Title: The Waikikis – Greatest Hits
Year/Genre: 1965, Exotica / Instrumental Pop
Matrix #: MPB S-3289
Condition: MINT
Description: Though billed as Hawaiian, The Waikikis were actually a Belgian studio group created by record producer Horst Fuchs. Their single Hawaii Tattoo unexpectedly became a worldwide hit in 1961, even reaching the U.S. Billboard charts, and sparked a wave of faux-Hawaiian records across Europe. The band never toured Hawaii but their sound became part of the tiki lounge craze, when mid-century pop culture packaged Polynesian aesthetics for suburban living rooms. For collectors, this compilation reflects how imagined versions of “exotic” music shaped global listening in the 1960s.