Lani Kai got his show business start in 1959 when he auditioned for the TV series “Adventures In Paradise.” He had only hoped for a part as an extra but ended up a cast regular. Lani was called upon for numerous other roles, whenever a handsome, well-built Polynesian man was needed – including the role of Carl, a beach boy in the Elvis Presley vehicle “Blue Hawaii.” But Lani Kai was much lesser known as…
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For most of his career, Elvis was backed on stage and screen by an incredibly talented vocal group he cultivated called The Jordannaires. But when it came time to film “Blue Hawaii” in 1961, a slightly different vocal flavor was in order. Years earlier, in 1957, at Glendale Junior College in California, musical brothers Al and Clay Naluai teamed up with two other Hawaiian boys, Bernie Ching and Pat Sylva, who – like them –…
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On December 12th, 2015, the world honored the 100th anniversary of the birth of Frank Sinatra. One of the earliest “triple threats” in the entertainment world (singer-actor-dancer, although the dancing was questionable and was bolstered by having some far superior dance partners), Sinatra has been alternately called “the Chairman of the Board” and “the Artist of the Century.” What does any of this have to do with Hawai`i or Hawaiian entertainment? Throughout history any number…
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Over the last 20 or more years, no uniquely Hawaiian playing style has garnered more attention – and more new Hawaiian music fans – than slack key guitar. Arguably more recordings featuring slack key guitar have been released by local Hawai`i artists than any other style of Hawaiian music, and notably a few of these earned Grammy Awards. Ho`olohe Hou Radio will help you wake up to a joyous, restful end (or beginning) of the…
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Lena Machado is without a doubt one of the most prolific and influential composers in the history of Hawaiian music whose songs are still well loved and often performed and recorded by today’s Hawaiian music artists. She was also a performer with an ethereal voice which earned her the nickname “Hawai`i’s Songbird.” Armed with her composing and performing talents, Auntie Lena became one of the first local Hawai`i musicians to tour internationally – an unofficial…
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Ho’olohe Hou celebrated the January 23rd birthday of famed Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. But why? Perhaps because of his undeniable influence on music all over the world – including Hawai’i… As mentioned in our discussions of steel guitarist Billy Hew Len, Django Reinhardt was a jazz violinist whose career radically changed course after a caravan fire robbed him of the use of the pinky and ring fingers of his left – or fretting – hand….
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Discussing Lena Machado’s life and music, three themes emerge loud and clear. One is that she was one of the great voices in all time in Hawaiian music. Another is that she is one of the most prolific and important composers in Hawaiian music history. And the third – the one that perhaps gets lost in the shuffle between the first two – is how forward-thinking Lena was about the presentation of Hawaiian music. She…
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Following up on those popular Lena Machado compositions which she never recorded herself, here are still a few more as recorded by some once popular singers whose voices may have been forgotten by all but the most ardent fans of Hawaiian music. Click here to listen to this set of Lena Machado compositions as you continue to read. Although widely recorded as back-up singer (often unidentified and uncredited) but stepping up to the microphone as…
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Lena Machado composed songs that she never had the opportunity to record. Thankfully, Lena’s compositions are among the most recorded and performed in the history of Hawaiian music. Here are just a few of the songs Lena never got to record performed by some of Hawai`i’s most beloved artists – some of which, I suspect, you may not have heard in a very long time (if ever). Click here to listen to this set of…
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Continuing our look at Lena Machado’s final recordings, I have compiled this segment in such a manner that allows us to compare the 1962 versions of some of Lena’s originals with versions of the same songs from her 1930s sessions. Click here to listen to this set from Lena Machado’s final 1962 sessions as you continue to read. Lena’s 1962 version of “E Ku`u Baby Hot Cha Cha” isnothing like her first recording of the song that…
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