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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 05:18:05 AM
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This is a lady named Haunani Kahiliwai playing slack key guitar and singing Hi`ilawe, along with two hula dancers doing hula noho. Pretty darn swell. But, she did not sing very many verses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNbqNR3j-QI
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Me ke aloha Malama pono, Wanda |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 08:24:48 AM
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quote: Originally posted by wcerto
This is a lady named Haunani Kahiliwai playing slack key guitar and singing Hi`ilawe, along with two hula dancers doing hula noho. Pretty darn swell. But, she did not sing very many verses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNbqNR3j-QI
Haunani Kahalewai was a rare bird in any genre - not just Hawaiian - as she had a vocal range that spanned over three-and-a-half octaves from the lowest contralto to the highest soprano. She could go from the guttural growl of Alvin Isaacs' "`Auhea `Oe" to singing the female part in a duet with Alfred Apaka on "Ke Kali Nei `Au." She participated in the recording of a half dozen Hawaii Calls LPs as well as a half dozen very rare LPs under her own name featuring the Hawaii Calls Orchestra and Chorus.
I have all two dozen episodes of the Hawaii Calls TV Show - which aired between 1964-65 before it was cancelled - from which this YouTube clip originated. They are all treasures - to be able to see and hear Haunani, Ed Kenney and Bev Noa, Poncie Ponce, and Nalani Olds, among others.
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 08:35:49 AM
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Great! I've never seen Haunani on video. It looks like she's playing in C Mauna loa. Anyone know? Jesse Tinsley |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 09:11:14 AM
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Boffo stuff. To think, in 65 I thought the Beach Boys did the best stuff I'd ever heard. |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 12:41:16 PM
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Hah - in '65 I was 13 years old, still listening to Porter Waggoner and Dolly Parton. Oh, also the Beatles and Dave Clark 5. I do not think the Monkees were the thing, yet.
Bill - do you know of any source to purchase videos from "Hawai`i Calls" shows? That would indeed be a wonderful bit of history to have. Haunani had a very deep voice on this video of Hi`ilawe, and at the end she really put some sultry into the ha`ina. I have not heard of her before, and I apologize for getting her last name wrong. I shall do a bit of research.
Sometimes you find true gems on You Tube.
Aloha from the former-DoD quality specialist, and new pensioner, Wanda J. Certo
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Me ke aloha Malama pono, Wanda |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 1:17:08 PM
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Sarah and and I think she is doing Big Island kind of figures and we are pretty sure she is in Double Slack. OTW known as G wahine/Namakelua. Look at her 1st finger. Listen to the repetition. Her voice is Outstanding. Her playing is kinda transitional between Auntie Alice and Uncle Fred.
YMMV,
...Reid and Sarah |
Edited by - Reid on 10/03/2007 1:18:40 PM |
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Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 2:44:12 PM
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Bill--Is there other footage of Haunani Kahalewai in those programs? Or other slack key players, for that matter. But she's of particular interest, since I'm trying to fill in the picture or women who played out. Noelani Mahoe told me that while plenty of women played guitar, they didn't usually do so professionally, and every one I can find out about represents a large percentage increase in that group.
BTW, can you tell whether the sound on that clip (and the show in general) is live or pre-recorded? The camera angles and cuts suggest the latter. I also saw what looked like a cable connection coming out of the guitar, which had a pickup-y rather than miked quality, though 1965 is pretty early for a non-mag pickup.
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 3:30:40 PM
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quote: Originally posted by wcerto
Bill - do you know of any source to purchase videos from "Hawai`i Calls" shows? That would indeed be a wonderful bit of history to have. Haunani had a very deep voice on this video of Hi`ilawe, and at the end she really put some sultry into the ha`ina. I have not heard of her before, and I apologize for getting her last name wrong. I shall do a bit of research.
Sometimes you find true gems on You Tube.
