With two gigs nightly, 7 days a week aboard the Rella Mae cruise ship, Phase VII must have met many people during their tenure. So I was happy to find this photo in my inbox the other day, courtesy of saxophonist Edd English (far right):
Edd gave me a bit of background on Dolly Parton's appearance aboard the Rella Mae:
That year she took her family to Hawaii for X-mas—I mean everyone because she was able to rent the top deck of the Rella Mae, the boat Phase Seven played on. This photo is on the Top deck, as after our show we got invited up to meet with her. We were told that she heard our show but did not come down to see it, as she didn'ther stardom to upstage us or something like that. I do remember her showing up in a corvette driven by a really body guard.
Edd, who performs nowadays in Portland, Oregon (see him rockin' in this video), didn't mention a date of when this was taken, but my guess is 1983. Below is a photo of Dolly in 1983 at the Kahala Hilton Hotel (now the Kahala Hotel & Resort) in Honolulu. Photo by Alan Light.
Speaking of country music, stay tuned for a very special interview with a Hawaii-bred musician now living just outside Nashville, Tennessee.
Thanks Edd!