The music by the great bands and musicians of Hawai‘i didn’t stop as their kingdom was overthrown. Performing in exhibitions in the United States and beyond in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hawaiian musicians looked for support for the monarchy while spreading their unique style of string band music to millions of people.
“When most people talk about the origin of traditional American music, they talk about the 1920s, but these guys were crisscrossing the continental United States in the 1870s and 1880s nonstop,” says Kilin Reece, luthier and owner of KR Strings in Kailua. Reece, who also founded the nonprofit Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings, has been researching the impacts of these musicians since 2014.
String band music emphasizes guitar accompanied by ‘ukulele, mandolin, banjo, violin, and sometimes flute. This ensemble style, which was spread around the world by Hawaiian musicians, influenced country, bluegrass, Western swing, and jazz music, which everybody thinks of as American, Reece says, but his research shows have deep roots in the Kingdom of Hawai‘i.
One person at the forefront of this movement was Mekia Kealakai. A gifted musician who studied under Royal Hawaiian Band conductor Henry Berger at a reform school in Honolulu, Kealakai learned guitar, trombone, piano, and flute. After graduating at age 15, Kealakai was recruited into the Royal Hawaiian Band, where he played until the overthrow in 1893. Kealakai quit to show support for the monarchy and became part of the Hawaiian National Band, made up largely of Native Hawaiian former Royal Hawaiian Band members, which went on tour of the continental U.S.. Kealakai later joined other bands and toured the United States and Europe for more than 20 years. He met his wife, hula dancer Mele Nawa‘aheihei, at the 1901 World’s Fair in New York, and they performed together in London, Paris, and Cannes.
During Kealakai’s travels, he composed songs inspired by his homeland such as “Wai‘alae,” “Kawaihau Waltz,” “E Pele E,” and “Kō Leo.” Perhaps his most famous composition, though, is “Lei ‘Awapuhi,” inspired by passing fields of daisies he saw from a train. The song continues to be recorded by Hawaiian artists.
In 1915, Kealakai collaborated with Martin Guitar Company while in New York to produce the ancestor of the famous dreadnought guitar, giving it a larger body for louder sound and a raised bridge for slide playing. Kealakai was also lifelong friends with Joseph Kekuku, the inventor of the steel guitar. The dreadnought would go on to be played by Johnny Cash, Paul McCartney, Hank Williams, and Elvis Presley.
“As I started to really get into Mekia’s story, it became clear to me that he and his generation had really done something incredible and had never received credit for it,” Reece says. “I feel like the more important conversation to have now is how did this cultural concept of sound and music and dance in Hawaiian communities, going back thousands of years, how did that vision of sound and song shape and influence the way people were playing instruments and playing music and ultimately the very design of those instruments?” Reece says.
In 1920, Kealakai was called back home to Hawai‘i, a new territory of the United States, by Honolulu mayor John Wilson. “Hawai‘i needs you to help preserve her music,” Wilson told him. The islands’ music was losing its authenticity as hapa-haole (half-foreign) Hawaiian songs became mainstream, exacerbated by a government that had discouraged Hawaiian language. Kealakai returned to the islands from Europe and became conductor of the Royal Hawaiian Band from 1920 to 1926 and 1930 to 1932, emphasizing Hawaiian songs and composing “Nā Lani ‘Ehā.”
“He placed the focus back on this string ensemble style of Kingdom-period and Hawaiian-language songs, Hawaiian-language composers,” Reece says. “And he continued to be a prolific composer until the end of his life.”
A gifted musician at the turn of the 19th century, Mekia Kealakai (1867–1944), below, was at the forefront of Hawaiian music.
The Honolulu Students. Left to right, Lui Keouli Thompson, William Holoua; seated, Mme. Anehila.
An unidentified hula dancer with a 6-string acoustic guitar, a favored implement that would circle the globe with Hawaiian hula troupes in the later decades of the 19th century.
