Elvis Presley "Blue Hawaii"

On August 16, 1977, music fans around the world mourned the loss of Elvis Presley. Elvis was found dead in his bathroom at Graceland at the age of 42. Heart failure was given as the official cause of death, but two lab reports detected that there were fourteen drugs in Elvis' system. On the day of the funeral, hundreds of thousands of fans congregated outside the gates of Graceland to pay their final respects. There were many rumors and scandals in Presley’s later life and untimely death, but island music fans will always remember him as the star who introduced Hawaii to the world.

Elvis Presley’s connection to the Hawaii islands began with his 1961 film “Blue Hawaii". The film was known as romance, exotic dances, paradise and exciting music. “Blue Hawaii” earned Presley a Grammy nomination in 1962 and made beautiful Hawaii known to a widespread of audience.

Plot: Chadwick Gates (Presley) has just gotten out of the Army, and is happy to be back in Hawaii with his surfboard, his beach buddies, and his girlfriend. His mother wants him to go to work at the Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company, but Chad is doesn't want to, so Chad goes to work as a tour guide at his girlfriend's agency.

Much of the film was shot on location at the Coco Palms Resort on the East shore of Kauai. The resort has been abandoned since Hurricane Iniki in 1992, but is now in the stage of redevelopment.

The scenes at Chad's beach house were shot at Hanauma Bay, a volcanic crater that is open to the sea, near the bedroom community of Hawaii-Kai, a few miles away from Waikiki.

Presley made two other films in Hawaii. “Girls! Girls! Girls” in 1962. “Paradise Hawaiian Style” was Presley last Hawaii-based motion picture which was released in June of 1966.

In 1973, Elvis Presley had a concert television special “Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii". The concert was broadcast live via Globecam Satellite to Australia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, The Philippines, South Vietnam and other countries. The program made Presley’s status as “the King of Rock & Roll” and introduced the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands to the entire world.