We're honored to announce the reissue of Gordon Broad's debut LP, Broad Way, recorded in 1969 at Sounds Of Hawaii studio and released in 1970 on Gordon's own label, Broad Records.
The project was one of countless recordings Gordon has done throughout his music career. Not content with just being a singer or a songwriter, Gordon has produced dozens (if not hundreds) of recording sessions, owned a record label, ran his own recording studio (which he opened after working for Herb Ono at Sounds Of Hawaii), and even launched Hawaii's first karaoke business that specialized in local music (it was a huge success).
Broad Way represents both his artistry and his ethos — if he wanted to do something, he'd get it done. And in the late 1960s, he wanted to record and release his own album, so he did.
The resulting LP is an obscure gem that paints unique portraits of Oahu in his pure-hearted songwriting style, weaving elements of psych, jazz, pop, and garage rock into a relaxed, drowsy atmosphere.
Gordon is due a proper biography with the amount of businesses he's launched, songs he's written, ideas he's realized, life experiences he's had, and stories he can tell. But since that biography doesn't exist (at the time of this writing), for what it's worth here's the liner notes to our reissue:
“Make it happen.” This is how editor Ben Wood concluded his writeup for Gordon Broad’s 1970 debut LP, Broad Way. The words perfectly capture the ethos that Gordon has followed throughout his life.
Those who are unfamiliar with Gordon Broad will recognize his most well-known composition, “Sweet Lady of Waiahole”. Those who know Gordon know him as many things: a talented musician and singer, a prolific songwriter, a clever businessman, nightclub owner, storyteller, restaurateur, and a visionary producer who trusted his gut no matter what others thought or said.
Born in Kahuku to Samoan-English-Hawaiian parents, Gordon was raised in the town of Laie, and he resided in Hauula for much of his adult life. At an early age, Gordon was surrounded by music; “Music came naturally for me because my whole family, my mother was a good piano player, my dad was saxophone player, my two grandfathers played violin, and my grandmother was a singer in a big band”. Any instrument Gordon picked up, he could play: drums, bass, guitar, piano, even trumpet. Gordon was raised by his Samoan grandmother. He grew up without his father, and his mother worked so often that she was hardly around. His half-brother, Keith Ava, said their mother was working the switchboards for the Hawaiian Telephone Company in Laie and when it modernized its infrastructure, requiring its employees to work in Honolulu. She spent the weekdays in town and returned home on the weekends to be with Gordon, Keith, and their sister, Nell Ava. “Being lonesome like that with no father in his life,” Keith told me by phone in 2025, “you tend to keep to yourself and try to write or convey your feelings through your songs.”
As an adolescent, Gordon wasn’t into Hawaiian music, but was instead drawn to popular music like Frank Sinatra and rock ‘n’ roll. He wrote his first songs as a pre-teen, and started a band at age 13 or 14 with his friend George “Ronnie” Hatico. They called themselves The Belmonts, named after their guitar amp. When legendary concert producer Tom Moffatt heard them, he changed their name to Ronnie and Gordy. They recorded a 7-inch single, “Molokai” and “Let’s Try It Again”, on the Salem Records label run by Herb Ono of recording studio Sounds Of Hawaii (the record misspelled Gordy as Gorden). When Don Ho heard them performing live, he immediately convinced them to let him be their manager.
If you know Gordon, you know he’s full of ideas, and once he sets his mind to something, he doesn’t quit.