Kalākaua Coronation Celebration parade and Royal Hawaiian Band, followed by Keoneula Boys Industrial School, February 12th, 1883. Kealakai is seen playing trombone.
Saint Louis College Glee Club, circa 1900.
The Honolulu Students, circa 1907. String band music emphasizes guitar accompanied by ‘ukulele, cello, guitars, and sometimes the flute. Lui Keouli Thompson, the uncle of Duke Kahanamoku, led the band with his violin and baritone vocals.
Early Hawaiian hula dancers and musicians pose for a studio portrait.
The music by the great bands and musicians of Hawai‘i didn’t stop as their kingdom was overthrown. Performing in exhibitions in the United States and beyond in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hawaiian musicians looked for support for the monarchy while spreading their unique style of string band music to millions of people.
“When most people talk about the origin of traditional American music, they talk about the 1920s, but these guys were crisscrossing the continental United States in the 1870s and 1880s nonstop,” says Kilin Reece, luthier and owner of KR Strings in Kailua. Reece, who also founded the nonprofit Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings, has been researching the impacts of these musicians since 2014.
String band music emphasizes guitar accompanied by ‘ukulele, mandolin, banjo, violin, and sometimes flute. This ensemble style, which was spread around the world by Hawaiian musicians, influenced country, bluegrass, Western swing, and jazz music, which everybody thinks of as American, Reece says, but his research shows have deep roots in the Kingdom of Hawai‘i.
One person at the forefront of this movement was Mekia Kealakai. A gifted musician who studied under Royal Hawaiian Band conductor Henry Berger at a reform school in Honolulu, Kealakai learned guitar, trombone, piano, and flute. After graduating at age 15, Kealakai was recruited into the Royal Hawaiian Band, where he played until the overthrow in 1893. Kealakai quit to show support for the monarchy and became part of the Hawaiian National Band, made up largely of Native Hawaiian former Royal Hawaiian Band members, which went on tour of the continental U.S.. Kealakai later joined other bands and toured the United States and Europe for more than 20 years. He met his wife, hula dancer Mele Nawa‘aheihei, at the 1901 World’s Fair in New York, and they performed together in London, Paris, and Cannes.
During Kealakai’s travels, he composed songs inspired by his homeland such as “Wai‘alae,” “Kawaihau Waltz,” “E Pele E,” and “Kō Leo.” Perhaps his most famous composition, though, is “Lei ‘Awapuhi,” inspired by passing fields of daisies he saw from a train. The song continues to be recorded by Hawaiian artists.
In 1915, Kealakai collaborated with Martin Guitar Company while in New York to produce the ancestor of the famous dreadnought guitar, giving it a larger body for louder sound and a raised bridge for slide playing. Kealakai was also lifelong friends with Joseph Kekuku, the inventor of the steel guitar. The dreadnought would go on to be played by Johnny Cash, Paul McCartney, Hank Williams, and Elvis Presley.
“As I started to really get into Mekia’s story, it became clear to me that he and his generation had really done something incredible and had never received credit for it,” Reece says. “I feel like the more important conversation to have now is how did this cultural concept of sound and music and dance in Hawaiian communities, going back thousands of years, how did that vision of sound and song shape and influence the way people were playing instruments and playing music and ultimately the very design of those instruments?” Reece says.
In 1920, Kealakai was called back home to Hawai‘i, a new territory of the United States, by Honolulu mayor John Wilson. “Hawai‘i needs you to help preserve her music,” Wilson told him. The islands’ music was losing its authenticity as hapa-haole (half-foreign) Hawaiian songs became mainstream, exacerbated by a government that had discouraged Hawaiian language. Kealakai returned to the islands from Europe and became conductor of the Royal Hawaiian Band from 1920 to 1926 and 1930 to 1932, emphasizing Hawaiian songs and composing “Nā Lani ‘Ehā.”
“He placed the focus back on this string ensemble style of Kingdom-period and Hawaiian-language songs, Hawaiian-language composers,” Reece says. “And he continued to be a prolific composer until the end of his life.”
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