Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiians

A former law student, educated at Loyola University, Harry Owens started his first band at the Lafayette Cafe in Los Angeles in 1926. He became a leading exponent of Hawaiian music once he arrived in the islands in 1934 and became enamored with the local scene. His song "Aloha Oe" was heard by the manager of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, who asked Owens to establish a house orchestra at his resort. Owens obliged, and, abandoning western-style music, totally embraced Hawaiian culture -- music in particular -- transcribing many traditional songs for the first time. He was also instrumental in popularising the steel guitar. Owens took his 'Royal Hawaiians' (mainly made up from local musicians and including regular vocalists Hilo Hattie and Alfred Apaka) on several successful tours of the U.S. West Coast. This included a return to his old haunt at the Cocoanut Grove and engagements at the Mural Room of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Owens made prolific recordings for Decca, Capitol and Columbia and enjoyed being regularly showcased on the radio show 'Hawaii Calls' (from 1935, complete with ocean sounds emanating from Waikiki Beach for added authenticity) and had his own show on CBS television from 1949 to 1958. Musicians with the Royal Hawaiians included Kenny Allen (voc), Gil Mershon (voc), Henry Jaworski (vl) and Al Galante (g). He also had a vocal backing group, the 'Royal Hawaiian Sweethearts'.

His most famous composition and signature song was "Sweet Leilani" (inspired by the birth of his daughter), crooned by Bing Crosby, which won the Oscar for Best Song, after being featured in the film Waikiki Wedding (1937). It remained top of the charts for twenty-eight weeks and has sold more than twenty million copies to date. Among more than 300 songs written or transcribed by Owens are such popular compositions as "Voice of the Trade Winds", "Blue Shadows and White Gardenias", "Linger Awhile", "Hawaii Calls" and "Polynesian Holiday". Owens was also credited with helping to reinvigorate the tourist industry in Hawaii. In 1987, he was honoured with the Na Hoku Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowed by the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA), a year after his death at the age of eighty-four.