Gene Rains is a vibraphonist and leader of the Gene Rains Group, a jazz quartet from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

that played a musical style known as

Exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same name that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon "Si" Waronker, Liberty Records ...

. Rains' short career spanned the early to the mid-1960s and consisted of 4 LP recordings released on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

and the

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

label. These LPs were released during the golden era of Hawaiian and Exotica music and the

Tiki culture Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micrones ...

in the United States. The Gene Rains Group repertoire featured popular Hawaiian and Polynesian Island melodies as well as popular American tunes of the era. Gene Rains was "discovered" by the enormously popular Hawaiian crooner of the era,

Alfred Apaka Alfred Aholo Apaka, Jr. (March 19, 1919 – January 30, 1960) was a Hawaiian singer whose romantic baritone voice was closely identified with Hawaii between the late 1940s and the early 1960s. Alfred Apaka was arguably the foremost interpreter of ...

. At the time, Apaka was the talent director for the

Hawaiian Village Hotel The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is a resort hotel on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. The resort first opened in 1955, and since has grown to become the largest in the Hilton chain of hotels, and one of largest hotels in th ...

Waikiki, Hawaii Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

. Apaka recruited the Gene Rains Group to perform in the Shell Bar at the Hawaiian Village, which was the hot spot for the Island's top performers, including

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of l ...

and

Arthur Lyman Arthur Lyman (February 2, 1932 – February 24, 2002) was an Hawaiian jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His group popularized a style of faux-Polynesian music during the 1950s and 1960s which later became known as exotica. His albums became ...

. It was also Alfred Apaka who introduced Rains to Decca Records. Today, Rains is considered the third man of Exotica, behind Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman. Although he did not achieve the level of renown of Denny or Lyman, Rains' albums nonetheless are textbook examples of the style of Exotica. With the resurgence of the Tiki culture in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, Gene Rains' albums have become much sought after by collectors of the genre. In July 2014, Real Gone Music released a compilation CD featuring 19 tracks and containing large portion of each of Rain's three LP's. During the production of the CD, Universal music, the holding company for Decca's catalog, stated that the Gene Rains master tapes had been destroyed in a fire years earlier. As a result, the Real Gone Music team called upon Mark Riddle a/k/a Digitiki to supply the cleanest possible LP transfers. Riddle is the host of a popular Exotica-themed podcast "Quiet Village Podcast." Even though the compilation was LP sourced, the audio is exceptionally clean.

Discography

LP's: * ''Lotus Land'': Decca Records-catalog no.: DL74064

960 Year 960 ( CMLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Siege of Chandax: A Byzantine fleet with an expeditionary force (co ...

(Stereo LP); D4064 (Mono LP) * ''Far Across The Sea'': Decca Records-catalog no. DL74164

961 Year 961 ( CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas cap ...

(Stereo LP); D4164 (Mono LP) * ''Rains In The Tropics'': Decca Records-catalog no. DL74348

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

(Stereo LP); D4348 (Mono LP) * ''The Call Of The Tropics''*: Vocalion Records-catalog no. VL73785

(Stereo LP) ''Call of the Tropics'' was a compilation album containing tracks from the 3 previous LPs. CD's: * ''Far Away Lands: The Exotic Music of Gene Rains'': Real Gone Music-catalog no.: 6400276 uly, 2014

Band Personnel

* ''Lotus Land'': Gene Rains-vibes; Paul Conrad-piano; Archie Grant-bass & flute; Alan Watanabe-percussion * ''Far Across The Sea'' & ''Rains In The Tropics'': Gene Rains-vibes; Allen Watanabe-drums; Archie Grant, Jr.-bass; Bryon L. Peterson-piano * ''The Call Of The Tropics'' is a compilation featuring selections from the first three LPs After the release of ''Lotus Land'', pianist Paul Conrad left the Gene Rains Group and released an Exotica LP under his own name on the Mahalo Records label. The album was titled ''Exotic Paradise'' is also an extremely rare and much sought after collector's item.

External links

*
"Tiki Central Web Forums"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rains, Gene Exotica Musicians from Hawaii American jazz vibraphonists

Discography

Band Personnel

See also

External links