Grammy Award For Best Hawaiian Music Album - Background

Background

For decades prior to the creation of the Best Hawaiian Music Album category, advocates for Hawaiian music took issue with recordings only being eligible for the Best World Music Album category. Advocates included musicians, record labels, government officials, and the Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. No Hawaiian musician or group had been awarded with a Grammy prior to the establishment of the Hawaiian Music category. One obstacle for the category's creation was defining Hawaiian music and the eligibility requirements in terms of music stylings and language restrictions. There has been conflict between traditional and Western-influenced Hawaiian music, mostly pertaining to use of the slack-key guitar, an instrument invented in Hawaii but commercialized by "mainlanders". According to Academy representative Bill Freimuth, the category was designed "for recordings of a more traditional nature". Requiring the use of Hawaiian language on more than half of its vocal tracks encouraged the recognition of traditional music, but instrumental albums (such as the compilation album honored at the 47th Grammy Awards) circumvented this requirement.