Let’s start our week of Hawaiian musical exploration by going straight to Hawaii’s heart. “Aloha ‘Oe” is a classic straight from the islands’ center. The song was born in 1878 when then-Princess Lili’uokalani witnessed a romantic farewell embrace between two friends — a British Colonel and, according to legend, her sister — and, inspired, began to hum. The tune resembled a familiar melody but Lili’uokalani wrote the words, lyrics that subtly evoke Hawaii’s natural beauty while telling a tale of love.
In this video, some of the greatest superstars of Hawaiian music perform Hawaii’s gretest song, sitting in what surely must be Hawaii’s greatest back yard.
