Kui Lee Cancer Fund | Elvis Presley Aloha From Hawaii 1973
Source: www.elvis.com.au
January 10, 2019
Kui Lee Cancer Fund
Eddie Sherman, was a journalist who wrote about celebrities for the Honolulu Advertiser, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and MidWeek in Hawaii. Sherman wrote that one of his biggest achievements was his involvement in the Elvis Presley concert broadcast worldwide from the Neal Blaisdell Center in 1973.
'I had started the Kui Lee Cancer Fund (thru my column) for a doctor at the UH doing cancer research. Lee was the legendary songwriter who died of cancer at 34. In the TV concert, Elvis sang Kui's most famous tune - 'I'll Remember You', to millions of global viewers. Thanks to Elvis and Col. Tom Parker, his manager, I received (for the fund) a check for $75,000 from the live concert gate. Because it was a television broadcast, there was no charge. The audience was allowed in via their own contributions. Some kids saw the show for only 10 cents. Next day, Elvis and the Colonel took out full-page newspaper ads thanking Hawaii'.
Kuiokalani 'Kui' Lee
Kuiokalani 'Kui' Lee (July 31, 1932 - December 3, 1966) was a singer-songwriter and the 1960s golden boy artist of Hawaii. Lee achieved international fame when Don Ho began performing and recording his compositions, with Ho promoting Lee as the songwriter for a new generation of Hawaiian music.
Lee was born in Shanghai, China. His entertainer parents Billy and Ethel Lee were of Scottish, Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry. Ethel died in 1936. Kui's widowed father took him back to Hawaii when he was five years old and enrolled him in the Kamehameha Schools. He later graduated from Roosevelt High School.
Lee worked as a knife dancer and choreographer in the Hawaiian Room of New York's Lexington Hotel.
There he met and married singer-hula dancer Rose Frances Naone Leinani, known to everyone as Nani. Nani returned to Hawaii with Kui and performed with him, as well as with Don Ho at Honeys. She also performed with Sterling Mossman, Tommy Sands, Sons of Hawaii and Zulu. Kui and Nani would have four children together - Wailana, Mahealani, Maile and Kimo
By 1961, he was working at Club Jetty in Nawiliwili, Kauai. He later went to work at Honeys in Kaneohe, owned by Emily 'Honey' Ho, mother of Don. The connection would launch a symbiotic relationship between Don and Kui that transcended Kui's early death. Recording Kui's songs made Don a star, and it was from Don's on-stage patter that most people learned of Kui Lee. Onstage, Don gave Kui full credit for creating island music for a new generation.
Kui Lee only achieved fame for his musical compositions toward the very end of his life. The Extraordinary Kui Lee was the only album released during his lifetime. Famous songs on that album included 'I'll Remember You' (brought into even greater fame by Don Ho, Elvis Presley and Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau), 'Days of my Youth' and 'Ain't No Big Thing'. All three became standards in Hawai'i.
Two other Hawaii entertainers, Lani Kai and Alex Kaeck, wrote and recorded a song in his honor, 'A Man Called Hawaii (The Legend Of Kui Lee)', that was released as a 45-rpm single by Palm Records (Palm P-1030). A 30-second clip may be heard from the Hawaiian Music Collection, held by the University of Hawaii's Hawaiian Music Collection.
Kui Lee had been battling lymph gland cancer when he died at the Guadalajara Hospital in Tijuana on December 3, 1966, at the age of 34. His ashes were scattered off Waikiki. In 1973, Elvis Presley gave the Aloha From Hawaii concert which raised $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund, which had been created shortly before the concert by Hawaii veteran newspaper columnist Eddie Sherman, to fund the cancer research going on at the University of Hawaii. Kui's widow Nani Lee Meadows also died of cancer, on April 12, 2008.
Elvis Presley | A Musical Prodigy
Elvis' musical style, as a musician and impact as a vocalist and stage performer
The Fifty Voices of Elvis Presley
1977 CBS TV Special
Elvis Presley | Hawaii | January 14, 1973
Jack Lord and Elvis Presley
Interview with Aloha From Hawaii producer, Marty Pasetta
When Elvis Said 'Aloha' From Hawaii, The World Watched
Mindy Campbell 'Aloha' flight attendant remembers Elvis 1973
Beyond The Reef | The Elvis Presley Hawaii Connection
Elvis Presley in concert, Hawaii November 10, 1957
Elvis Presley Honolulu Stadium, Hawaii November, 10 1957
Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite | Fact & Fancy
Aloha From Hawaii Press Conferences | 1972
Elvis Presley | Aloha From Hawaii Press Conference: September 4, 1972
Aloha Press Conference: September 4, 1972
Elvis Presley | Aloha From Hawaii Press Conference: November 20, 1972
Aloha From Hawaii | The Concerts
Elvis Presley | Arriving In Hawaii: January 9, 1973
Elvis Presley | Aloha From Hawaii Rehearsal Concert: January 12, 1973
Elvis Presley | Receiving an award, backstage: January 13, 1973, before his Aloha Concert
Elvis Presley | Aloha From Hawaii January 14, 1973
Aloha From Hawaii | The Reviews
Gold Crown awarded to 'King' Elvis | Review Aloha From Hawaii
Elvis Presley | 1973
January
Elvis Presley Hawaii | January 9, 1973
Elvis Presley Aloha From Hawaii Rehearsal Concert | January 12, 1973
Elvis Presley Hawaii | January 13, 1973
Elvis Presley Aloha From Hawaii | January 14, 1973
Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite | Fact & Fancy
Elvis Presley Las Vegas | January 22, 1973
The Elvis Presley Hawaii Connection
February
Elvis Presley and Jack Lord | Las Vegas | February 10, 1973
Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali | February 14, 1973
Elvis Presley Las Vegas | February 18, 1973
Amazing Grace | Elvis Presley's Hilton suite, Las Vegas, NV | Friday, February 23, 1973
April
Elvis Presley Phone Bill | April 2, 1973
Elvis Presley April 22, 1973 (3:00 pm). Phoenix, AZ.
Elvis Presley April 24, 1973 | Anaheim, CA
Elvis Presley April 26, 1973 | San Diego, CA.
Elvis Presley April 28, 1973 | (3.00 pm) | Spokane, WA.
Elvis Presley Center Arena, Seattle, Washington | April 29, 1973
Elvis Presley with fans after arriving at the Seattle airport | April 29, 1973
June
Elvis Presley Municipal Auditorium | Mobile AL | June 20, 1973
Elvis Presley 3pm Long Island Ny | June 23, 1973
Elvis Presley Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale | June 24, 1973
Elvis Presley Cinncinnati, OH. | June 27, 1973
Elvis Presley Atlanta | Omni Coliseum | June 29, 1973
Elvis Presley Atlanta | Omni Coliseum | June 30, 1973
July
Elvis and Lisa Marie Presley | Atlanta | July 1, 1973
Elvis Presley Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee | In Concert | July 1, 1973
Elvis Presley Atlanta | July 3, 1973
August
Elvis Presley The King's Court fan club | August 31, 1973
September
Elvis Presley September 3, 1973 | Caught In A Trap
Tom Jones and Elvis Presley shake hands | On stage, September 4, 1973
October
Elvis and Priscilla Divorce Court Appearance | October 9, 1973
CD Releases
Elvis (Fool) FTD Special Edition 2 CD
Raised On Rock - FTD Special Edition 2 CD
CDs | In Concert
FTD Soundboard Recorded Concerts
FTD Stereo Recorded Concerts
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