A rare look into the discotheque era of Waikiki, Al Nobriga’s “My Last Disco Song” tells of a time when nightclubs lined Kalakaua Avenue and practically every hotel hosted live entertainment. Seven days a week, locals rubbed elbows with visitors in discos like The Point After, Cock’s Roost, Garden Bar, Infinity, Duke Kahanamoku’s, Foxy Lady Too, Valentino’s, Hawaiian Hut—the list goes on.
In the years following the release of Al Nobriga with Island Company’s LP, They’re Playing My Music, a massive shift in Waikiki’s tourism industry began. More and more nightclubs closed their doors or hired duos and disc jockeys to entertain guests. The venues that once lined Kalakaua Avenue eventually gave way to newly constructed luxury shopping centers, a trend that continues into the 21st century.
Nobriga offers a poignant escape from what would soon become decades of ongoing development in Waikiki. Not just another yacht rock tune, “Break Away” carries the listener to a place where one finds enlightenment in the tropical winds and cool ocean blue, far from the concrete jungle of Honolulu.