Marlene Sai
Encyclopedia
Marlene Sai Hawaii's classic-style female solo singer. Born in Honolulu, Hawai'i and of Hawaiian-Chinese heritage. The San Francisco Chronical refers to Marlene Sai as one of the true icons of the islands. The Santa Cruz Centennial refers to Sai as a living legend of Hawaiian music. PBS Hawaii's Leslie Wilcox says of Sai "There are only a handful of true divas in Hawaiian music, women who wrap their powerful voices with grace, elegance and beauty. You can add to the list Marlene Sai."

Early years

Sai is from Kaimuki, Hawaii
Kaimuki, Hawaii
Kaimukī is a residential neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States.-History:In the 19th century the area was a farm of King Kalākaua, where ostriches roamed wild over the mountain side. It later became the site of a carnation farm for funeral flowers...

 and a product of the Kamehameha school
Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools , formerly called Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate , is a private co-educational college-preparatory institution that specializes in Native Hawaiian language and cultural education. It is located in Hawaii and operates three campuses: Kapālama , Pukalani , and Keaau...

 system. She released her first record in 1959. Sai was taught the basics of singing and mentored by her uncle Andy Cummings, considered another legend of Hawaiian singing and songwriting. Cummings taught his niece the love song "Kainoa" written by his friend Jimmy Taka when he found out he was dying of cancer. The song was for his wife. Cummings put the song down on paper and later taught it to his then-teenage niece, Marlene Sai. "Kainoa" went on to become Sai's first hit and title for her debut album. Sai was discovered by Hawaiian entertainer Don Ho
Don Ho
Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho was a Hawaiian and traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer.-Life and career:Ho, of Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako, but he grew up in Kāneohe on the windward side of the island of Oahu...

 before he was famous while managing his mother's restaurant lounge Honey's in Kaneohe on the island of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

.

Singing

Marlene Sai, just out of high school, became a teenage recording star. Sai toured Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in 1962 and has an extensive following there. In 2007 Sai hosted the 23rd annual Ka Himeni Ana singing contest at the Hawai'i Theatre.
In 2008, Sai performed in concert in New York City at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

. Sai's album Kainoa was considered 21st out of 50 of the all time great albums of Hawaii by Honolulu Magazine 2004. In the article it states that It wasn't recorded under the most ideal circumstances. When she signed with Sounds of Hawai'i, the new label hadn't even finished building its studio. Kainoa was recorded inside the bus depot once located on King Street. "We recorded late at night, when it was quiet, buses weren't moving and you hoped an airplane didn't fly overhead," Sai says. "But I had Sonny Chillingworth
Sonny Chillingworth
Edwin Bradfield Liloa Chillingworth, Jr., known as Sonny Chillingworth, was an American guitarist. Widely influential in Hawaiian music, he played slack-key guitar and is widely regarded as one of the most influential slack key guitarists in history.-Life:Chillingworth was born in Oahu in Hawaii,...

 on slack key
Slack-key guitar
Slack-key guitar is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii. Its name refers to its characteristic open tunings: the English term is a translation of the Hawaiian kī hōalu, which means "loosen the [tuning] key"...

 and Don Ho
Don Ho
Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho was a Hawaiian and traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer.-Life and career:Ho, of Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako, but he grew up in Kāneohe on the windward side of the island of Oahu...

 on the organ behind me, so we still had a ball."

Records and CDs

  • Kainoa 1959
  • Sweet Someone
  • Best Of Marlene Sai 1967
  • Hana Hou
  • Not Pau
  • Marlene Sai 1985
  • I Love You 1994
  • Mele No Ka `Oe 1996
  • Marlene & Mahela 1999
  • Legacy 2010

Acting

In 1986, Sai played Makua Wahine Luka in the TV series Magnum PI.
In 1987, Sai starred in a one-actress play called Hear Me, O My People. In it she portrayed Queen Lili'uokalani. She was also invited to perform the play for members of the United States Congress at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D. C..
Sai also portrayed Queen Lili'uokalani, Hawaii's last monarch in the PBS documentary Betrayal. The made for TV film premiered in Hawaii on January 17, 1993, on the 100th anniversary of the overthrow it depicted. Sai portrayed Bloody Mary in the 2007-2008 Hawaii Opera Theatre's production of South Pacific in Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu, Hawai'i. In 2008 Sai starred in the dinner show This Is Hawai'i at the Hale Koa Hotel.

Recognition and awards

In 1986, Sai received the The Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts
Hawai'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:*...

(HARA) Na Hoku Hanohano Award for 'Best Female Vocalist' In 1987, Sai was given the "Po'okela Award" from the Hawaii State Theatre Council for her portrayal of Queen Lili'uokalani in a one-actress play called Hear Me, O My People.
In 2004, HARA honored her with Na Hoku Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award for her accomplishments in music and recording. In September 2007, she was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame by the Hawaiian Music Foundation. Her first LP release "Kainoa" was included in the book "The 50 Greatest Hawaii Albums."

Other interest

Sai is currently president of the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts and on the board of the Honolulu Boys Choir and the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts
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