FAVORITE SON
Eddie Kamae releases his first music album in 25 years with a new version of the legendary Sons of Hawaii, and the new boys sound pretty darn good. And Eddie, well, he’s still Eddie
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that fall in Waikiki.
But the show-stopper is E Ku`u Morning Dew, the now-classic ballad composed by Kamae and Larry Kimura. The Sons first recorded it in 1975 with Moe Keale singing lead. It has since been recorded by many singers, but none with the heart-felt expression and honesty of its original composer.
Kamae’s now-deeper, well-aged voice resonates with sincerity and sweetness as you’ve never heard before. It’s a nahenahe (sweet and melodic) and chicken-skin moment. Put it on “repeat” play. Once is not enough, for this is the master’s voice.
During the “quiet” period, Kamae turned his focus to filmmaking as a way to preserve voices and stories that probed the sources of Hawaiian tradition. Kamae and his wife developed and produced nine documentaries, which today are part of the award-winning Hawaiian Legacy Series and the cultural curriculum in Hawaii’s public school system.
Education is one of Kamae’s top priorities. He says, “I do it for the children. They are the future of Hawaii. I want them to know the sights, sounds and voices of authentic Hawaiian culture.”
Kamae devoted the past four decades to searching the archives and interviewing Hawaiian kupuna (elders).
“These materials don’t exist anywhere else,” Kamae says. “So many of the people are gone now. When I’m finished, I want to make sure serious researchers can use all of the material. If they use them properly, people will continue to learn from them and our culture will live on.”
He adds, “So often our young people and newcomers don’t know about the old ways. How are people going to know what life was like? How are our children going to learn about the values - respect for each other, for the land and for where they came from? How are they going to know what their music is really about? How are they going to know their culture? You have to show them, with stories they can see and hear for themselves.”
So at a time when most seniors kick back to enjoy the sunset of life in leisure and retirement, Kamae is busier than ever. Two more film projects are already in the works, one called Those Who Came Before about Kamae’s teachers of Hawaiian culture, and a second called Feeding the Soul about Big Island master of Hawaiian medicine, Papa Henry Auwae.
His Feb. 26 DVD release, Lahaina: Waves of Change, rediscovers West Maui’s rich past of more than 200 years and examines its place in contemporary society. It will be shown at the Kamehameha Schools Film Festival Feb. 9 and on Hawaii Public Television Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Inevitably, there will be sound-tracks from Kamae’s rich repertoire of traditional Hawaiian music. Although that music comes from a time past, there’s a timeless quality that transcends the ages.
Music producer-composer Jon de Mello says, “Eddie’s songs always find the heart of the subject and then take the listener on a journey. His music is accessible to the listener, and this is the main component of why his success has lasted decades. His talent is instinctive as well as skilled.”
Kamae is a musician’s musician. Friend and admirer Lloyd Kawakami of Manoa DNAstates, “Eddie brings a certain degree of integrity and simplicity to each of his songs. I also enjoy listening to the stories that make each composition so unique and special.”
So turn up the volume on Yesterday & Today and listen to musical messiah Eddie Kamae.
Because he is Hawaii defined.
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