tiki fun • news • sites • events • PDX Page News from Tiki Lands ...and from around the world! MARTIN DENNY DIES AT 94 DATELINE: MARCH 2, 2005, HAWAII KAI The TikiWonder crew spent a week of misty-eyed afternoons after learning that Tiki music great Martin Denny died in his home today. Martin was known for his wonderful musical creations in the Tiki & Lounge world. Whenever someone was new to the world of Tiki or was coming over to my Tiki room for the first time, I would play Martin Denny in the background. The hypnotic beats, jungle sounds, calming melodies, and island instrumentation was perfect. Many of the parents of us Tiki-new-wavers remember Denny Martin's music from the wave of popularity he experienced in the 60's. For them, his music is a landmark of mood, lifestyle, and era, and many love it when they hear his songs again. Otto von Stroheim of the Tiki News was kind enough to send out this eulogy written by Robert C. Brooks, AKA Tiki Bob. Thank you Otto and thank you Bob! Martin Denny's death will spark much sadness for the fans of Exotica. I was fortunate to spent some time with him over the last 5 or 6 years. Meeting the man behind the music was truly the highlight of my Exotica experience. He was so appreciative of his return to fame over the last 10 years. He felt that this validated the importance of his music. And I could see nothing more fitting for a man in his twilight years that such validation of his life's work. The last year or so was really hard on him. His mobility was severely limited and health issues plagued him on a daily basis. He did find much comfort through his daughter who had moved back to Hawaii after his wife died a few years ago. Christina Denny helped him with his daily living activities and handled most of his correspondence. She organized Christmas cards that had pictures and a review of what her father had done that year. Some of my fondest memories are of Marty playing his grand piano for me in his condo overlooking Coco Head, which is about 8 miles from downtown Honolulu. He was trained as a classical pianist and so loved the music of Gershwin. In fact, most of the music he played for me was Gershwin. He loved the music from Porgy and Bess. This was Gershwin's opera about a poor, crippled black man living in the Charleston, South Carolina in the 1930s who befriends and falls in love with a prostitute. The community thought Porgy misdirected but he saw his affection towards this woman as the right and proper thing to do. Regardless of his plights, Porgy always saw the good in people and life, even if through tremendously naive eyes. Marty loved the purity of the story's main character and the beautiful music that Gershwin composed to express the emotions of the characters. He thought the portrayal of such innocence, a quality buried deep down in each of us, through the songs and lyrics was such an effective, emotional vehicle. Having grown up in Charleston, I could not help but knowing the story and lyrics to many of the songs from Porgy and Bess. There are a few pieces of music that can bring me to tears. One of those being the duet between Porgy and Bess as they express their love for each other. My most lasting memory of Marty will be the times he played and I sang those lyrics from that number. I watched with such admiration, a man that was so passionate and understanding of what music was truely about and how it connected with peoples emotions and thus, connected people in general. I was moved to tears then, just as I am now, as I reflect on the joy that was provided by a humble man who sought to bring both song and spirit to those who knew how to listen. Aloha Marty. We will meet again each time I listen to your music and then, hopefully, beyond that. --Robert C. Brooks (Tiki Bob) I am most grateful for the contributions Martin Denny has made to my life through his music and support of the Tiki Culture. I will always remember him fondly, relaxing and playing the perfect set in the greatest Tiki Bar of all. KPUA of Hilo, Hawaii has this short press release on thier website. --Katin Imes, TikiWonder	. . . . . . . News for Tiki & Lounge Lovers  . . . . . . .
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