I know, in fact, that these are not commercially available. As many of you know, the Hula Records is my family, and I do like to make a pest of myself hanging around the Hula Records warehouse and offices in `Aiea and asking silly questions which the darling Cindy Lance is more than happy to oblige. Hula Records owns the entire Hawaii Calls catalog and Flip McDiarmid does not seem interested in repackaging the videos at this time because they truly are not commercially viable. It would be nearly impossible to recoup the cost of remastering these in worthy fashion for DVD.
I could tell you how I got my copies, but then - as the saying goes - I would have to kill you.
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 3:37:54 PM
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quote: Originally posted by Russell Letson
Bill--Is there other footage of Haunani Kahalewai in those programs? Or other slack key players, for that matter. But she's of particular interest, since I'm trying to fill in the picture or women who played out. Noelani Mahoe told me that while plenty of women played guitar, they didn't usually do so professionally, and every one I can find out about represents a large percentage increase in that group. {/quote]
There are other clips of Haunani in this series, yes. Without fast-forwarding through all of them, I do believe this is the only clip in which Haunani appears with a guitar. I believe it is one of the few references to slack key in the Hawaii Calls series - which was steel guitar intensive. (This is also true of the LPs of which there is one known slack key number from among the nearly three dozen LPs - and it is also "Hi`ilawe" with Haunani on vocals.
[quote]BTW, can you tell whether the sound on that clip (and the show in general) is live or pre-recorded? The camera angles and cuts suggest the latter. I also saw what looked like a cable connection coming out of the guitar, which had a pickup-y rather than miked quality, though 1965 is pretty early for a non-mag pickup.
The sound was prerecorded and the the visuals lip-synced and air-guitared, as it were, just as in the case of modern music videos. (Most of the Hawaii Calls TV shows were done in remote locations - beaches, mountainsides, etc. - so live sound would have been terrible.) Because of this, I do not take it for granted that Haunani is, in fact, playing slack key on this video. Still, as Reid and Sarah sleuthed, Haunani did play slack key and the fingerings are accurate. To find out more about Haunani's slack key abilities, I will check in with Haunani's niece, singer and archivist Nina Keali`iwahamana.
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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Auntie Maria
Ha`aha`a
USA
1918 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 12:59:43 PM
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Haunani was known as "Hawaii's First Lady of Song" -- with a career that went far beyond her appearances on the "Hawai`i Calls" shows.
For more info: http://www.hawaiimusicmuseum.org/honorees/1996/haunani.html
...auntie maria mele.com |
Auntie Maria =================== My "Aloha Kaua`i" radio show streams FREE online every Thu & Fri 7-9am (HST) www.kkcr.org - Kaua`i Community Radio "Like" Aloha Kauai on Facebook, for playlists and news/info about island music and musicians!
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Basil Henriques
Lokahi
United Kingdom
225 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 03:52:08 AM
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What is intimated as slack key in the video, and has fooled some (but not Bill I notice)is obviously pre-recorded, but not necessarily the vocal, maybe just the 'Backing Track' On a second listening, Bill is 100% correct the vocals as well are "Lip Synced" The 'Slack Key' sounds to me Like Sonny Chillingsworth on ELECTRIC guitar IMHO FWIW |
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Edited by - Basil Henriques on 10/05/2007 04:27:03 AM |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 05:08:17 AM
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There is certainly more going on in the song that what you see on the video -- steel guitar, for instance. Back in those days, it was the norm to lip sync, wasn't it I remember watching Bandstand and they all lip synced. Definitely electric sounding, but don't I see a plug in thingie on the end of the guitar?
No use pick it apart, just enjoy it for what it is worth. |
Me ke aloha Malama pono, Wanda |
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Basil Henriques
Lokahi
United Kingdom
225 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 4:59:20 PM
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Like you say Wanda "no use pick it apart" and, for what it's worth it's nice to hear the steel and slack key complimenting each other as well as Haunani's superb voice. So sad those days of 'Hawaii Calls' are gone. |
Edited by - Basil Henriques on 10/05/2007 5:00:51 PM |
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