Welcome to the home of Merrell Fankhauser's Tiki Lounge! Pull up your chair and a cool tropical drink, sit back, and enjoy the sights and sounds of Merrell, the Tiki Lounge, and the Tiki Lounge dancers as they transport you to paradise.
Merrell Fankhauser has led one of the most interesting and diverse paths in the music world. Having published and released over 300 songs, he has gained legendary status around the world. He is a unique singer, songwriter, and guitar player who has been delighting listeners for over fourty years.
He started his musical journey in Pismo Beach California with the instrumental surf group The Impacts who had a hit album titled Wipe Out in 1962.
From there he moved to the high desert area of the Antelope Valley and formed Merrell And The Exiles. He later moved back to the California Central Coast and formed Fapardokly whos album became one of the most valuable sought after recordings of the 1960's.
In 1968 he formed H.M.S Bounty and moved to Hollywood and signed a deal with Uni Records. The HMS Bounty album made the Billboard charts and this album has also become a landmark for psychedelic folk rock collectors.
Then with Jeff Cotton, former Captain Beefheart guitarist, he formed the magical MU group and in 1973 they moved to the island of Maui. Merrell studied many ancient Hawaiian and Native American legends and learned that the Islands of Hawaii were believed to be the mountain tops of the Lost Continent Of MU, or Lemuria. The two MU albums have also become very important collectors items and have been reissued countless numbers of times on record labels worldwide. Merrell lived in a jungle cabin on Maui for fifteen years and made many ancient pre Hawaiian discoveries.
In 1987 Merrell moved back to the Central California Coast and now has nearly fourty albums to his credit and has played with many icons of the music world from Nicky Hopkins to Willie Nelson.
In 1990 he started doing a satellite TV show called "California Music" that went to 150 stations across the U.S. and fifteen million viewers!
In 2001 he started the "Tiki Lounge" TV show that has become very popular in California and Hawaii. The website supporting this show was started in 2008.
He continues to perform live and release new recordings in his original style that Willie Nelson called "Merrell Music". It is this unique style that he brings to you regularly on Tiki Lounge.
