Remembering Sonny Kamahele
Posted: 24 Oct 2011 2:38 am
Sonny Kamahele, named Solomon Kamahele Jr. after his well known police officer and musical performing father was born in Nuuanu (part of upper Honolulu city), on Aug. 28, 1921. He was one of at least 6 children, including three brothers and two sisters. His career started when his father, Sol Sr., who was a famous entertainer, heard him sing "Ka Le E" while he was playing in the front yard of his grandfather's home on nearby School Street. Soon after, his father taught him how to sing and play Hawaiian music. He was just 8 years old when his inherited talent and connection lead him to become a mascot for the Honolulu Police Department's Glee Club, destined eventually to become a professional musician like his father. As the Dept.'s young public focal point he wore a kid size police uniform at functions and soon developed his voice, humor, and stage presence that would serve him well his entire life. He recalled his work there as "good discipline training." But he was still a kid, and with his friends he'd go to Honolulu Harbor on 'Boat Day' to earn spending money by diving into the harbor waters for coins tossed by arriving passengers thrilled to be in Hawaii and eager to appease the local youngsters. As his talents grew, he and others would go out on tugboats to serenade arriving passengers aboard the ocean liners. One of his most memorable youthful performances was greeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 when the country's leader made a trip to Hawaii. He taught himself to sing in a broad range, from falsetto to a very low register, danced both proper and kolohe (comic) hula, and played several instruments, including guitar, ukulele and steel guitar. Like many other aspiring Hawaiian musicians of his generation, Sonny got most of his early training watching and listening to older musicians. He tried a few other jobs over the years, but whenever he had to choose between music and doing something else, the music won, providing "enough income for me". After his schooling and the end of World War II, he moved to the US mainland and spent a decade playing around Hollywood with famed entertainers, including Sam Koki and Pua Almeida, often at the 7 Seas night club, and joined the famous band leader Harry Owens on his TV show which included female greats Hilo Hattie and Napua Woodd. As a self-learner and 'ear' player, he learned to read music "in a hurry" after Owens told him that his job with the orchestra depended on his ability to work with charts. "That's why, when I came home in '56 I was able to work in different areas." He found work in the movies as scenic background, but the money was inconsistant, and eventually Sonny returned home to Hawaii becoming known as 'Mr. Hollywood' by his friends and to the growing world of Hawaiian music lovers. In 1956 he joined his lifelong friend, Benny 'Mr. Hawaiian Music' Kalama, in Alfred Apaka's all-star band who were residing in the now iconic Tapa Room at the new Kaiser's Hawaiian Village, as one of the hearalded Hawaiian Village Serenaders until the untimely death of the rising national star in 1960. Sonny, at his death was the lone survivor of Apaka's Hawaiian Men. The group held together for a while and backed the Hilo Hattie in the new Bucky Fuller built Kaiser Dome, along with the yound and aspiring Danny Kaleikini. Thereafter, he formed his own group and performed at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and became a booking agent for fellow local talent while occassionally going into the studio to record albums full of timeless tunes, many penned by himself. Sonny was also part of the world reknown "Hawaii Calls" show as it ventured from radio to include film and television until 1974 when the historic program ended it's decades long tenure. "He was an entertainer's entertainer," said longtime friend Nina Kealiiwahamana, who performed with him on Hawaii Calls.
It was once Sonny's statement of "you're one of us" to Jerry Byrd that lead the great steeler to make the stunning decision in '72 to leave his home and legendary country music career in Nashville and move forever more to Hawaii (where his heart always was), and it was in Sonny's band that Jerry's 'new' career first started, on the beach at Waikiki.
Starting in September of 1983, Sonny Kamahele was part of a trio with his buddy Benny on bass/vocals that performed traditional Hawaiian and hapa-haole music at the Halekulani Hotel's 100 year old waterfront House Without a Key restaurant. "When I went to the Halekulani to try for the job, which was in 1983, Sept. 3, I said to myself that I'd play the same stuff that we always played when I was younger, and we took it from there. We played Hawaiian music and we stayed like that. We never changed the music, and we never changed the style of our uniforms." Kamahele's immaculate all-white uniforms, a traditional look for musicians during the territorial era, became the standard at the Halekulani and spread beyond for many years. The hotel became an oasis of traditional Hawaiian and hapa-haole music even as other hotels experimented with video game rooms and karaoke. Kamahele and his contemporaries played an important part in making traditional music accessible for visitors and kamaaina alike. His stay there lasted just shy of 2 full decades. Their final gig together at the Halekulani was in 1998, when Kalama retired; he died the following year. Sonny lamented,"I've worked with so many musicians, and the funny thing is, they're all gone. All of the people I worked with, men and women, unbelievable, they're all gone. All of them are dead." His chugging 'on the 8th's' style of rhythm guitar was learned from the Western musicians he heard in Hollywood, and utilized the distinctive old school swing beat til the end of his career. Vocally, he had a range stretching from a sweet falsetto to a smooth baritone, even utilizing a basso profundo at times just for fun and emphasis. As a multi-dimensional talent, he also wrote many wonderful songs and put out LPs and CDs that will stand as superior long past his life. Steel wise, he was most unique, nobody had a dreamy style like Sonny's. He stuck with the D9th for the most part, often using his old Rickenbacher Bakelite B6, but also having Barney Isaacs' E13 on top of his D8 Stringmaster (Mel Abe's old blonde). He could be a one-man-band when he had to, utilizing his steel in an flicking rhythmic strum that kept the songs flowing while interjecting his melody steel lines and accompanying it all with his fabulous singing. In later years he'd do this for residents in care homes nearby. "He was so giving and caring," said wife Margaret Kamahele.