Gordon’s perspective on life has largely been influenced by his uncle, Stan Alapa. An entrepreneur, Stan Alapa ran two successful Waikiki nightclubs in the 1960s with Gordon’s help. In the 1960s, Stan produced a record with Meher Baba devotees Hank Mindlin and Carol-Leigh Jensen (their album “Inquire Within” was released on the Sounds Of Hawaii label in 1969). Since Stan wasn’t a musician, he tapped his nephew for help, and eventually Gordon started spending more time at the Sounds of Hawaii studio. Gordon kept busy as the a bandmate of singer Nephi Hanneman; they formed a group called City And Country and held residency at Dan’s Den, a restaurant lounge on Keeaumoku Street. It was there that Gordon decided to record his first album, Broad Way, with the help of his bandmates and some hired musicians. Sounds Of Hawaii only had four-track recording capabilities then, and according to Gordon they only utilized three tracks for the entire album. Gordon released Broad Way in early 1970 on his newly minted label, Broad Records, and quickly sold at least 1,000 copies. In the coming years, Gordon worked closely with Herb Ono to produce more projects at Sounds Of Hawaii, including 1974’s “Live! At The Kuilima” by The Nanakuli Sons on Flair Records, and 1975’s “Puka Shells” on Broad Records with his longtime collaborator, Rod Young, of which they sold approximately 80,000 copies.
In the mid-1970s, Gordon realized the potential in opening a 24-track studio in Hawaii. Studios across the US continent had already embraced this shift, but when he presented the idea to Herb Ono, Herb quickly dismissed it. So, true to his ethos, Gordon made it happen: he travelled to Hollywood for a trade show (likely NAMM) where he asked experts for their opinions on equipment for a 24-track studio with a fixed budget of $150,000 (Gordon got local entertainer Al Harrington as the investor). Gordon credits engineer Chris Hinshaw as his consultant in helping determine exactly what gear he’d need. In February 1978, Gordon opened the doors to Broad Recording Studio, located at 1 North King Street in Chinatown Honolulu. The studio quickly became a 24/7 operation, recording all kinds of acts including many local artists familiar to fans of Aloha Got Soul: Nohelani Cypriano’s debut album with the hit “Lihue”, Mike Lundy’s “The Rhythm Of Life (our first reissue on the label, in 2015), Phase 7’s “Playtime”, Aura, Arthur Lyman’s “Island Vibes”, Lemuria, Paramour, and many more. Billboard Magazine rightly wrote that an “unprecedented proliferation of local talent and island music consumers” was afoot in Hawaii, which meant a “corresponding proliferation of studio time for local recordings.” Billboard detailed the setups of Sounds Of Hawaii, Broad Recording Studio, Sinergia, Audissey, and Commercial Studios, noting that each were offering studio time round-the-clock and were investing in technology and infrastructure to meet the demand. (Published in July 1978, the article mentions Broad’s Ampex MM-1200 24-track recording console, as well as Sounds Of Hawaii’s 24-track Neve console, showing us how Herb Ono eventually embraced Gordon’s vision.)
I first connected with Gordon by phone in 2017, and the following year I met him in person at Keneke’s Grill at Punaluu (coincidentally, I later licensed Gordon’s “Waikiki Jungle” to the 2021 production of I Know What You Did Last Summer, and the song was used for a scene that was filmed in the exact location). Talking story with Gordon always reveals an interesting life experience he’s had, or an idea he’s currently working on, or a venture he’s pursued. Surrounded by the lush outdoors and noisy chickens that afternoon, Gordon shared memories of playing music and all-star football, stories about working in the local record industry, about running two bars with his uncle, or applying for a patent for his latest invention (a vitamin bottle cap). Gordon even mentioned a recent prospect: a request from Bruno Mars’ father, Peter Hernandez, asking Gordon if he’d engineer a new doo-wop project. “Over the years, I’ve done many doo-wop recordings” — Gordon played Peter’s voice message from his phone — “there was one that I did at your studio, Gordon, and your mixing was incredible. Incredible! You’ve got that magic touch”. Things are always happening with Gordon.
