| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
 Posted - 01/26/2008 : 06:26:29 AM
|
I have discovered there are two songs called Radio Hula. One was composed by Lizzie 'Alohikea in the 1920s and that is the version shown on www.huapala.org. There is also one with completely different lyrics written by Lena Machado in 1934.
The version that Led plays -- which one is that? When I have heard Uluwehi Guerrero sing it, it sure does not sound like the melody of the tune that Led plays, but the lyrics are those of Mrs. 'Alohikea. http://www.mele.com/music/artist/uluwehi+guerrero/ka+manawa+pono/
Tony Conjugacion sings the Lena Machado version and this version in no way resembles the instrumental which Ledward plays. ( http://www.mele.com/music/artist/tony+conjugacion/hawaiian+passion/ )
How can have two songs with same name?
|
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
|
|
Bill Neubauer
Aloha
USA
34 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2008 : 08:12:26 AM
|
Aloha, Wanda;
I have the Dancing Cat "Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar/Masters Collection, Volume 2" which includes Led's version of this piece. The liner notes state "Lizzie Kahua Alohikea composed this...in the 1920s to celebrate the arrival of radio in the islands. Led's uncle, the late, great slack key guitarist Fred Punahoa, created an arrangement of this song for slack key guitar in the 1940s, which Led learned as a teenager and used as the basis for his own improvisations". And you know what Led can do with "improvosations"!
I also have the "Nahenahe" CD by George Kuo, which includes "Radio Hula" but doesn't credit an author/composer. The liner notes do state, "not to be confused with another song by the same title...George liked it so much he adapted it." And this version sounds something like the one Led played, but by the time these guys are done "improvising" and "adapting" - well, I think they're playing the same tune...but I'm not sure. Especially since there is another tune that I don't know if I've ever heard or not. And actually, I remember hearing somewhere (at the AMC, I think) that you would not be able to sing the original song along with Led's playing of it.
Legally speaking - I don't think you can copyright a song "title", so it's possible for there to be two songs named the same.
Funny aside, here; I used to try to play Led's version, having figured out what I could by ear, and it was at one time a standard part of my repertoire. One day my wife and I were driving along, turned on the radio, and came in during the middle of this tune. My wife's immediate reaction was, "Hey, somebody's ripping you off!" (Keep in mind, we're in Buffalo, NY - you do NOT hear Slack Key guitar on the radio!) Turns out, we had tuned in to the middle of the "Prairie Home Companion" show, when they were in Hawaii, and the person who was "ripping me off" was...uh, some dude named Led Ka'apana. Whoa.
Bill |
Kika Pila |
 |
|
|
hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2008 : 08:44:17 AM
|
As others will tell you, Lizzie Alohikea's Radio Hula is what Led is riffing on. No, it doesn't sound like the original song, but it's hidden in Led's improvisation.
Jesse Tinsley |
|
|
|
Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
|
|
wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2008 : 09:51:39 AM
|
| Yep - I got the Lena Machado book, even autographed by Kihei DeSilva. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
|
|
|
hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2008 : 2:01:19 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by hapakid
As others will tell you, Lizzie Alohikea's Radio Hula is what Led is riffing on. No, it doesn't sound like the original song, but it's hidden in Led's improvisation.
Jesse Tinsley
Yes, absolutely. The chord structure - albeit simple - for the tune Led riffs on is the same as Lizzie Alohikea's composition.
|
Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
|
|
|
hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2008 : 2:04:17 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Fran Guidry
[brEh, sis, you got the Lena Machado book??? I read one song a day and each one is a new inspiration.
Fran
There is a great deal of debate about this book - not about lyrics and translations, of course, but about the who, what, and where each song was written about. Others who were actually there - living in Auntie Lena's era and who were dear, close friends of hers - dispute the stories behind some of those songs.
But, then, this is true of every story I've ever heard about the origins of a song - unless I've heard it straight from the lips of the haku mele.
|
Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
|
|
|
rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2008 : 5:52:00 PM
|
Hard enough to figure out the kaona, let alone which mele from which composer. As Led might have said; Jus' enjoy.
Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
