Category: Music

Felix Cavaliere, a member of The Rascals and co-writer of the group’s popular “My Hawaii”  hit from the past, has re-recorded the tune with Dolly Parton.

The song, co-composed by the group’s lead singer Eddie Brigati, was a staple in the bands for years, and apparently was written  and recorded by The Rascals, formerly The Young Rascals,  following concerts in the islands.

The revival soon will be available for downloading and streaming as a benefit for the Maui United Way’s Maui Fire Disaster Relief Fund. I have heard the 2024 version sung and it is a splendid fundraiser for the 2023 wildfire tragedy that erased the Lahaina waterfront businesses and left hundreds homeless and more than 100 killed.

Cavaliere solicited  the kokua of Parton on vocals, to join the effort to provide financial assistance to the Maui community members whose businesses and residences, including the thriving Lahaina waterfront, were devastated in the wildfire.

Both Cavaliere and The Rascals, and country singer and iconic entertainer Dolly Parton, have had ties with the islands, and singing “My Hawaii,” with lyrics that mention Maui, was a natural means of creating a meaningful homage to the Valley Island.

“The song ‘My Hawaii’ is a token of love and gratitude to the people of Hawaii, especially Maui,” said Cavaliere.

The Rascals visited Hawaii for the first time in August of 1966 to perform at “The First Teen Fair”, a five-day event held from Aug. 24 to 28  at the Hawaii International Center (HIC)  Exhibition Hall, where admission was $1.  Because of terrific fan response, promoter Tom Moffatt rebooked The Rascals for five more sell-out gigs at the HIC Arena (now the Neal Blaisdell Center) between 1967 and 1969.

In August of 1967, following an arena show, Moffatt staged  a Neighbor Island tour, enchanting fans on Maui, Kauai and The Big Island.

Legend has it that Cavaliere and Brigati penned “My Hawaii” after a performance on Aug.10, 1967, at the Maui War Memorial Auditorium.

“My Hawaii,” introduced on The Rascals’ 1968 album, “Once Upon a Dream,” never was a single release, but it found an audience, particularly in the islands.

A Hawaii group, The Krush, adopted “My Hawaii” for its island shows, including the Main Showroom of the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel.

In recent years, Cavalier, minus The Rascals, performed at the Blue Note Hawaii club, which previously was the Main Showroom, at the Outrigger Waikiki resort.

It’s uncertain how Cavaliere was able to access the services of Parton to make “My Hawaii” a two-voice special. 

Parton had both musical and business ties to Hawaii. She concertized at Conroy Bowl at Schofield Barracks in May 1976 for a military audience, and headlined a Blaisdell Arena show in 1987. She also launched a restaurant, Dockside Plantation, a waterfront destination at the Hawaii Kai Shopping Center, which operated for nearly a year and a half.

The remake of “My Hawaii” is a crisp, fascinating find, rejuvenating one of the grand hit tracks from the past. Both Cavaliere and Parton take turns, articulating the lyrics, which have everlasting appeal; and midway in the song, there’s recitation of the words—rich with aloha, resourceful in tapping emotions. For a fund-raiser, this is fabulous in tapping emotions and nudging the heart.

However, I’ve been awaiting a link from Maui United Way that will enable supporters to hear the tune, with a gorgeous video of the beauty and the magic that is Hawaii (Cavaliere and Parton are not shown performing the tune), to download for streaming with a donation to support the Maui fundraising effort. If and when I receive that info, I will update this report and share the link…

Update: the tune has landed on YouTube, and here’s the link:

And that’s Show Biz…

March 20 is Robert Cazimero’s “39^th” birthday, and he’s traditionally celebrating the whole month.

One “party” was his Full Moon concert last night (March 3), at Chef Chai’s, his monthly sold-out gig. But more on this later.

Cazimero, pictured below, is kumu hula of Halau Na Kamalei O Likolehua, the all-gents group of dancers, and the halau and its leader are staging a benefit  for the halau at 7:30 p.m. March 17 at Leeward Community Theatre.

Themed “Pae ‘Aina,” the show – still in planning and rehearsing mode – will feature an all-kahiko for Act 1, according to kumu. A unique Act 2 will assemble the halau troupers in three groups (senior dancers, mid-range dancers, and newbie-younger dancers), to reflect the spectrum of the halau members, according to Cazimero.

The show is sort of a prelude to next year’s milestone for kumu Cazimero –- “my 50^th anniversary as a hula teacher,” he said —  and the halau will return to the Merrie Monarch Festival in 2025. So, it will be a memorable niche in the halau’s history…

But back to Cazimero’s show at Chai’s. It was a marvelous overview including usual serenades of Hawaiian music, in Hawaiian and in English, plus a nostalgic roster of pop tunes. The result; a lei laced with layers of memories and remembrances, of joy and humor, and nostalgic anecdotes from the past.

Robert Cazimero, on keyboards, with dancer Fern (Kapalai ‘Ula Silva).

Examples:

• The first song he learned with brother Roland, before they became part of Sunday Manoa and then The Brothers Cazimero was “The Nearness of You,” emblematic of their bond that would establish the bros as a bona fide Waikiki entity, for several decades, including their 1982 to 1994 residency at the Monarch Room, at the fabled “Pink Palace,” aka the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Naturally, Cazimero sang “Royal Hawaiian Hotel,” a classic melody combining Hawaiian and English lyrics.
• The mentors who taught him chords and the tricks of the piano were the legendary Mahi Beamer and Loyal Garner.
• Tunes still lodged in his memory book, from visits to Disneyland in the past: “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo,”  and he sang ‘em all. Even “Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse,” the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song that today’s kids don’t know.

Bully (Keola Makaiau), dancing to “Leahi,” but victim of a mistake.

• His playful moments with featured hula dancers Fern (Kapalai ‘Ula Silva) and Bully (Keola Makaiau) reflected comradery; she was the focus of “Lovely Hula Hands,” with her hula hands graceful as the birds mentioned in the tune; he was the victim of making an error in enacting “Leahi,” the melody about Diamond Head, and the playful miscue meant the dancer had to buy the singer-pianist a drink.
• The drink led to the obvious toast and tune, “Drinking Champagne,” with intermittent pauses for Cazimero to take a sip of bubbly.

Don’t expect to hear these songs or chit-chats in future Full Moon Concerts at Chai’s, since Cazimero never repeats and regurgitates his patter and patterns. You get an original each time he’s at bat…

And that’s Show Biz…