Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album

Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album
Awarded forQuality Hawaiian music albums
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded2005
Last awarded2011
Websitegrammy.com

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,[1] 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".[2]

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.[3] 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.

  1. ^ "Grammy Awards at a Glance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  2. ^ "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on August 19, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  3. ^ Chinen, Nate (February 4, 2011). "Dear Grammy, Is It Hawaiian Enough?". The New York Times. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2011.