Swingin' Hawaiian style.............Andy Iona Part 1

Andy Iona

Andy Iona (born Andrew Aiona Long, 1902 - 1966) was an American musician and one of Hawaii's most influential musicians. He was a composer, songwriter, conductor, saxophonist, and steel guitarist. He went to the Kamehameha School for Boys. He was also educated at Henri Berger's Private School of Music in Honolulu.

He was a member of the radio station KHS staff orchestra. He went on to form his own group called Andy Iona and his Islanders, which mixed traditional Hawaiian melodies with American swing; the band appeared in films, hotels, and theatres, and on records. He composed songs for the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers after joining in 1940, and recorded the music for two Soundies in 1941. Long toured with Sonja Henie for 12 years.

He married Leimomi Woodds and had three children.

From: http://www.squareone.org/Hapa/andyiona.html

Andy Iona was born in 1902 in Honolulu. His parents were already skilled Hawaiian music virtuosos from Waimea, Kauai. Young Andy only wanted to compose and perform music and quit Kamehameha School at a young age. He went on to be accepted as a solo saxophonist in the Royal Hawaiian Band and later led Johnny Noble's orchestra at the Moana Hotel.

Andy moved to the mainland in 1921 and later that decade took up the steel guitar. He appeared on the radio on KFI in Los Angeles and then joined the staff of KHJ. He was a gifted performer, arranger and composer. He toured the country and opened the famous Hawaiian Room at the Lexington Hotel in New York, playing there for many years. He scored the film Honolulu, which starred Eleanor Powell, and made dozens of recordings.

His compositions still popular today include "South Sea Island Magic," "Maui Moon," "Million Moons Over Hawaii," "Naughty Hula Eyes," "Sand," and many others.


Biographical material from Tony Todaro, The Golden Years of Hawaiian Entertainment (Tony Todaro Pub., 1974). 

 

Here's some tunez:

An island melody
At Night By The Ocean
Beulah
China Seas
Drinking song of Hawaii
For you a Lei
Hame Pila (version 3)
Hano Hano Hawaii-w/ Sol Hoopi
Hawaii sing to me
Hawaiian Butterfly
Hawaiian Hospitality-w/ Louis Armstrong
Hawaiian Memories (2)
Hawaiian Memories
Heartsick
Hula Girl-
Hula O Ka Aina
I want to learn to speak Hawaiian
I’ve found a little grass skirt
In an old Hawaiian village
Island flowers
Island serenade
Kaua I Ka Huahua`i (Hawaiian war chant)
Keko  
Ku'u Ipo
Let’s go for broke
Loke O Honolulu



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