Cliff Edwards - Sweet Leilani - Hawaii Ukulele Ike 1930's 1937

"Sweet Leilani" is a song from the 1937 film, Waikiki Wedding. Harry Owens wrote the song on October 20, 1934, for his daughter Leilani who was born the previous day. Leilani is a popular Hawaiian name, meaning "heavenly garland of flowers" (not "heavenly flower"). It also has a figurative meaning -- small Hawaiian children were carried on their parents' shoulders like a lei (a garland) so the name took on the meaning "heavenly child". It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and was popularized by Bing Crosby who recorded it in 1935. Cliff Edwards (June 14, 1895 -- July 17, 1971), also known as "Ukulele Ike", was an American singer and voice actor who enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standards and novelty tunes. He had a number-one hit with "Singin' in the Rain" in 1929. He also did voices for animated cartoons later in his career, and is best known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's Pinocchio (1940).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• 1920s
• 1930s
• 1940s
• oldies
• pop
• big
• band
• jazz
• blues
• music
• americana
• swing
• crooner
• orchestra
• hawaii
• song
• cliff
• edwards
• sweet
• leilani
• hawaiian
• songs
• ukulele
• ike
• island
• classic
• pacific
• maui
• beach
• 1930's

[SMNONA100]

Thank you for that pure and exquisite voice, Mr Edwards. Thank you warholsoup100 for presenting it.

[thawthepast]

Far out!