Haleloke Kahauolopua (1923 – 2004) was a 20th-century Hawaiian singer. She was sometimes billed under just her first name, Haleloke.
Biography
Kahauolopua was born on February 2, 1923, in
Hilo, Hawaii
Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement ...
, into a musical family, her mother being active in Hilo music circles. She sang in glee clubs in high school but her studies at the University of Hawaii were cut short by World War II.
[
Kahauolopua was a featured vocalist on the radio show '']Hawaii Calls
''Hawaii Calls'' was a radio program broadcast live from Waikiki Beach from 1935 through 1975 that reached 750 stations world-wide at the height of its popularity. It featured live Hawaiian music by an 11-piece dance orchestra conducted by Harry ...
'', hosted by Webley Edwards
Webley Edwards (November 11, 1902 – October 5, 1977) was a World War II news correspondent, National radio host and politician.
Early life and education
Edwards was the starting quarterback at Oregon State University where he became the fi ...
, from 1945 to 1950. Kahauolopua then came to the attention of Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...
who brought her to New York, where she appeared frequently on his shows, dancing the hula
Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song ( mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visua ...
as well as singing, and in a number of Hawaiian extravaganzas staged by Godfrey. In contrast to the typical Hawaiian "ha'i" (falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...
) voice use by many Hawaiian singers of the time, Kahauolopua sang in a husky alto.[
Kahauolopua cut a number of records, usually accompanied by Godfrey and his ]ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
and the Archie Bleyer
Archibald Martin Bleyer (June 12, 1909 – March 20, 1989) was an American song arranger, bandleader, and record company executive.
Early life
Bleyer was born in the Corona section of the New York City borough of Queens. His father was a well-k ...
Orchestra, and sometimes by The Mariners vocal group. She was the only Hawaiian musician on her album ''Hawaiian Blossoms''.[
Godfrey became infamous for peremptorily firing employees, such as ]Julius LaRosa
Julius La Rosa (January 2, 1930 – May 12, 2016) was an American traditional popular music singer, who worked in both radio and television beginning in the 1950s.
Early years
La Rosa was born of Italian-immigrant parents in the Brooklyn borough ...
, fired on the air, and in April 1955 he fired Kahauolopua (along with Marion Marlowe
Marion Marlowe (born Marion Townsend; March 7, 1929 – March 24, 2012)
- accessed March 27, 2012
, The Mariners, and three writers).[ This occasioned some criticism in the press.][
Kahauolopua then retired from show business at a fairly young age, to the small rural town of ]Union City, Indiana
Union City is a city in Wayne Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. , the city had a population of 3,584.
Union City was a stop along the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, a forerunner of the Pennsylvania Rai ...
[ to live with her friends the Paul Keck family. She died in her adopted town on December 16, 2004.][
]
Discography
Singles
*"Ke Kal Nei Au (Wedding Song Of Hawaii) / Lovely Hula Hands" (Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
CO 46446)[
*"Lei Aloha / White Ginger Blossoms"][
*"The Haole Hula" (1950, Presto)][
*"Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula"][
]
Albums
*''Hawaiian Blossoms'' (with Arthur Godfrey; 1951, Columbia CL 6190)[
;Compilations
*''Christmas With Arthur Godfrey and All The Little Godfreys'' (1953, Columbia B-348; Kahauolopua sings ]Mele Kalikimaka
"" () is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase , meaning "Merry Christmas".
One of the earliest recordings of this song was by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Siste ...
)[
*''Al Kealoha Perry & His Singing Surfriders: Aloha, Hula Hawaiian Style'' (1996, Hana Ola Records. Perry was musical director of Hawaii Calls 1937–1967, and all the artists on this record were from that show. Kahauolopua (billed as "Haleloke") sings "Alekoki", "Kolopa", and "Pua O Ka Makahala")][
*''My Isle of Golden Dreams'' (2003; Kahauolopua (billed as "Haleloke") sings "Pua O Ka Makahala")][
]
References
External links
"Haleloke est morte"
appreciation and reminiscences of Haleloke Kahauolopua
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahauolopua, Haleloke
1923 births
2004 deaths
People from Hilo, Hawaii
Native Hawaiian musicians
20th-century American singers
People from Union City, Indiana
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women