Gene Rains, vibraphonist and leader in the Gene Rains Group is a Hawaiian jazz quartet that performed a style called Exotica. Rains’ brief career spans the 1960s through the mid-2000s. It consisted of four LP recordings that were released on Decca Records as well as the Vocalion label. These LPs were made during the golden age of Hawaiian and Exotica music, and Tiki culture in the United States. Popular Hawaiian and Polynesian island melodies were included in the Gene Rains Group’s repertoire, as well as American songs of the time. Alfred Apaka, a popular Hawaiian crooner, “discovered” Gene Rains. Apaka, at the time, was the talent director of the Hawaiian Village Hotel in Waikiki (Hawaii). Apaka recruited the Gene Rains group to perform at the Shell Bar in the Hawaiian Village. This was the hot spot for Island’s best performers like Arthur Lyman and Martin Denny. Alfred Apaka was the one who introduced Rains and Decca Records to him. Rains is today considered to be the third man in Exotica after Arthur Lyman and Martin Denny. Rains’ albums are classic examples of Exotica, even though he didn’t achieve the same fame as Lyman or Denny. Gene Rains’ albums are highly sought-after by collectors of the Tiki culture, especially since the revival of Tiki culture in late 1990s and early 2000s. From Wikipedia
