AHAAINA…now there's a mouthful of Hawaiian Lingo for…literal! Ahaaina means "the gathering of friends to eat," and was the word used by ancient Hawaiians for what we now call LUAU. The reason for the change in usage is a good one, too, for luau is much more than just a Hawaiian foodfest. Luau is a feast for all the senses… flaming colors that shimmer on sensuous dancing girls and men who dance with lighted swords slashing light into the tropic evening. Luau is things to smell… hidden things, like fat pigs roasting in the underground oven, done to a crackling brown… the mist of salty spray lifting with the trade winds and drifting out to sea with the scent of a million blossoms. As it goes, the breeze whispers its song through tall coco-palms. Far below, in the torch-lit clearing, natives play and sing song-stories of love and laughter as they did before Hawaiian royalty less than a century ago.

For the authentic sounds of a delightful tradition as old as Hawaii, Mahalo Records went the HILTON HAWAIIAN VILLAGE on Waikiki Beach to record one of their bi-weekly Luaus, as presented here, for many reasons. The most dazzling reason is the star of the show, DANNY KALEIKINI. Danny Kaleikini is M.C. and chief entertainer at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The man whose easy-going showmanship and impromptu wit make that hub of Hawaiian hopsitality's Luau the best on the beach. Besides being one of the Island's most talked-about vocalists, Danny does Hawaiian and Tahitian dancing, plays the conch shell, ukulele, guitar, and drums, and is among the very few Islanders who still play the ancient Hawaiian nose flute. Only five others have been able to master this most difficult instrument.

Danny Kaleikini was born in 1937 on the slopes of Honolulu's Punchbowl crater. Besides criss-crossing the mainland with the Ray Kinney group, this six-foot cosmopolite (Hawaiian-Korean-Chinese-Irish ancestry) has done some pretty hectic Island-hopping throughout his young career. In 1959 Danny appeared in Cuba and Puerto Rico with Sterling Mossman's Hawaiian show and recently returned from Tahiti where he was guest of honor at the Papeete Festival.

Prior to his years at the Kahala Hilton Hotel, Danny joined Haunani Kahalewai at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on a full-time basis. Later he accepted the role of emcee at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel Hawaiian shows and luaus. In 1967 Danny Kaleikini commenced a long-run at the Kahala Hilton Hotel, a stay that lasted nearly 30 years. He remains active in entertainment at special events as well as continuing with many contributions he makes to the people of Hawaii.