Andy Iona (born Andrew Aiona Long, January 1, 1902 – November 9, 1966) was an American musician and one of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

's most influential musicians. He was a composer,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, conductor,

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

, and steel guitarist. He went to the Kamehameha School for Boys. He was also educated at

Henri Berger Henry or Henri Berger (August 4, 1844 – October 14, 1929) was a Prussian Kapellmeister, composer and royal bandmaster of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1872 to 1915. Biography Berger was born Heinrich August Wilhelm Berger in Berlin, and became a ...

's Private School of Music in Honolulu. He was a member of the radio station KHS staff orchestra. He went on to form his own group called Andy Iona and his Islanders, which mixed traditional Hawaiian melodies with American swing; the band appeared in films, hotels, and theatres, and on records. He composed songs for the

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

after joining in 1940, and recorded the music for two

Soundies Soundies are three-minute American musical films, and each short displays a performance. The shorts were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to music videos" by UCLA. Soundies exhibited a variety of musical gen ...

in 1941. Long toured with

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion ( 1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champi ...

for 12 years. He married Leimomi Woodds and had three children.

Music

Public domain song: Andy Iona - Pretty Red Hibiscus

* Box set (6 CDs - 112 tracks): The Andy Iona Collection - Andy Iona and his Islanders, Cumquat Records. * Album: Hawaiians In Hollywood: Smooth, Sweet & Swinging 1934-1936: Volume 1 by Andy Iona. * Album: From Honolulu To Hollywood: Jazz, Blues & Popular Specialties Performed Hawaiian Style by King Bennie Nawahi, Sol Hoopii, Andy Iona. * Album: Jazz Goes Hawaiian by Louis Armstrong feat. Andy Iona, Challenge Records.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iona, Andy American male saxophonists Steel guitarists 1902 births 1966 deaths Guitarists from Hawaii 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American saxophonists American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians