I'll Remember You

For the song by Nathan Sykes, see Unfinished Business (Nathan Sykes album).
For the song by Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer, see I Remember You (1941 song).
"I'll Remember You"
Song by Don Ho
from the album The Don Ho Show!
B-side"E Lei Ka Lei Lei (Beach Party Song)"
Released1965
Length2:35
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Kui Lee
Producer(s)Sonny Burke

"l'll Remember You" is a song written by Kui Lee in 1964. After he returned to Hawaii from the mainland United States in 1961, Lee worked at the night club Honey's as a doorman. Lee taught himself to sing, and he started to compose songs. He convinced Don Ho, the son of the owner, to let him perform at the club.

Ho liked Lee's original composition "I'll Remember You". He sang it at his live shows, and he eventually recorded his own version. Ho enjoyed success on the mainland, and Lee's composition became popular. It was recorded by multiple acts, including Andy Williams and Elvis Presley. Thanks to its success, Lee was hired to play at the Queen's Surf night club in Hawaii. Lee's own version was released on his debut album The Extraordinary Kui Lee.

Background

Following his stint as a knife dancer in the mainland United States,[1] Kui Lee returned to Hawaii in 1961. Lee and his wife worked at the club Honey's. Initially, Lee worked as a doorman.[2] Though disencouraged by his wife, he taught himself to sing. Eventually, he persuaded Honey's main act, singer Don Ho to let him perform at the club. Soon after, Lee began composing his own songs.[3] He wrote "I'll Remember You" after his wife left him, and moved to live with her sister in New Jersey in 1963. Lee's wife later returned to him.[4] He needed four hours to compose the song.[5]

By 1964 Lee had been diagnosed with cancer.[3] During a gathering with friends at Ho's apartment, he revealed his recent diagnosis, and later sung his new composition for the present. Ho then proceeded to ask Lee to sing the song repeatedly for him for the next four hours, to be able to capture his feelings, and his exact interpretation of the number. Without sleeping, Ho drove to the Duke club to work the arrangements of the song with his band, The Ali'is. He included the song on his set that night, and invited Lee to join him onstage to perform it after introducing him.[6]

Recordings

Ho was at the time signed by Reprise Records.[7] In 1965, the label released his version of "I'll Remember You" with "E Lei Ka Lei Lei (Beach Party Song)" as the flipside.[8] Don McDiarmid became the publisher of the song, and responsible for its distribution on the mainland.[9] Eddie Suzuki, Lee's manager, signed him to play regular appearances at the nightclub Queen's Surf in Honolulu.[9] Lee had his debut night on October 22, 1965. Lee received an intense ovation for his performance of "I'll Remember You".[10] He was acclaimed for his appearances at the club, and he attracted large crowds to Queen's Surf.[9]

"I'll Remember You"
Lee's version of his self-written song
Problems playing this file? See media help.

McDiarmid offered the song to Andy Williams,[9] who released a version, and performed it on his television show in December.[11] By 1966, Elvis Presley recorded his own version. It featured an introduction with Spanish guitar. The scratch vocals were initially recorded by Presley's bodyguard Red West. Presley later recorded his track that closely followed Ho's style. For the ending of the song, a chorus composed by Millie Kirkham, June Page and Dolores Eagan joined Presley.[12] By the time of Lee's death, in December 1966 there were twenty-eight versions of the song by different artists.[13] Lee's own version was released the day before his death with the album The Extraordinary Kui Lee.[14] By the end of December, Roger Williams' version peaked at twenty-four on the Billboard Hot 100.[15] Ho included a newly recorded version of "I'll Remember You" on his 1968 album, The Don Ho Show. The Honolulu Advertiser called it a "palatable piece with charming vibrance", but remarked that the new version of the song "suffer(ed) in revival without the vocal manipulations of the Aliis".[16]

New York Times called it "one of the most enduring Hawaiian standards".[17] Tommy Sands performed the song in the 1968 Hawaii Five-O episode "No Blue Skies".[18] Presley included the song in his live sets from 1972.[12] He sang it on his live television special, Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite,[19] a benefit concert for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund.[20] "I'll Remember You" remained on his sets until the summer of 1976.[12] Other artists that recorded the song included Tony Bennett,[21] Tennessee Ernie Ford,[22] and Connie Francis.[23]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Hopkins, Jerry 2002, p. 74.
  2. ^ Enomoto, Catherine Kekoa 1997.
  3. ^ a b Gene, Hunter 1965, p. C7.
  4. ^ Wynne, Bill 2014.
  5. ^ Paradise of the Pacific staff 1965.
  6. ^ Bolante, Ronna; Keany, Michael 2007.
  7. ^ Chidester, Brian; Priore, Dominic 2008, p. 197.
  8. ^ Neely, Tim 2002, p. 563.
  9. ^ a b c d Williams, Jack 1965, p. B1.
  10. ^ Hunter, Gene 1965, p. B4.
  11. ^ TV magazine staff 1965, p. 7.
  12. ^ a b c Duffet, Mark 2018, p. 166.
  13. ^ Honolulu Star-Bulletin staff 1966, p. 1.
  14. ^ Harada, Wayne 2 1966, p. A12.
  15. ^ Whitburn, Joel 1973, p. 156.
  16. ^ Harada, Wayne 1968, p. B4.
  17. ^ Chinen, Nate 2007.
  18. ^ Rhodes, Karen 2011, p. 41-42.
  19. ^ Gaar, Gillian 2014, p. 33.
  20. ^ Morrisey, Penney 1973, p. A4.
  21. ^ Harada, Wayne 1966, p. B4.
  22. ^ Schwann staff 1967, p. 175.
  23. ^ Ruppli, Michel; Novitsky, Ed 1998, p. 373.

References

  • Bolante, Ronna; Keany, Michael (June 2007). "50 Greatest Songs of Hawaii". Honolulu Magazine. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Chidester, Brian; Priore, Dominic (2008). Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film, and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Boom. Santa Monica Press. ISBN 978-1-595-80035-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Chinen, Nate (April 15, 2007). "Obituary: Don Ho, 76, popularizer of Hawaiian music". New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  • Duffet, Mark (2018). Counting Down Elvis: His 100 Finest Songs. Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-442-24805-2.
  • Enomoto, Catherine Kekoa (May 15, 1997). Kui Lee: 'One of the all-time geniuses of Hawaii'. Oahu Publications Inc. Retrieved January 14, 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  • Gaar, Gillian (2014). 100 Things Elvis Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-623-68861-5.
  • Gene, Hunter (August 5, 1965). "Singer is Determined to Remain Beachboy". Honolulu Advertiser. Vol. 110, no. 54, 836. Retrieved August 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  • Harada, Wayne (February 4, 1966). "Everyone, Everywhere Singing Kui Lee's Tune". Honolulu Advertiser. Vol. 111, no. 55, 019. Retrieved October 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  • Harada, Wayne (December 16, 1968). "Meet the New Don Ho Show--It's a Gasser". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved October 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  • Harada, Wayne 2 (December 5, 1966). "Kui Lee's Dream Came True Friday". Honolulu Advertiser. Vol. 111, no. 55, 317. Advertier Publishing, Co. Retrieved September 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Open access icon
  • Honolulu Star-Bulletin staff (December 3, 1966). "Entertainer Kui Lee Dies in Mexico". Honolulu-Star Bulletin. Vol. 55, no. 335. Retrieved January 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  • Hopkins, Jerry (2002). Elvis in Hawaii. Bess Press. ISBN 978-1-573-06142-1.
  • Hunter, Gene (October 25, 1965). "Happy Hawaiian Kui Lee Opens to SRO Crowd". Honolulu Advertiser. Vol. 110, no. 54, 917. Retrieved October 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  • Morrisey, Penney (January 13, 1973). "Elvis has fans almost swooning". Honolulu Adertiser. Retrieved January 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  • Neely, Tim (2002). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-873-49471-7.
  • Paradise of the Pacific staff (1965). "A Onetime Waikiki Beachboy Who Writes Mournful Songs, Sings With a New Beat, and May Just Become a New National Craze". Paradise of the Pacific. 77–78. Honolulu magazine.
  • Rhodes, Karen (2011). Booking Hawaii Five-O: An Episode Guide and Critical History of the 1968-1980 Television Detective Series. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-48666-3.
  • Ruppli, Michel; Novitsky, Ed (1998). The MGM Labels: 1961-1982. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-30779-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Schwann staff (1967). "Tennessee Earnie Ford". Schwann Long Playing Record Catalog. 19 (4). W. Schwann Incorporated.
  • TV magazine staff (December 4, 1965). "Vince Edwards, Don Adams Visit With Andy Williams". Vol. 93, no. 268. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  • Whitburn, Joel (1973). Joel Whitburn's Top LP's, 1945-1972. Record Research.
  • Williams, Jack (December 15, 1965). "Islander rapidly gaining fame as tunesmith, entertainer". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Vol. 54, no. 347. Retrieved October 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  • Wynne, Bill (August 5, 2014). "Kui Lee The Man". Ho`olohe Hou (Podcast). Retrieved October 2, 2020.{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)