The Steel Guitar Forum

Anyone know who wrote the Hawaiian standard "Hana" and when?

Andy,

Are you sure that "Hana" is the actual title (and not just a repeated word in the text)? For my research, I will often go to Google Books and type in a title plus the word "copyright" and that will often give me the beginning of the copyright-record for a song (enough to usually glean the composer and date-of-copyright). However, using "Hana" and "copyright" there turned nothing up. I suppose it could be a very, very old song that was never copyrighted?

Anthony Lis

There is a traditional chant known as the "Hana Chant" which was incorporated into a song by Randy Ngum and Kenneth Makuakane. This song is sometimes known by the same name, "Hana Chant," but also is sometimes called simply "Hana". The first line of the song is "Kaua i ka la'i Hana ke aloha e". Might that be the song you're looking for?

This is the tune. I'm working on a book of B11th arrangements and the old arrangement I'm working from is similar to what Jeff plays here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5m3FwufmAY

Don't know if it's a 40s or 50s standard or if Hana is its official name.

That's a different song from the one I mentioned above. Don't know anything about this one, sorry.

It's on Duke Ching's album ... He's played it many times at HSGA conventions ... Could be a Duke original ?

Duke is the featured "Guest Artist" at this years HSGA Ft. Collins convention ... Oct. 1-3

Digging deep into the All Music Guide, there are hundreds of songs named Hana but they I D Duke as the composer of this one

Don McDiarmid and Robert Miller

DUKE CHING definitely did NOT compose this old Hawaiian standard.

Thanks Derrick. You too Keoki. Easy to see how errors can be perpetuated for years.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/artic ... 80367.html

I believe the cowriter of "Hana" is Don Sr. as opposed to his son for whom the obituary is written.

Derrick, my guess is Robert Miller might be the father of Charles Miller who recorded the song.

Rick Aiello wrote:Could be a Duke original ?

I saw an opportunity to "plug" the Colorado Convention ... And I took it

From The Stecheson Classified Song Directory, via Google Books:

Miller HANA MAUI - 1955

Jeff,

Just listened to Harry B. Soria's show on Charles Kaipo Miller, and Harry mentions that he is named after his dad. Robert Miller could be an uncle?