Myrtle K. Hilo
Background information
Birth nameMyrtle Kahea
Born(1929-05-17)May 17, 1929
Hauʻula, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii
DiedOctober 3, 2009(2009-10-03) (aged 80)
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
Occupation(s)Live performer
Taxicab driver
Instrument(s)Ukulele
Years active1967–2009
LabelsMakaha
Lehua
Tropical
49th State Hawaii

Myrtle Kahea Hilo (May 17, 1929 - October 3, 2009) was a native Hawaiian taxicab driver, radio personality, ukulele player and singer. Her signature album The Singing Cab Driver was released in 1967 on Makaha Records. She was born in Hauʻula, Hawaii on the island of O'ahu. In 1998 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts.

Background and early career

Myrtle Kahea Hilo was born of Hawaiian ancestry in Hauʻula on the island of O'ahu, in the Territory of Hawaii. In 1948, she married heavy equipment operator George Hilo. They became the parents of one son and four daughters. Hilo worked as a cashier, and a taxicab driver before achieving success in the entertainment business.[1]

According to the online Territorial Airwaves, Hilo briefly sang with the Royal Hawaiian Girls Glee Club. She came under the mentorship of Hawaiian cultural preservationist George Naʻope in the early 1950s when he performed at the Niumalu Hotel (where the Hilton Hawaiian Village now stands). Together with Naʻope, she recorded with John Kameaaloha Almeida on their Tropical Records label, and on the 49th State Hawaii label.[2]

Commercial success

In the late 1960s, she began to make a name for herself in Waikiki venues. She accompanied herself on ukulele and recorded her first album The Singing Cab Driver on the Makaha Label. Hilo was featured at Sunday entertainment galas in Waikiki promoted by Kimo Wilder McVay.[3] She had her own daily live broadcast on KHVH radio, from the Outrigger Reef Hotel, and a Sunday evening live broadcast from the Moana Hotel.[4]

Between 1967 and 1973, Hilo recorded three albums. Her break-out hit "Will You Love Me (When My Carburetor Is Busted)" eventually became a classic, and is believed to be an adaptation by George Naʻope of Benjamin (Bell) Zamberg's '"Carburetor the Automobile Song'" from Yiddish theatre.[5] By the 1970s she was filling in for Kahala Hilton headliner Danny Kaleikini.[6]

Hilo continued driving her taxicab on a full-time basis, sometimes picking up fares after she closed her show at night. Although she took regular fares, she also sometimes accommodated private tours. Travel companies began an arrangement with her for use of her name for United States mainland tours, while booking her as the on-board entertainment.[7]

Later years

After three successive family deaths in 1976, her husband and both her parents, she took a sabbatical from performing and moved to Tacoma, Washington.[8]

She returned to performing in Hawaii in 1987.[9] In 1998, the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts presented her with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.[10]

Myrtle K. Hilo died in 2009. Besides her husband, her daughter Healani also preceded her in death. She was survived by four of her children.[11]

Discography

  • The Singing Cab Driver (1967) on Makaha Records (album)[12]
  • Will You Love Me (When My Carburetor Is Busted) (1967) on Makaha Records (album)[13]
  • Mahalo Plenty (1973) Lehua Records[14]
Singles
  • "Mauna Loa" (date unknown) with John Kameaaloha Almeida and Joe Keawe's Harmony Hawaiians on 49th State Hawaii[15]
  • "Kila Kila O Haleakala" (date unknown) with John Kameaaloha Almeida and Joe Keawe's Harmony Hawaiians on 49th State Hawaii [16]
  • "Moana Loa" (date unknown) with Joe Keawe's Harmony Hawaiians on 49th State Hawaii[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Marriage applications". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. December 18, 1948. p. 32, col. 2. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; "What do you think?". The Honolulu Advertiser. June 15, 1952. pp. 11, 1. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Myrtle K. .Hilo". www.territorialairwaves.com. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Myrtle Likes To Sing -- And Drive Her Cab, Too". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. April 16, 1967. p. 20. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; "Gibson Musical Showcase Presents". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. June 27, 1967. p. 45. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; "Kimo Wilder McVey Presents Duke's Sunday Suck 'Em Up! Luau". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. October 6, 1967. p. 17. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "KHVH's Singing Cabbie". The Honolulu Advertiser. March 31, 1968. p. 91. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; "Radio listings". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. April 21, 1968. p. 117, col. 2. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Carburetor Song". www.huapala.org. Retrieved June 11, 2018.; Harada, Wayne (February 20, 1968). "Myrtle, Vicki Albums Charm". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 25. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Harada, Wayne (January 22, 1972). "another Hilo hukilau-ing". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 21. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Wharton, Nadine (January 11, 1968). "Female drivers of taxis discover work exciting". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 27, col. 4. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; Richard, Robyn (February 22, 1971). "Myrtle Hilo: she's a good old wagon". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 33. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; "Myrtle K. Hilo's West Coast Summer Fun Jamboree". The Honolulu Advertiser. May 27, 1972. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Obituaries - Harry Kahea". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 25, 1976. p. 32. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; "George Hilo Sr. obit". The Honolulu Advertiser. July 20, 1976. p. 22. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; "obituaries - Annie Kehea". The Honolulu Advertiser. December 28, 1976. p. 40. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; Harada, Wayne (November 21, 1979). "Chit-chat". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 13. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Donnelley, Dave (June 19, 1987). "19 Jun 1987, 20 -". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 20, col. 4. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Harada, Wayne (May 15, 1998). "Hoku awards to pay tribute to three musical notables". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 48. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; Berger, John (May 18, 1998). "Hokus one to remember". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 15. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Obits - Healani Georgiana Hilo Pepee". The Honolulu Advertiser. June 8, 1994. p. 34. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; Cataluna, Lee (October 18, 2009). "Celebrity mom sang happy for everyone". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 24. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.; "Hilo (continued from A25)". The Honolulu Advertiser. October 18, 2009. p. A27. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Myrtle K. Hilo - The Singing Cab Driver". Discogs. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Myrtle K. Hilo - Will You Love Me (When My Carburetor Is Busted)". Discogs. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Myrtle K. Hilo - Mahalo Plenty". Discogs. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Myrtle K. Hilo With John K. Almeida* And Joe Keawe's Harmony Hawaiians / Joe Keawe With John K. Almeida And His Hawaiians* - Mauna Loa / Kauai Medley". Discogs. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Andrew Bright With Al Kealoha Perry And His Singing Serenaders* / Myrtle K. Hilo With John K. Almeida* And Joe Keawe's Harmony Hawaiians - Hawaiian Cowboy / Kila Kila O Haleakala". Discogs. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Myrtle K. Hilo with Joe Keawe's Harmony Hawaiians / John K. Almeida* with Pua Almeida And His Polynesians - Moana Loa / A Oia". Discogs. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
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