Harry Owens
Encyclopedia
Harry Owens was an American
composer
, bandleader
and songwriter
.
, Nebraska
. He learned how to play a cornet in a small band on an Indian reservation in Montana
.
, and auditioned a young Bing Crosby.
and his appointment as music director of The Royal Hawaiian Hotel. He set to learning all he could about the local culture by mixing and working with native Hawaiians. He learned many traditional and more modern Hawaiian songs and tunes which he wrote down and orchestrated using Western notation for the first time. Many had never been written down before, much less orchestrated. He reorganized the Royal Hawaiians by splitting the band into Hawaii
an and haole
instrumental sections. His band featured the steel guitar, which had a trademark sound, producing tuneful and rhythmic dance music with a strong Hawaiian flavour. Hilo Hattie
was a featured performer with The Royal Hawaiian Hotel Orchestra. During the 1940s, Owens and his orchestra were featured on the popular Saturday night radio show, Hawaii Calls
.
and Harry began their friendship when both played the Lafayette Cafe in Los Angeles
in 1926. In 1934, Owens wrote Sweet Leilani
to celebrate the birth of his daughter, and made it his signature tune as leader of the Royal Hawaiian Orchestra at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
in Waikiki
. While vacationing in Honolulu with his wife Dixie Lee, Crosby heard the Owens song and asked to include it in his upcoming movie Waikiki Wedding
. Harry was hesitant, but Bing convinced him. Producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
was a hard sell. Hornblow dug in his heels that the song would not be included in the movie. Crosby retreated to the golf course and refused to return until Hornblow agreed to include the song in the movie. Sweet Leilani won Best Song category at the 1938 10th Academy Awards
, and became Crosby's first gold record.
film Cocoanut Grove. The soundtrack also featured the Owens penned songs Dreamy Hawaiian Moon and Cocoanut Grove.
In 1949, Owens started to appear regularly on television. He made regular appearances in California
, both in person and on television. He established the hapa
haole
style of Hawaii music (native music as interpreted by foreigners) which was developed by Sonny Cunha and Johnny Noble
, and he enjoyed significant commercial success with this style of music-making. Owens is credited with about 300 hapa haole songs, many of which remain popular with musicians playing in this style.
Owens was a great advocate of Hawaii and things Hawaiian. He founded a tourism company and music publishing business. He died in Eugene
, Oregon
.
awarded Owens the 1987 Na Hoku Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award for his substantial contributions to the entertainment industry in Hawaii.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
Biography
Harry Robert Owens was born April 18, 1902, in O'NeillO'Neill, Nebraska
O'Neill is a city in Holt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,733 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Holt County.-Geography:O'Neill is located at ....
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. He learned how to play a cornet in a small band on an Indian reservation in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
.
Early years
He worked the vaudeville circuit by age 14. Owens studied for a law career. He started his band in 1926, when he was booked into the Lafayette Cafe in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and auditioned a young Bing Crosby.
Hawaii
The big turning point in his career came in 1934 with his arrival in HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and his appointment as music director of The Royal Hawaiian Hotel. He set to learning all he could about the local culture by mixing and working with native Hawaiians. He learned many traditional and more modern Hawaiian songs and tunes which he wrote down and orchestrated using Western notation for the first time. Many had never been written down before, much less orchestrated. He reorganized the Royal Hawaiians by splitting the band into Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an and haole
Haole
Haole , in the Hawaiian language, is generally used to refer to an individual that fits one of the following: "White person, American, Englishman, Caucasian; American, English; formerly, any foreigner; foreign, introduced, of foreign origin, as plants, pigs, chickens"...
instrumental sections. His band featured the steel guitar, which had a trademark sound, producing tuneful and rhythmic dance music with a strong Hawaiian flavour. Hilo Hattie
Hilo Hattie
Hilo Hattie was born Clarissa "Clara" Haili in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was a Hawaiian singer, hula dancer, actress and comedian of 100% Native Hawaiian ancestry.-Early life and career:...
was a featured performer with The Royal Hawaiian Hotel Orchestra. During the 1940s, Owens and his orchestra were featured on the popular Saturday night radio show, Hawaii Calls
Hawaii Calls
Hawaii Calls was a radio program that ran from 1935 through 1975 that featured live Hawaiian music conducted by Harry Owens, the composer of "Sweet Leilani"...
.
Bing Crosby and Sweet Leilani
Bing CrosbyBing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and Harry began their friendship when both played the Lafayette Cafe in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1926. In 1934, Owens wrote Sweet Leilani
Sweet Leilani
"Sweet Leilani" is a song from the 1937 film, Waikiki Wedding. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and was popularized by Bing Crosby who recorded it in 1935....
to celebrate the birth of his daughter, and made it his signature tune as leader of the Royal Hawaiian Orchestra at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Royal Hawaiian Hotel, also known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific, is a hotel located at 2259 Kalākaua Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. One of the first hotels established in Waikiki, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is considered one of the flagship hotels in Hawaii tourism...
in Waikiki
Waikiki
Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....
. While vacationing in Honolulu with his wife Dixie Lee, Crosby heard the Owens song and asked to include it in his upcoming movie Waikiki Wedding
Waikiki Wedding
Waikiki Wedding is a 1937 musical film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Bing Crosby. Bing plays the part of Tony Marvin, a PR man charged with extolling the virtues of Hawaii. The female lead is Shirley Ross....
. Harry was hesitant, but Bing convinced him. Producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
Arthur Hornblow, Jr. was an American film producer. His father, Arthur Hornblow , was a noted playwright.-Biography:...
was a hard sell. Hornblow dug in his heels that the song would not be included in the movie. Crosby retreated to the golf course and refused to return until Hornblow agreed to include the song in the movie. Sweet Leilani won Best Song category at the 1938 10th Academy Awards
10th Academy Awards
The 10th Academy Awards were held on March 10, 1938 at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California.Originally scheduled to be held on March 3, 1938, the ceremony was postponed due to heavy flooding in Los Angeles...
, and became Crosby's first gold record.
Movies and television
Harry Owens and his Royal Hawaiians played Sweet Leilani in the 1938 Fred MacMurrayFred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
film Cocoanut Grove. The soundtrack also featured the Owens penned songs Dreamy Hawaiian Moon and Cocoanut Grove.
In 1949, Owens started to appear regularly on television. He made regular appearances in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, both in person and on television. He established the hapa
Hapa
Hapa is a Hawaiian language term used to describe a person of mixed Asian or Pacific Islander racial or ethnic heritage.-Etymology:In the Hawaiian language, hapa is defined as: portion, fragment, part, fraction, installment; to be partial, less. It is a loan from the English word half...
haole
Haole
Haole , in the Hawaiian language, is generally used to refer to an individual that fits one of the following: "White person, American, Englishman, Caucasian; American, English; formerly, any foreigner; foreign, introduced, of foreign origin, as plants, pigs, chickens"...
style of Hawaii music (native music as interpreted by foreigners) which was developed by Sonny Cunha and Johnny Noble
Johnny Noble
-Further reading:...
, and he enjoyed significant commercial success with this style of music-making. Owens is credited with about 300 hapa haole songs, many of which remain popular with musicians playing in this style.
Owens was a great advocate of Hawaii and things Hawaiian. He founded a tourism company and music publishing business. He died in Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Recognition
The Hawai'i Academy of Recording ArtsHawai'i Academy of Recording Arts
The Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts is a nonprofit organization formed in 1982 to stimulate interest in the local recording industry and the music of Hawaii.-External links:*...
awarded Owens the 1987 Na Hoku Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award for his substantial contributions to the entertainment industry in Hawaii.