It is that time of year again, when fans of recorded Hawaiian music turn their attention to awards ceremonies, in particular the Grammy Awards.

This month, (Feb. 8) for the third time, a Hawaiian music CD will win a coveted Grammy award. For many, that is even more important than the local, popular "people's" award from the Music Foundation of Hawai`i, or the local "Hoku" awards from members of the Hawai`i Academy of Recording Arts.  After all, the Grammy Awards (originally, the Gramophone Awards, has been around a long time. This month marks the 49th year that the awards have been given.

The Hoku awards are voted on by peers of the local recording artists.  And the MFH "people's choice" awards are chosen by the buying public.  You'd think those two would be more important to local artists than a selection process that culminates in voting by members of a national academy, most of whom have never heard of the local Hawai`i aritsts or their recordings, and most will not have heard or even seen the nominated entries.

Not to detract from the quality of the winning recordings or talents of the artists, but the previous winners in the Hawaiian music category aced out such well-known local artists as The Brothers Cazimero, Ho`okena, Amy Gilliom & Willy K, Keali`i Reichel, Raitea Helm, Kapono Beamer, Sonny Lim (who was on the first winner) and Ledward Ka`apana (who was on the second CD to win, but whose nominated solo CD lost in the final balloting).

Most of the 17,000 voting members of NARAS have never heard of any of these artists or their recordings. And there are only a small number of voting NARAS members in Hawai`i nei.

But national recognition in a well-established institution seems to win out in the minds of local artists, producers and recording companies. The Grammy is the award most worth seeking, it seems.  And local artists, their producers, and their labels, spend a huge amount of money to meet the requirements of NARAS.  It means manufacturing more copies, being sure they are distributed on the Mainland, and trying to win the votes of people who have never heard of you before and who may have no interest whatsoever in your music of choice, Hawaiian music.

A standard is set by a NARAS committee and to qualify, at least 75 percent of the music on a recording must be "Hawaiian."

That is not to say that it has to be chanted, or even in the Hawaiian language.  In fact, in the first two years since the "Hawaiian music" category was added, the winning recordings have been instrumental.

There have been questions raised about whether or not the songs performed instrumentally are truly "Hawaiian."  

What makes a song Hawaiian?

Experts have disagreed for many decades on the question of "what is Hawaiian music?'

But if a song that includes a Hawaiian word or place name, or is about a Hawaiian topic, person, or theme, is that song still Hawaiian if there are no lyrics sung?

Is "Honolulu City Lights" a Hawaiian song when performed instrumentally?

If you did not know the title or words and had never heard "Silent Night," would you think that the melody -- performed in an instrumental recording -- is a Christmas song?

Many fans of Hawaiian music feel that songs must be sung (or chanted) to be Hawaiian. Some even feel they must be sung (or chanted) in Hawaiian.

While that may be an all too purist viewpoint in this day and age, we do think that the language is a very important part of Hawaiian music -- from the days when all Hawaiian music was chant, right up to the present when an ever-increasing number of people are speaking (and composing) in Hawaiian.  In the more Hawaiian way of thinking, the mana`o (thought) is more important than the melody.

And we believe there is too much emphasis right now on one genre, slack-key guitar, at the expense of vocals, or instrumentals on the steel guitar, which was invented by a Hawaiian, or the `ukulele, which is thought of all over the world as an Hawaiian instrument.

One solution in the case of the Grammy Awards is to add a second category, for songs that are sung.  Two categories -- one for instrumental Hawaiian music, and one for Hawaiian songs that are sung, whether by a soloist, vocal ensemble, choral group, or a chanter -- or chanters.

When the first "Hawaiian" Grammy went to a slack-key guitar CD, many rushed to produce more slack-key guitar CDs, hoping to win a Grammy. And as you know, the second Grammy in that category went to another slack-key guitar recording.  Some of the top vocal artists lost out in that competition, probably because they were totally unknown to the NARIS voters on the Mainland, and in part because those same voters had at least heard about slack-key guitar, a beautiful and very Hawaiian way of playing.

Click here to read about last year's awards:  Oceanic - Around Town Hawaii - Leisure - Reviews - Ka Mele Hawai`i by Keith and Carmen Haugen - And the Winner Is... Ki Ho`al..   

And click here to read about the very first award to a Hawaiian music recording:  Oceanic - Around Town Hawaii - Leisure - Reviews - Ka Mele Hawai`i by Keith and Carmen Haugen - The GRAMMY for Hawaiian Music


2006 -- this CD (above) became the second slack-key guitar CD to win a Grammy in the Hawaiian music category.  In 2005, the first Hawaiian music recording ever to win a Grammy (below), seems to have set the stage for more slack-key CDs to be recorded and entered in that nationwide competition.  Both featured a variety of artists.


Who is nominated this year?  Well, one of the following recordings will be honored with a Grammy this month, and your guess is as good as ours.  They are all great recordings.  No matter which recording, or which artist(s) win(s), we still think there should be two separate categories.  Is that too much to ask for a competition that has more than 100 different categories?  If you agree, write to NARAS and tell them so.

Here this year's nominees, as listed on the official NARAS web site:

Category 70
Best Hawaiian Music Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)

Generation Hawai'i
Amy Hanaiali'i
[Hanaiali'i Records]

Grandmaster Slack Key Guitar
Ledward Ka'apana
[Rhythm And Roots Records]

The Wild Hawaiian
Henry Kapono
[Eclectic Records]

Hawaiian Slack Key Kings
Various Artists
Chris Lau & Milton Lau, producers
[Rhythm And Roots Records]

Legends Of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar - Live From Maui
Various Artists
Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku, Jr., Paul Konwiser & Wayne Wong, producers
[Daniel Ho Creations]

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