Hawaii: Today in History 8/15

8-15-1944 Pamela Polland, American singer-songwriter (Hawaiianized Pop Classics), born in California

Pamela is married to designer Bill Ernst with whom she has settled in Hawaii, on the island of Maui.

Pamela Polland (born August 15, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter who made three albums for Epic and Columbia Records in the 1960s and 1970s and whose songs have been recorded by a number of popular artists. In the 1980s, she re-emerged as an independent recording artist and vocal coach, later working in film and TV scoring and Hawaiian music.

Hawaii
Following the release of “Heart of The World”, Polland’s self-published third solo album, she moved to Maui, Hawaii, and threw herself into local culture and music. She took up the ‘ukulele, studied local language, and became a hula dancer. Polland is currently band leader of Keaolani,[8] a four-piece ‘ukulele band tutored by Hawaiian cultural experts Kahauanu Lake and Walter Kamuala‘i Kawai‘ae‘a. She is also the co-founder of Maui Film Music, through which she provides film and TV scores with Bobby Parrs. Polland’s achievements as an artist and performer in Hawaiian music are such that she was requested to appear at Tony Curtis’s 81st birthday party as well as a command performance for Anthony Hopkins.

In June 2010, Polland released “Hawaiianized”, a five-track digital download EP available internationally via iTunes and other digital outlets. The mini-album, part one of an envisaged series, featured pop classics interpreted in Hawaiian style with new vocal arrangements and ‘ukulele accompaniment from Polland. The collection was produced by John McFee of The Doobie Brothers, who had played on Polland’s self-titled Columbia debut, and who also played a variety of acoustic and electric stringed instruments on the EP. The set’s distinctive background vocals were sung by Sharon Celani, famous for her work with Stevie Nicks and others. “Hawaiianized” was bookended by two different versions of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”, prompting Sam Arlen, son of the song’s composer Harold Arlen, to comment, “This version of my father’s classic composition lifts the spirit while still tugging at the heartstrings to remind us that there is really no place like home. This disc deserves a home in your collection.”[9]

Pamela is married to designer Bill Ernst with whom she has settled in Hawaii, on the island of Maui.