Kalākaua's Singing Boys , and "Kalākaua's Singing Boys", his own personally headed choir, c. 1889 The choral group formed by the king was named Kalākaua's Singing Boys (
aka King's Singing Boys). It was a minstrel troupe composed of native Hawaiian male musicians. According to Hawaii resident
Isobel Osbourne Strong, wife of artist
Joseph Dwight Strong and stepdaughter of
Robert Louis Stevenson, Kalākaua would often play the
ukulele and perform
mele (songs) for his visitors, accompanied by the Singing Boys. They would often entertain at Healani, the King's Boathouse. Strong recalled the Singing Boys as "the best singers and performers on the ukulele and guitar in the whole islands". The Singing Boys remained active after Kalākaua's 1891 death. In 1893, American journalist
Mary Hannah Krout mentioned attending a performance by Kalākaua's Singing Boys. Krout, who was in Hawaii shortly after the
overthrow of the monarchy, noted: "Their contribution was a song in Hawaiian, written for the occasion, in which the missionaries and
Provisional Government were soundly rated."
Kawaihau Glee Club Leleiohoku founded several royal choral societies, including the 1876 Kawaihau Glee Club composed of 15 members. They were alternately known as the Kawaihau Serenaders. Until Leleiohoku's death at age 22 in 1877, his groups would compete with the singing troupes organized by his sisters Liliʻuokalani and Likelike. In later life, Liliʻuokalani admitted that "those of Prince Leleiohoku were really in advance of those of his two sisters, although perhaps this was due to the fact that the singing-club of the regent was far superior to any that we could organize; it consisted in a large degree of the very purest and sweetest male voices to be found amongst the native Hawaiians." The name of the glee club was later used for a separate Hui Kawaihau, a business group founded by King Kalākaua and his favorites which was involved in sugar cultivation near
Kapaʻa in eastern
Kauai. The song "
Hawaiian War Chant", popularized in the early 20th century by various artists, had its beginnings in "Kāua I Ka Huahuaʻi" (We Two in the Spray), a love song penned by Leleiohoku. The only similarity between the two songs is the melody, which was lifted from Leleiohoku's original stylings. He was an accomplished musician, considered a
virtuoso on the guitar.
Kaohuokalani Singing Club The group founded by Liliʻuokalani and Likelike was known as the "Hui Himeni Kaohuokalani", usually translated as the Kaohuokalani Singing Club or Kaohuokalani Singing Association. One member of the group was
Kapoli Kamakau who co-composed songs with the two royal sisters, but later died of
leprosy at the leper colony of
Kalaupapa. The organization composed a number of
kanikau (dirges) for the funeral of Princess Likelike in 1887, including songs by Liliʻuokalani, Kamakau and Eliza Wood Holt.
Hui Lei Mamo Kalākaua created the
Hui Lei Mamo in 1886 as a glee club composed of eight young female native Hawaiian hula dancers and singers. They received extensive training, and entertained at private performances for the king and his guests, as they did the day
Robert Louis Stevenson and friends visited the king at his boathouse. The star performer in the group was 14-year-old
Kini Kapahu. Upon the king's death in 1891, Liliʻuokalani retained the glee club, and sponsored them on an extended tour through the United States and Europe. In 1908, Kapahu married future Honolulu mayor
John H. Wilson. == Mentorship and collaborators ==