Earthrise over the Moon first filmed 41 years ago this week.

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August 16, 2009 CBC Sunday

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(The second they landed on the Moon - this music became more obsolete than it already was)

Prior to this particular day in 1969, one of the most universal song sentiments had to do with all things Moon.

It became a cliche, it was the epitome of corn. It was quaint, from a bygone age - but it was a romantic staple in our culture. No getting around it.

The Moon and all its implications were things of wonder, things people dreamed about, something people used as a great excuse to make out to.

And it had a huge history - long before the first records were ever made, but certainly a main attraction for the record buying public.

In the early part of the 20th century, Vaudeville was the main source of outside entertainment most people had. No radio - movies were relegated to sideshow curiosities - television was the thing of science fiction.

When records became a popular form of entertainment, most vaudeville stars of the time cranked out hundreds of discs, cashing in on the new medium.

One of those acts were the duo Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. This song "Turn Off Your light, Mister Moon Man" was a big hit in 1911 from the Musical "Little Miss Fix-it". It was almost as big as their 1908 hit "Shine On Harvest Moon", another staple of the vaudeville repertoire.

I am suspecting very few of you have actually heard any of these discs. They are crude and somewhat fossilized with time. They seem very ancient. And for being 100 years old, they actually are.

But it's always good to introduce yourself to something you're not familiar with. You can laugh, giggle and parody -but at least you get the chance to hear the actual stuff.

Besides, ignorance of your culture is considered uncool. Moon landings notwithstanding.

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(Okay - admit it: When's the last time you heard Hawaiian guitars?)

I don't know about you, but here we are in the dead of summer where it's 90+ degrees with 90+ percent humidity and the only thing I want to do is go vacant in front of a large air-conditioner and imagine balmy breezes and tiki bars.

So naturally, my fingers wandered over to a stack of Hawaiian 78's, recorded in the 1950's by the great Rudi Wairata and The Mena Moeria Minstrels.

You probably haven't heard of them. And to tell you the truth, neither had I until a few years ago when I got a collection of 78's from a friend in Europe.

It seems The Mena Moeria Minstrels were a combination Dutch Indonesian and Hawaiian and were pretty big in Europe, apart from their popularity on the Islands, and these discs were put out by a Dutch company Omega Records in 1953.

Aside from the historic aspect, I was hooked on this track "Maui Moon" after the first few bars.

The 1950's were loaded with a lot of interesting (and some downright strange) music, aside from the flood of rock n' roll and R&B. Not a whole lot of it has been explored and some of it has been unjustifiably neglected.

This might be one of them.