He earned Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts in both 1993 and 1996.
After his early retirement, he and wife Margret moved to the big island of Hawaii and too soon after passed away at age 82. Moments before he died, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom (grand daughter of Napua Woodd) sang "Sweet Little Baby" over the phone and were the last words he heard from those outside his family. The song was composed by Sam Koki, Gilliom's step-grandfather and Sonny's longtime compatriot. Soria said Kamahele sang the song with Koki while he was living in Los Angeles. Earlier, singer Melveen Leed sang "Kanaka Waiwai" to Kamahele over the phone yesterday. "It was one of his favorites," said Leed, a noted talent herself, and longtime friend of Sonny.
For all who knew or saw him perform, he was the epitome of the grand Hawaiian trouper in the Golden Age of Hawaiian music. They no longer exist except in fading memories and recordings, and there was nobody quite like Sonny Kamahele. He was a special guy, in a special place, during some special times that will never be seen again.
Sonny can be heard here in an interview by Territorial Airwaves' DJ/historian, Harry B. Soria
http://www.territorialairwaves.com/inde ... 4&start=14
For a fine starter per Sonny's later output that may still be found in print, try his wonderful 'Beautiful Hawaii' CD.
It was once Sonny's statement of "you're one of us" to Jerry Byrd that lead the great steeler to make the stunning decision in '72 to leave his home and legendary country music career in Nashville and move forever more to Hawaii (where his heart always was), and it was in Sonny's band that Jerry's 'new' career first started, on the beach at Waikiki.
Starting in September of 1983, Sonny Kamahele was part of a trio with his buddy Benny on bass/vocals that performed traditional Hawaiian and hapa-haole music at the Halekulani Hotel's 100 year old waterfront House Without a Key restaurant. "When I went to the Halekulani to try for the job, which was in 1983, Sept. 3, I said to myself that I'd play the same stuff that we always played when I was younger, and we took it from there. We played Hawaiian music and we stayed like that. We never changed the music, and we never changed the style of our uniforms." Kamahele's immaculate all-white uniforms, a traditional look for musicians during the territorial era, became the standard at the Halekulani and spread beyond for many years. The hotel became an oasis of traditional Hawaiian and hapa-haole music even as other hotels experimented with video game rooms and karaoke. Kamahele and his contemporaries played an important part in making traditional music accessible for visitors and kamaaina alike. His stay there lasted just shy of 2 full decades. Their final gig together at the Halekulani was in 1998, when Kalama retired; he died the following year. Sonny lamented,"I've worked with so many musicians, and the funny thing is, they're all gone. All of the people I worked with, men and women, unbelievable, they're all gone. All of them are dead." His chugging 'on the 8th's' style of rhythm guitar was learned from the Western musicians he heard in Hollywood, and utilized the distinctive old school swing beat til the end of his career. Vocally, he had a range stretching from a sweet falsetto to a smooth baritone, even utilizing a basso profundo at times just for fun and emphasis. As a multi-dimensional talent, he also wrote many wonderful songs and put out LPs and CDs that will stand as superior long past his life. Steel wise, he was most unique, nobody had a dreamy style like Sonny's. He stuck with the D9th for the most part, often using his old Rickenbacher Bakelite B6, but also having Barney Isaacs' E13 on top of his D8 Stringmaster (Mel Abe's old blonde). He could be a one-man-band when he had to, utilizing his steel in an flicking rhythmic strum that kept the songs flowing while interjecting his melody steel lines and accompanying it all with his fabulous singing. In later years he'd do this for residents in care homes nearby. "He was so giving and caring," said wife Margaret Kamahele.
He earned Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts in both 1993 and 1996.
After his early retirement, he and wife Margret moved to the big island of Hawaii and too soon after passed away at age 82. Moments before he died, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom (grand daughter of Napua Woodd) sang "Sweet Little Baby" over the phone and were the last words he heard from those outside his family. The song was composed by Sam Koki, Gilliom's step-grandfather and Sonny's longtime compatriot. Soria said Kamahele sang the song with Koki while he was living in Los Angeles. Earlier, singer Melveen Leed sang "Kanaka Waiwai" to Kamahele over the phone yesterday. "It was one of his favorites," said Leed, a noted talent herself, and longtime friend of Sonny.
For all who knew or saw him perform, he was the epitome of the grand Hawaiian trouper in the Golden Age of Hawaiian music. They no longer exist except in fading memories and recordings, and there was nobody quite like Sonny Kamahele. He was a special guy, in a special place, during some special times that will never be seen again.
Sonny can be heard here in an interview by Territorial Airwaves' DJ/historian, Harry B. Soria
http://www.territorialairwaves.com/inde ... 4&start=14
For a fine starter per Sonny's later output that may still be found in print, try his wonderful 'Beautiful Hawaii' CD.
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Yep, there was nobody like Benny, on or off the stage.