Sonny Cunha, full name Albert Richard Cunha (October 1, 1879 – January 23, 1933) was an American composer, bandleader, pianist, singer, politician and entrepreneur. He was the first to popularize ''hapa haole'' music, a type of

Hawaiian music The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent part ...

with influences from popular music and with lyrics that are a combination of English and Hawaiian (or wholly English).

Early years

Albert Richard Cunha was born on October 1, 1879, in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Kingdom of Hawai'i The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent islan ...

to Angela Gilliland and Emmanuel Cunha. He was educated at

Saint Louis School Saint Louis School, located in the neighborhood of Kaimuki in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a historic Roman Catholic college preparatory school for boys. It was founded in 1846 to serve Catholics in the former Kingdom of Hawaii. Located within the Roman ...

and Punahou School and later attended

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

in 1898, where he was a star baseball and football star, although he did not graduate. In 1903 he composed ''My Waikiki Mermaid'', the earliest known hapa haole song. This was followed in 1905 by his first big hit, ''My Honolulu Tomboy''. Other notable songs followed, ''My Hawaiian Maid'', ''My Tropical Hula Girl'' and ''Honolulu Hula Girl''. In 1905 sextette led by Cunha played the entire summer season at a California beach resort in Santa Cruz. In 1906 he directed the Royal Hawaiian Glee Club on their tour of the West Coast of the US with the Royal Hawaiian Band. In 1914 he published the first hapa haole songbook, ''Famous Hawaiian Songs''. He played piano, sang and led a dance orchestra in

for many years, toured the mainland, founded the Cunha Music Company (which sold instruments and presumably sheet music). He also served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Hawaii Territorial Legislature from 1923 to 1924. His son was B movie director Richard E. Cunha. He died on January 23, 1933, in Honolulu. He was buried at the

Oahu Cemetery The Oahu Cemetery is the resting place of many notable early residents of the Honolulu area. They range from missionaries and politicians to sports pioneers and philosophers. Over time it was expanded to become an area known as the Nuuanu Cemete ...

Publications

* ''Songs of Hawaii'', Bergstrom Music, 1903 * ''Famous Hawaiian Songs'', Bergstrom Music, 1914

References

Sources

External links

Tiki Kings Big Ukulele List
that includes ukuleles "Made expressly for Cunha Music Co. Honolulu"
The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame and Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunha, Albert 1879 births 1933 deaths Musicians from Hawaii American male composers American composers Hawaiian ukulele players Members of the Hawaii Territorial Legislature American people of Portuguese descent Punahou School alumni Yale Law School alumni Burials at Oahu Cemetery