 |
Kui Lee and Don Ho |
Lloyd*AloHHHa
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Feb 20, 2013
Posts: 17
From: San Diego (now living in Elk Grove, CA)
|  Posted: 2013-03-01 8:20 pm Permalink
I used to listen to and sing along with songs by Kui Lee and Don Ho back when I was a small boy, my pop would play us their records and have us sing along (my dad is from Makaha, Oahu & now lives in Pearl City, HI). I was wondering if there are other Kui Lee & Don Ho fans out there in Tikiland??? SUCK EM' UP!!! E Le Ka Lei Lei!!!
_________________
All is Aloha and Aloha is all!
|
Trailerpark Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 27, 2010
Posts: 321
From: Las Vegas
| Posted: 2013-03-02 09:07 am Permalink
Well, not all the folks here appreciate that genre and some say it isn't 'tiki'. But I also grew up on Don Ho and Kui Lee. In fact, Kui Lee songs touch me very deeply because I know the story of Kui and how he passed away much too young. My grandfather had a house in Nanakuli, so I have some roots on the Leeward side of the island too. Kui Lee was one of the great Hawaiian composers of my generation and although his music wasn't traditional Hawaiian it is a time capsule of that period during the 1960's.
|
lucas vigor
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 12, 2004
Posts: 3453
From: "I've chopped my way through real jungle
| Posted: 2013-03-02 09:59 am Permalink
Count me as a fan. To me, Don Ho IS TIKI!
|
Hale Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 19, 2004
Posts: 1381
From: Pittsburgh
| Posted: 2013-03-02 10:58 am Permalink
Looking up Kui Lee now...
|
Lloyd*AloHHHa
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Feb 20, 2013
Posts: 17
From: San Diego (now living in Elk Grove, CA)
| Posted: 2013-03-02 2:44 pm Permalink
Oh yeah! Since I have Hawaiian roots, I have some say on what is "Tiki" and what is not. Just like Mid-Century-Modern meshes well with Tiki-culture, music from that era qualifies too, especially if it was played live for people at the lounges that served Tiki cocktails to begin with! 
These are the albums that I remember and now own:
[ This Message was edited by: Lloyd*AloHHHa 2013-03-02 14:59 ]
|
lucas vigor
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 12, 2004
Posts: 3453
From: "I've chopped my way through real jungle
| Posted: 2013-03-02 5:37 pm Permalink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdwLInEvTXo
_________________
http://soundcloud.com/lucas-vigor/sets/set-3/
"yer jus not tuned into the series of tubes yet, let it soak in".
|
Hale Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 19, 2004
Posts: 1381
From: Pittsburgh
| Posted: 2013-03-02 9:28 pm Permalink
Thanks lucasvigor.
In watching that, two things happened.
1. I couldn't help but notice how ugly those kids were.
2. I couldn't help but smile at Don & Sam.
Short story about Don Ho. So I host a tiki night once a month here in Pittsburgh, which generally, isn't tiki friendly. So one night, there's a woman in the bar, an older local. She was decked head to toe in sports gear. Well, she was a few sheets to the wind, and was quite angry at the music I was playing. She asked where all the lyrics were. (I was playing exotica and tahittian music.) When I told her that I wouldn't play the beatles, she became very angry for a moment, and then asked if I could play some Don Ho. Well, two songs later, I cued up Tiny Bubbles. And I'll be damned if her mood didn't change. She smiled, danced a little, and sang right along...
|
Lloyd*AloHHHa
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Feb 20, 2013
Posts: 17
From: San Diego (now living in Elk Grove, CA)
| Posted: 2013-03-02 11:42 pm Permalink
Wasn't that clip from the Brady Bunch? I never knew they had a guest appearance on that show???
_________________
All is Aloha and Aloha is all!
|
Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4806
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2013-03-04 09:42 am Permalink
Kui Lee worked at the Mai-Kai and Yankee Clipper Polynesian Room before heading back to Hawaii and fame. You'll hear more at Hukilau by Tiki Tom D and in my book, shoudl it ever get finished. But, Kui Lee left his mark on the Mai-Kai to this day.
_________________
Mai-Kai Memories Series Custom ceramic mugs!
|
Lloyd*AloHHHa
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Feb 20, 2013
Posts: 17
From: San Diego (now living in Elk Grove, CA)
| Posted: 2013-03-05 6:43 pm Permalink
You're SO right about that, Swanky! Mahalo for that, bruddah!
Don Ho is SO Tiki that they even made him into a mug! 
Very interesting! I didn't know this either, Swanky! "My research into the history of the Mai-Kai has uncovered that the idea was imagined in 1958 by Assitant Manager Leonce Picot to promote the new Molokai Lounge. The actual carving that was the design of this bowl, was created by the famous songwriter Kui Lee (Don Ho's "I'll Remember You" , etc.). What the Mai-Kai created then has become a signature of the Tiki world and is enjoyed there to this day." (from: http://www.swankpad.org/dada/mail.cgi/archive/SwankPP/20120725170303/ )
_________________
All is Aloha and Aloha is all!
[ This Message was edited by: Lloyd*AloHHHa 2013-03-05 22:15 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Lloyd*AloHHHa 2013-03-05 22:37 ]
|
Hale Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 19, 2004
Posts: 1381
From: Pittsburgh
| Posted: 2013-03-06 10:09 am Permalink
Quote:
|
On 2013-03-05 18:43, Lloyd*AloHHHa wrote:
Very interesting! I didn't know this either, Swanky! "My research into the history of the Mai-Kai has uncovered that the idea was imagined in 1958 by Assitant Manager Leonce Picot to promote the new Molokai Lounge. The actual carving that was the design of this bowl, was created by the famous songwriter Kui Lee (Don Ho's "I'll Remember You" , etc.). What the Mai-Kai created then has become a signature of the Tiki world and is enjoyed there to this day." (from: http://www.swankpad.org/dada/mail.cgi/archive/SwankPP/20120725170303/ )
[ This Message was edited by: Lloyd*AloHHHa 2013-03-05 22:37 ]
|
|
I didn't know that! That's awesome. Thanks for the info Swanky (via Lloyd)!
|
