"Hawaiian Wedding Song" originally entitled; ''"Ke Kali Nei Aua"'' (Waiting There for Thee) was adapted from a 1926 love song written by

Charles E. King Charles Edward King (January 29, 1874 – February 27, 1950) was an educator, Hawaii territorial legislator, and a songwriter who is most widely known as the composer of "Hawaiian Wedding Song, Ke Kali Nei Au". King was inducted into the Hawaiian ...

and originally recorded by Helen Desha Beamer in its original (

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

) version but re-written by

Al Hoffman Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of wh ...

and Dick Manning and renamed as "Hawaiian Wedding Song". The song was recorded by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

and Elvis Presley. In the US, Andy Williams' version (accompanied by Archie Bleyer and his orchestra, with backing vocals by Anita Wood ) was released as a single in 1958 and reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 27 on the R&B chart. In the UK, a single version by

Julie Rogers Julie Rogers (born Julie Rolls, 6 April 1943, Bermondsey, London, England) is an English pop singer. She is best known for her multi-million selling song, " The Wedding". Career Rogers, the youngest of five children, had piano lessons and star ...

went to number 31 on the UK Singles Chart in 1965. Elvis Presley sang another version of the song in the 1961 film ''

Blue Hawaii ''Blue Hawaii'' is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written Americ ...

''. In 1964, Hong Kong female singer

Kong Ling Kong Ling was a 1960s Hong Kong based singing star and recording artist who sang Jazz, Cha cha, Rock and roll and Pop music She had also recorded with popular Hong Kong pop group The Fabulous Echoes. Background Kong Ling's real name is Kong Yan ...

covered the song on her LP album ''This World We Live In'' with Diamond Records (now under

UMG Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

). An earlier English version of "Ke Kali Nei Au" was by

and it was titled "Here Ends the Rainbow" with Johnny Burke supplying the lyrics. This was recorded on February 9, 1951, with Betty Mullin and

Lyn Murray Lyn Murray (born Lionel Breeze, August 13, 1909 – May 20, 1989) was a composer, conductor, and arranger of music for radio, film and television. Early years Born in London, Murray was the son of a violinist. Before entering a career in music, ...

and His Orchestra.

Other notable recordings

* Brook Benton - included in the album ''Brook Benton Sings the Standards'' (1981). * Pat Boone and Shirley Boone - for their album ''I Love You Truly'' (1962). * Teresa Brewer - for her album ''Aloha from Teresa'' (1961). *

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

- for his album '' The Songs I Love'' (1963) * Vic Damone - for his album ''Strange Enchantment'' (1962). * John Gary - included in his album ''The Nearness of You'' (1965). * Jim Reeves - for the album ''The International Jim Reeves'' (1963). * Marty Robbins - for his album ''Hawaii's Calling Me'' (1963). * Roger Whittaker - included in the album ''Sincerely Yours'' (1990). * Tammy Wynette - for her album ''You and Me'' (1976). *

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...

- from his album ''A Time For Us'' (1973). *

James Blackwood James Webre Blackwood (August 4, 1919 – February 3, 2002) was an American gospel singer and one of the founding members of legendary Southern gospel quartet The Blackwood Brothers. He is the only person in any field of music to have been nomin ...

- from his album ''The Masters V Present James Blackwood In Aloha Time With Bud Tutmarc'' (1987).

References

1926 songs 1959 singles 1965 singles Songs written by Dick Manning Songs written by Al Hoffman Andy Williams songs Elvis Presley songs Julie Rogers songs {{1950s-pop-song-stub