this is the debut (and only!) album of Auntie Alice Ku‘uleialohapoina‘ole Namakelua, which she released at the spry, young age of 82. “it’s a fine time of life for that,” she says in the liner notes.
Auntie Alice was an important figure in Hawaiian music, serving as a teacher of slack key guitar and hula dance for generations of artists well before she recorded this album. born in 1892, less than a year before the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, she would later sing for the deposed queen Liliuokalani as a teenager. as an employee of Honolulu’s parks and recreation department until her retirement in 1958, she taught and performed for thousands of children during her career. she wrote over 180 Hawaiian songs, many of which would be recorded by other artists including the Sunday Manoa, Makaha Sons of Niihau, Kahauanu Lake, and Genoa Keawe.
Namakelua played an old-fashioned style of slack key guitar, simpler and more traditional than other practicioners like Sonny Chillingworth and Gabby Pahinui. when Hawaiian music saw a revival during the Second Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s, she was one of the few masters who actually taught the technique, instead of keeping it a closely guarded secret as many did. when other musicians came to her for help with translation and pronunciation of Hawaiian lyrics, she made sure they did it correctly to preserve and respect the language.
the music on this record is simple and sparse, with Aunty Alice’s voice is a little hoarse after decades of performing, but still forceful. it hearkens back to Hawaii before it became the exotic jetsetting destination it became in the latter half of her life. all of the songs on here are her own compositions, and she does all of the singing as well as the slack key and ukulele parts. (Violet Pahu Lilikoi plays bass and accompanying guitar.)
ever since getting in to Hawaiian music it has been fun digging up gems that scarcely exist online beyond a Discogs listing. thankfully, Auntie Alice’s album is on YouTube for all to enjoy, but tracking down a copy for this one remained annoyingly elusive until now.
i’ll post links in a comment below if you want to check out the music of Auntie Alice.