guitar: Volume 2, producers Daniel Ho, Paul Konwiser and Wayne Wong for Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar: Volume One, the same production team plus George Kahumoku, Jr. for Legends of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar: Live from Maui in 2007 followed by Treasures of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar in 2008, and Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar: Volume 2 in 2010, Tia Carrere and Ho for Ikena, and Carrere for Huana Ke Aloha in 2011. Eligible recordings had to feature the Hawaiian language on "more than half of its vocal tracks", though instrumental albums were also acceptable. Awards were presented to the engineers, mixers, and/or producers in addition to the performing artists.

Daniel Ho holds the record for the most wins, with five. Four-time recipients include Paul Konwiser and Wayne Wong as producers. George Kahumoku, Jr. earned three awards as a producer, and Tia Carrere earned two as a performing artist. Ho also holds the record for the most nominations, with seven. Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom holds the record for the most nominations without a win, with five. Six of the seven Grammy-winning albums were released through the record label Daniel Ho Creations. In 2011, the Recording Academy announced the retirement of the award category. Beginning in 2012, Hawaiian music recordings were eligible for the Best Regional Roots Music Album category.

Background

For decades prior to the creation of the Best Hawaiian Music Album category, advocates for Hawaiian music took issue with recordings only being eligible for the Best World Music Album category. No Hawaiian musician or group had been awarded a Grammy prior to the establishment of the Hawaiian Music category. One obstacle to the category's creation was defining Hawaiian music, and the eligibility requirements, in terms of music stylings and language restrictions. Hanaialiʻi and Reichel both expressed happiness at being nominated, the latter stating, "This is the culmination of the work of chanters, singers and poetry writers that dates back over a thousand years." The award went to Brotman for the slack key guitar compilation album recorded in Hawaii and described by journalist Nate Chinen as "an easy-listening instrumental compilation seemingly tailored to mainland tastes". According to Jon de Mello, founder of Hawaiian record label Mountain Apple Company, other nominees' "jaws dropped on the ground" at the ceremony in reaction to their works being overlooked.

thumb|left|alt=A man wearing a printed shirt, holding a guitar and standing behind a microphone|[[48th Grammy Awards|2006 nominee Sonny Lim]]

For the 48th Grammy Awards (2006), nominees included: Kapono Beamer for Slack Key Dreams of the Ponomoe, Raiatea Helm for Sweet & Lovely, Ledward Kaapana for Kiho'alu: Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Sonny Lim for Slack Key Guitar: The Artistry of Sonny Lim, and Daniel Ho, Paul Konwiser and Wayne Wong for Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar: Volume One. Allmusic's Adam Greenberg described Slack Key Dreams of the Ponomoe as an ambient album with an "easy listening" sound accented with slack key motives. Songs about Beamer's family and childhood were sung in Hawaiian but also English. Sweet & Lovely featured "classic, early tourist-era" Hawaiian music and guest performances by Kealiʻi Reichel and Auntie Genoa Keawe. Greenberg complimented Helm for her ukulele playing and "stunning" falsetto. Lim's first solo album contained slack key compositions fused with "touches of folk and possibly even adult contemporary stylings". Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, which peaked at number fifteen on Billboard Top World Music Albums chart, featured twelve live tracks recorded from the weekly slack key guitar concerts that took place in Maui. Awards were presented to Ho, Konwiser and Wong as producers of the compilation album. Peter deAquino, George and Keoki Kahumoku, and Garrett Probst joined producers Ho and Wong on stage at the podium during the pre-telecast ceremony to accept the award.

thumb|Grammy winners [[George Kahumoku Jr. and Daniel Ho]]

