E Hawaiʻi e kuʻu one hānau e, the song starts, or “O Hawaiʻi, O sands of my birth.” My reaction was visceral: a gut punch of nostalgia, followed by excitement that a show set in Hawaii was showcasing Hawaiian music.īut by the second verse, I started to squirm. So when “Hawai’i Aloha” is used to score a poignant montage right before the credits, it felt like the show’s rare attempt at sincerity: The resort manager, a recovering addict played by Murray Bartlett, has a relapse, while a hapless teen (Fred Hechinger) vacationing at the resort witnesses a whale breaching the water, and something in him blooms.
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The limited six-episode series has been critically acclaimed for poking fun at the excesses of the ultrawealthy, its humor gorging on sarcasm and wit. ʻOli ē! ʻOli ē! A declaration of what it means to be local.Īn a cappella version sung by The Rose Ensemble closes the second episode of The White Lotus, HBO’s dark ensemble comedy about rich American tourists vacationing at a luxury resort in Hawaii. Or waiting backstage to dance at keiki hula competitions, the air humming with tuberose and hibiscus.Ĭhief among those songs is “Hawai’i Aloha.” Familiar to anyone who’s grown up in Hawaii, the revered Native Hawaiian anthem is sung en masse, our hands interlaced, at the end of concerts and formal gatherings. Vivid melodies that transport me to my father’s white truck as he drives me home from volleyball practice, sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, his jeans streaked with dry cement. Lee says locals filled these venues-parking was allowed on Kal?kaua at the time.Īs President of the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, Lee notes, there aren’t many places for Hawaiian musicians to play these days.Spoilers follow for the first installment of The White Lotus.Īs someone born and raised in Hawaii, there are certain Native Hawaiian folk songs that feel capable of time travel. Duke’s was the first place she mentioned, then the International Market Place with Don Ho, Chuck’s Cellar, Hilton’s Tapa Room, the Royal’s Monarch Room, down to assorted clubs and bars.
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Lee points out that in the 1950’s and 60’s, there was an ecosystem of live music venues. “Those that can write and come up with authoring a song or writing a mele, it will be historic for this time, but it’s not necessarily a happy time.” For example, the contemporary song, K? Ha‘aheo, written by Hinaleimoana Wong Kalu. “Now there’s a lot going on in the community,” continues Lee. Lee reflects on the different nature of Hawaiian music today, saying music before the Hawaiian Renaissance was concerned mainly with entertaining, telling a story and having fun. The Invitations combined Four Freshmen style harmonies with Hawai‘i style swing, and became among the first local groups to record for a major record label, Liberty Records. Toni Lee shares anecdotes about Machado and Kahauanu Lake, whose trio was a stand out in its time. Machado was among the first to be inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. She was part of the vanguard of Hawaiian women who sang in the ha’i style, where the voice "breaks" as it moves into the higher registers. Lee then mentioned the iconic Lena Machado, a soprano and Hawaiian style falsetto singer of great style and swing who became popular in the 1930’s and ‘40’s.
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She died at age 53 in California where she was studying for a career in computers. She sang on Hawai‘i Calls, starring at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and releasing many recordings of her regal contralto.
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It was her stately manner-and her 3 octave range. “Take Haunani Kahalewai.”īorn in Hilo, Kahalewai was the First Lady of Song in Hawai‘I in the 1950’s and 60’s. “Groups were not trying to play and sound like each other back then,” says Lee. “He was awesome, and he played at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, he was a soloist,” says Antoinette “Toni” Lee, President of the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, among other things.Īctually, the Hilton’s Tapa Showroom was created for Apaka, who died tragically of a heart attack at 40, just after signing a deal for a television special.
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Alfred Apaka’s voice is one of the most remarkable to come out of Hawai‘i, according to Hawaiian music scholar George Kanahele-Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and many others agreed.