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1.
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I'll Remember You
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Kui Lee
Kona Kai Publishing |
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Written by Kui Lee at the height of his career. Sadly, Kui Lee died of throat cancer at an early age. The song is an expression of his feelings for his large family that he was going to leave behind. George remembers Kui Lee performing at the Kamehameha Schools in the late 60's and remembers Kui Lee for giving him his first professional debut at the Forbidden City on the corner of Kapiolani and Kalakaua Streets at the gateway to Waikiki in 1962.
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2.
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One Paddle Two Paddle
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Kui Lee
Alley Music Corp |
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In the 60's George and his cousin Dexter Gomes and cousin Steve Ho'okano used to paddle for Healani Canoe Club located on the Alawai Canal in Waikiki. This song was written by Kui Lee in the mid 1960's when there was a renewal of interest in canoe paddling and outrigger racing in Hawaii and throughout the world. The Hawaiian canoe has since become a huge icon in the resurgence of the Hawaiian culture. This song is a musical expression of the rising interest in Hawaiian sailing canoes that continued into the 1970's and '80's with the around the world voyages of the Hoku Le'a, the Moku Lele, Hawai'i Loa, and other canoes.
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3.
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Maui Waltz
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Bob Nelson
Criterion Music |
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This Maui island classic was made famous by Loyal Gardner and was written by Robert Nelson who also wrote Hanalei Moon. This song is a favorite among both locals and tourists.
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4.
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Tiny Bubbles
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Leon Pober
Sunbeam Music |
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Another Don Ho classic, probably the most requested song George has played for the last 30 years. It has little to do with Hawaii, but because Don Ho sang it intermingled with other popular Hawaiian songs, people relate Tiny Bubbles to Waikiki, waves washing upon the shore, and drinking Mai Tais on the beach.
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5.
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Lahainaluna
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Kui Lee
Sunbeam Music |
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This Maui island classic was written by Kui Lee when he played music at the Sheraton Hotels located at Kaanapali on Maui in the early 60's. George has taught at Lahainaluna High School for the last seven years and has played this classic for over 30 years.
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6.
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Beautiful Kaua'i
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Rudolph Farden
Munrab Publishing Co. |
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This was written by Randy Farden and has since become a Kaua'i island classic.
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7.
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Pearly Shells
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Webley Edwards, Leon Pober
Criterion Music |
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This classic was made popular by Don Ho in the early 60's and continues to be an island classic sing-along.
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8.
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the Hukilau Song
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Jack Owens
Owens-Kemp Music Co. |
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This classic comes from Lai'e, where the Mormon church members would hold huge fishing gatherings as a show for the tourists in the 30's, 40's, and 50's and has become a classic, too, for beginning hula dancers, especially tourists. Huki means to pull a long rope tied with lau, Hawaiian ti leaves. This was used to scare the fish into a net.
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9.
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Akaka Falls
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Helen Kauinohea Parker
EMI Miller Catalog, Inc. |
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For ten years George lived eleven miles from Akaka Falls in Hilo town on the Big Island of Hawaii. For four years he farmed Chinese root ginger, Hawaiian and Chinese taro, cucumbers, and bananas on the roadway up to Akaka Falls located in the district of Honomu. George also fished for Opu, Dojo, and Opae on the small inlets and streams that led up to Akaka Falls. This song is dedicated to William "Billy Aina" DeMotta, a pure Hawaiian raised by and lave hanai by Portuguese. Billy was born and raised in Honomu and worked on George's Kealia Farm for over twenty-five years. Honomu was also the birthplace of Aunty Edith Kanaka'ole, one of George's mentors.
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10.
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Little Brown Gal
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Don McDiarmid, John Avery Noble,
Wendell Lee Wood / Bourne Co. |
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Here is another island classic written by Don McDiarmid and Lee Wood from the 1950's and continues to be promoted by the Waikiki Kodak Show held at Kapiolani Park.
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11.
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Hanalei Moon
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Bob Nelson
Criterion Music |
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Hawaiians would write songs about special events and places in their lives. This song was written by Bob Nelson, George's mentor and good friend, when Bob played at Princeville in Hanalei, Kaua'i. Bob has also helped guide George through the maze of his musical career and now resides in Arizona with his wife Irene.
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12.
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My Little Grass Shack
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Thomas J. Harrison, John Avery Noble
EMI Miller Catalog, Inc. |
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This song was written by Tommy Harrison, and Johnny Noble in 1933 and made famous by Uncle Tom Lindsey who played for many years in New York City. He finally returned home in the 1980's where he resides in Kealakekua Mauka on the Big Island. This song is reminiscent of the times when Hawaiian families would gather at Honaunau Bay to celebrate birthdays, weddings, graduations, and dedications of canoes for their families.
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