2007 nominees included: Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom for Generation Hawai'i, producers Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku Jr., Paul Konwiser and Wayne Wong for the compilation album Legends of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar: Live from Maui, Ledward Kaapana for Grandmaster Slack Key Guitar, Henry Kapono for The Wild Hawaiian, and producers Chris and Milton Lau for the compilation album Hawaiian Slack Key Kings. Generation Hawai'i and The Wild Hawaiian were the two vocal-driven albums nominated, while the three remaining nominees were slack-key driven. The Wild Hawaiian consisted of rock songs in Hawaiian which drew sound comparisons to Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana. For Ka Hikina O Ka Hau, Beamer layers multiple guitars in different tunings to works by John Dowland, Ástor Piazzolla, Erik Satie, Igor Stravinsky, and other composers. Carrere's nomination resulted in People magazine including her on their list of "Strange Grammy Nominees" for her past associations with the Wayne's World films and television show Dancing with the Stars. Hawaiian Blossom, Helm's third studio album, included guest artists Robert Cazimero and Led Kaapana. Greenberg again complimented Helm's falsetto vocals and recommended the album for fans of traditional Hawaiian music with a "contemporary twist". Awards were presented to Ho, Kahumoku, Konwiser and Wong; Daniel Ho also received an award as the engineer of the compilation album, which reached number twelve on Billboard Top World Music Albums chart. This marked the third consecutive win for the production team's live recording of Maui's long-running "Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar" concert series. 2008 was also the first year in which the presentation of the award for Hawaiian Music Album was broadcast live on the Academy's official website.

thumb|alt=A woman with long brown hair wearing black and standing in front of a white backdrop|Two-time award winner [[Tia Carrere in 2009]]

For the 52nd Grammy Awards (2010), nominees included: Tia Carrere and Daniel Ho for He Nani, Amy Hanaiali'i for Friends & Family of Hawai'i, Hoʻokena for Nani Mau Loa: Everlasting Beauty, and producers Ho, Kahumoku, Konwiser and Wong for Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar: Volume 2. A tied vote for the fifth nominee resulted in only four nominated works. Family & Friends of Hawai'i contained vocal pop duets set to Matt Catingub's orchestral arrangements and reached a peak position of number three on Billboard Top World Albums chart. The album featured guests Kamakahi, Willie Nelson, and Keali'i Reichel, among others. Hanaiali'i and her brother Eric Gilliom performed during the awards ceremony, providing a "mock opera lead-in" for Jamie Foxx on the song "Blame It". In addition to Ho, Kahumoku, Konwiser and Wong, awards were given to Peter deAquino, Ho and Sterling Seaton as the engineers/mixers. Guitarist Jeff Peterson joined the award winners on stage during the presentation. The win marked the fifth for a compilation album and the fourth to be co-produced by Ho. Neither of Ho's nominated compilation albums featured the slack-key guitar. awards were presented to Amy Ku'uleialoha Stillman as a producer and Daniel Ho as a producer and engineer/mixer. Related to the controversy surrounding Ho's multiple wins and supposed connections to the music industry, New York magazine called Carrere's win the "Best Grammy That'll Piss People Off". Carrere reportedly gave much of the credit to Ho, her long-time friend and producer. Huana Ke Aloha became the sixth consecutive Grammy-winning album released through the record label Daniel Ho Creations, causing some musicians and journalists to question whether or not the "playing field" was level. Carrere, Ho and Stillman claimed to have faced "serious consequences for the reception of [their] work and success" by being nominated, since all three lived and worked outside of Hawaii.

List of recipients and nominees

{| class="wikitable" style="width:80%"

|- bgcolor="#bebebe"

|- bgcolor="#bebebe"

! width="5%" | Year

! width="15%" | Album

! width="40%" | Artist(s)