“Life is doing things. Every dream I had, I did — open nightclubs, recording studios, the first disco in Waikiki,” he said to me in 2018. “People don’t realize, you can do anything.” In 2020, I convinced Gordon to open the doors of his storage containers for us to dig through. He hadn’t opened them in 15+ years. With the help of Oliver Seguin (and some heavy duty masks), we hoped to find his old studio equipment or master tapes from unreleased recording sessions, anything to help us preserve some of Gordon’s musical legacy. In the end, there wasn’t any gear or tapes worth salvaging — mildew had taken its toll — but we did find some interesting relics, including: a CD produced by Gordon of one of his favorite musicians, Jane Baby Doll McCabe; a copy of his first record by Ronnie & Gordy, which he waxed nostalgic; and a copy of “Hawaii 77", a song produced by his friend David Kawika Crowley, released on Kawika Records, that would eventually become the anthem, “Hawaii 78”. (In the second container, we found the remains of another Gordon Broad venture: “Hawaiian Time”, a clock that announced the time in Olelo Hawaii at the top of every hour. Unfortunately every clock was defective, one of the ew ventures where Gordon nearly went bust.)
“Taking chances — that’s me, that’s how I’ve lived my life,” Gordon said in 2021 about a song he had written. We’d shown him a cassette tape we had found in his storage. He couldn’t help but sing the lyrics: “Taking chances, that’s what life is all about. Sometimes we win a little, sometimes we lose, but we survive somehow. The ending becomes the start again. So start again.” Gordon launched his last new venture in 2019, a food truck serving smoked prime rib (Gord’s Smoke Prime Rib). “A one man operation: cook, dish washer, server and maintenance man,” he wrote on Facebook in 2021. “I think I running out of gas.” With this, he’s done everything on his bucket list. In 2022, at age 80, Gordon put the business up for sale.
As of this writing, Gordon lives in a care home on Oahu with dementia that affects his short-term memory. “He still surprises me,” said his brother, Keith Ava. “He remembers a lot of stuff in our younger days. I quiz him every now and then about different times, different places, and he remember. Long-term’s good, but his short-time not so good.” Keith’s daughter, Kanani Ava Nau, shared a video taken by a caregiver of Gordon on New Year’s Eve, singing karaoke. The song was “Sweet Lady of Waiahole”, and Gordon was in perfect pitch, singing each line with a smile on his face.
I look up to Gordon, and I’m sure everyone who knows him admires him. He’s a gifted songwriter with a lyrical sensibility that’s ripe with nostalgia. His arrangements radiate with a timelessness and sophistication (think Sinatra or Nat King Cole) rarely found in recent generations. He approaches everything with an open mind. The things he believes in, he does. He prefers behind-the-scenes over the limelight, and the left-field over the mainstream. He pursues his visions, sometimes quite literally: he produced Arthur Lyman’s “Island Vibes” after watching the jazz vibraphonist perform at a Waikiki hotel where the wave created a soothing sonic backdrop. Everything Gordon does, he does in earnest. He loves life. And he loves to share stories. In the years before moving to a care home, Gordon was actively posting to Facebook, sharing his life experiences, his original songs, and his cherished memories:
“When I look back, it seems to me my goal was to experience as much as I could in life. In fact, come to think of it, I was very selfish. I couldn’t see myself getting married with all the responsibilities that goes with it. I always thought, life is too short. I can always get married later. There’s a lot of things I wanted to do. My uncle (Stan Alapa) gave me the book, “Think and Grow Rich”, when I was a junior in high school. I read it three times. It was like somebody washed the windows. I saw things in a different light. My mind was awakened with dreams of endless possibilities. My uncle was like my Guru. I still remember he said to me, “Don’t worry about having money, there’s a lot of money people out there. They’re all looking for new ideas.” I think that’s when I knew I was born to be an entrepreneur. As far as I can remember I was always creative. From elementary school I could draw and wanted to be an artist. Later on I stated writing songs and I wanted to be a musician. When I was twenty two years old, My uncle and I opened the first Disco in Waikiki (The ThunderBird), then The Lemon Tree. I opened the first 24 track recording studio in the state (Broad Recording Studio). Later I opened a bar in Hauula (Rainbow Hut) and a restaurant nightclub in Kahuku Sugarmill (Old Plantation Restaurant and Bar) and a recording studio in Hauula (Moon Surfer Productions). My sister always told me, I should write a book because of all the things I did without having money. Now, my bucket list is getting shorter and I think I’m going to write a book. Here’s a song that sums up my outlook in life: Taking Chances.”
That’s the Gordon Broad way.
