Two Time Winners

Reception

William Ruhlmann of Allmusic noted that "Williams continued to prove himself an effective and versatile singer capable of bringing off such lightly rocking or exotic revivals."

Side one

1. "Sail Along, Silvery Moon" (Harry Tobias, Percy Wenrich) - 1:56
2. "Twilight Time" (Artie Dunn; Al Nevins; Morton Nevins; Buck Ram) - 2:38
3. "So Rare" (Jerry Herst, Jack Sharpe) - 2:01
4. "Hawaiian Wedding Song" (Al Hoffman, Charles E. King, Dick Manning) - 2:29
5. "Blueberry Hill" (Al Lewis, Vincent Rose, Larry Stock) - 2:01
6. "Sweet Leilani" (Harry Owens) - 2:19

Side two

1. "Love Letters in the Sand" (J. Fred Coots, Charles Kenny, Nick Kenny) - 2:32
2. "It's All in the Game" (Charles Gates Dawes, Carl Sigman) - 2:55
3. "Blue Hawaii" (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin) - 2:02
4. "Be Mine Tonight" (Maria Teresa Lara, Sunny Skylar) - 2:21
5. "My Happiness" (Borney Bergantine, Betty Peterson Blasco) - 2:23
6. "Near You" (Francis Craig, Kermit Goell) - 2:29

Grammy nomination

The single "Hawaiian Wedding Song" brought the first of six Grammy nominations that Williams received over the course of his career, this time in the category of Best Vocal Performance, Male. The winner was Perry Como for "Catch a Falling Star".

Song information

"Love Letters in the Sand" was a hit for Ted Black in 1931, and Pat Boone made the charts with a 1957 recording of the song for the film Bernardine. The song "Sweet Leilani" from the 1937 film Waikiki Wedding won the Best Song Oscar and was also a hit that same year for the film's star, Bing Crosby. Another popular recording of his, "Sail Along, Silvery Moon" was also released in 1937, and the hit instrumental recording of the song by Billy Vaughn & His Orchestra came out in 1957. "Blue Hawaii" became a chart hit for Crosby in 1937 as well, and Vaughn & His Orchestra debuted their instrumental recording of the song in Billboard magazine in 1958. Vocalist Jimmy Farrell and Gus Arnheim & His Orchestra appeared on the charts with "So Rare" in 1937, as did Guy Lombardo & His Orchestra with vocalist Carmen Lombardo, and in 1957 the Arthur Malvin Singers & the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra charted with their version of the song.

Ray Eberle provided vocals for Glenn Miller & His Orchestra on their recording of "Blueberry Hill", which was the first and most successful of the three versions of the song that were released in 1940, and Fats Domino created a new surge in the popularity of the song when his rendition made the charts in 1956. "Twilight Time" was originally an instrumental hit for The Three Suns that was released in 1944, and The Platters charted with a vocal version of the song in 1958. Vocalist Bob Lamm and Francis Craig & His Orchestra had the highest-charting recording of "Near You" in 1947, and in 1958 pianist Roger Williams put his instrumental recording of the song on the charts as well. Of the five different recordings of "My Happiness" that made the Billboard charts in 1948, the one with the best showing there was by Jon and Sondra Steele, and Connie Francis gave the song a second life when she made it a hit in 1958. Tommy Edwards had his first chart run with "It's All in the Game" in 1951 and his second with a new recording of the song in 1958. "Be Mine Tonight" originated in Mexico as "Noche de Ronda", which was recorded by Nat King Cole for his 1958 album Cole Español, and by the time Williams released this album English-language versions of the song had already been recorded by The Ames Brothers and as a duet by Dinah Shore and Tony Martin.

Personnel