! width="20%" | Producer(s)

|-

|rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| 47th

|-style="background:#FAEB86;"

|Slack Key Guitar Volume 2

|Various Artists

|Charles M. Brotman

|-

|Amy & Willie Live

|Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom and Willie K

|Willie K

|-

|Cool Elevation

|Hoʻokena

|

|-

|Ke'alaokamaile

|Keali'i Reichel

|

|-

|Some Call it Aloha... Don't Tell

|The Brothers Cazimero

|

|-

|rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| 48th

|-style="background:#FAEB86;"

|Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar - Vol. 1

|Various Artists

|Daniel Ho, Paul Konwiser, and Wayne Wong

|-

|Kiho'alu: Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar

|Ledward Kaapana

|

|-

|Slack Key Dream of the Ponomoe

|Kapono Beamer

|

|-

|Slack Key Guitar: The Artistry of Sonny Lim

|Sonny Lim

|Sonny Lim

|-

|Sweet & Lovely

|Raiatea Helm

|

|-

|rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| 49th

|-style="background:#FAEB86;"

|Legends of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar - Live from Maui

|Various Artists

|Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku Jr., Paul Konwiser, and Wayne Wong

|-

|Generation Hawai'i

|Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom

|

|-

|Grandmaster Slack Key Guitar

|Ledward Kaapana

|

|-

|Hawaiian Slack Key Strings

|Various Artists

|Chris Lau and Milton Lau

|-

|The Wild Hawaiian

|Henry Kapono

|

|-

|rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| 50th

|-style="background:#FAEB86;"

|Treasures of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar

|Various Artists

|Peter Deaquino, Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku Jr. and Sterling Seaton

|-

|Hawaiian Blossom

|Raiatea Helm

|

|-

|Hawaiiana

|Tia Carrere

|

|-

|He'eai

|Cyril Pahinui

|

|-

|Ka Hikina O Ka Hau

|Keola Beamer

|

|-

|rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| 51st

|-style="background:#FAEB86;"

|Ikena

|Tia Carrere and Daniel Ho

|Daniel Ho and Amy Ku'uleialoha Stillman

|-

|Aumakua

|Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom

|

|-

|Forces of Nature

|Mike Kaawa

|

|-

|Hawaiian Slack Key Kings Masters Series: Volume II

|Various Artists

|Chris Lau and Milton Lau

|-

|The Spirit of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar

|Various Artists

|

|-

|rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| 52nd

|-style="background:#FAEB86;"

|Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Volume 2

|Various Artists

|George Kahumoku Jr., Peter Deaquino

|-

|Friends & Family of Hawai'i

|Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom

|

|-

|He Nani

|Tia Carrere and Daniel Ho

|

|-

|Nani Mau Loa: Everlasting Beauty

|Hoʻokena

|

|-

|rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| 53rd

|-style="background:#FAEB86;"

|Hauna Ke Aloha

|Tia Carrere

|Daniel Ho and Amy Ku'uleialoha Stillman

|-

|Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom and Slack Key Masters of Hawaii

|Various Artists

|

|-

|The Legend

|Ledward Kaapana

|

|-

|Maui on my Mind: Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar

|Jeff Peterson

|

|-

|Polani

|Daniel Ho

|Daniel Ho

|}

Category retirement

In 2011, the category Best Hawaiian Music Album, along with thirty others, was eliminated due to a major category overhaul by the Recording Academy. Four additional categories in the American Roots Music field were eliminated (Best Contemporary Folk Album, Best Native American Music Album, Best Traditional Folk Album, Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album). These were all replaced by one American Roots Music award, the Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album.

Daniel Ho was disappointed by the category's retirement, but considered the seven years the award was presented a "gift from the Recording Academy". Ho hoped that the category's elimination would eliminate the "craziness" surrounding the Hawaiian music controversy (he and Carrere were accused of lacking appreciation for Hawaiian music and for having inside connections to the music industry by residing in Los Angeles). Four-time award winner George Kahumoku, Jr. expressed similar disappointment, but was partly consoled by the fact that Hawaiian music recordings would still be included in the Regional Roots Music Album category. The record label Mountain Apple Company issued a statement claiming: "Hawaiian music deserves to be acknowledged as a category in its own right, not only for reasons of language but for cultural and historical reasons as well... The loss of the Grammy for Best Hawaiian Music Album is not only a major loss to the Hawaiian, but to music lovers across the globe". Pe'a also presented at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony.

See also

  • Hawaiian Renaissance
  • Na Hoku Hanohano Awards

References

;General

;Specific

  • Tia Carrere in the Winner's Circle