Mahi Beamer

Edwin Mahiʻai (Mahi) Copp Beamer (December 5, 1928 – July 14, 2017) was a tenor falsetto singer, composer and hula dancer of Hawaiian ancestry. He was born in Honolulu in the Territory of Hawaii and is the grandson of Helen Desha Beamer. His father, Milton Hoʻolulu Desha Beamer Sr. was her son. Mahi's mother was Mildred Kaaloehukaiopuaena Copp Beamer. In 2006, Mahi Beamer was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.^[1] He was named a "Living Treasure of Hawaii" in 2008 by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, which has been recognizing Hawaii's treasures since 1976. He received the 1992 State of Hawaii Recognition Award for his musical contributions to the state and for perpetuating his grandmother's music. Beamer was the 1993 recipient of the David Malo award presented by Rotary International for his cultural contributions.^[2]

Mahi Beamer
Cover art 1959 LP
Background information
Birth name	Edwin Mahiai Copp Beamer
Born	(1928-12-05)December 5, 1928 Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
Died	July 14, 2017(2017-07-14) (aged 88)
Genres	Hawaiian
Occupation(s)	Singer, dancer, composer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, piano, glockenspiel

Beamer is a 1946 graduate of Kamehameha Schools and went on to continue his musical education at University of California, Santa Barbara and Juilliard School of Music. He is a cousin to Winona Beamer and once toured North America with Winona and her son Keola performing the ancient Hawaiian form of the hula.^[3] He served in the United States Army during the post-World War II years at Schofield Barracks at Wahiawa on the island of Oahu, where he played classical piano and the glockenspiel.^[4] His civilian music career got its start with a three-year stint singing at the Queen's Surf in Waikiki. In 1959, Beamer had an uncredited part as a singer in the Columbia Pictures movie Forbidden Island, which starred Jon Hall and was filmed on location in Hawaii.^[5] Beamer performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and for thirteen years was a featured performer of Nalani Kele's Polynesian Review at the Stardust Resort and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. Beamer performed at numerous venues in his home state of Hawaii, and recorded many of his grandmother's compositions. The Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts gave Beamer its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.^[6]

Mahi Beamer died at Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu on July 14, 2017, at the age of 88.^[7]

Singles discography (partial list)

Source: allmusic^[8]

"Halehuki" "He Makana" "Kahuli-Aku Kahuli-Mai" (arranger)[9] "Kawohikukapulani" "Ke Ali'i Hulu Mamo" "Keawaiki Hula" "Ke Ha'a la Puna"

"Kimo Hula" (composer, along with Helen Desha Beamer) "Kinue" "Lei 'Ilima" "Mahai'ula" "Moanike' ala" "Na Hala O Naue"

"Nohili" (also composer) "Paniau" "Pua Mae'ole" "Pua Malihini" "Pu'uwa'awa'a (Pihanakalani)"

Family tree

v t e Beamer, Desha, Kāneakua, Miller family tree

Key- Subjects with bold titles and blue bold box= Aliʻi line. Bold title and grey bolded box= Lower ranking Aliʻi line. Bold title and un-bolded box= European nobility. Regular name and box= makaʻāinana or untitled foreign subject. Mela (Miller) Kānekapōlei[i] Kaialii Poimoa Kilinahe Lama (w) Alexander P. Miller Jr. (Alika Mela)[ii] Kapuailohia Wahine Kanuha Kaialiilii.[iii] Ai Namakalele Charles Makee[iv] Sarah Kaʻili Miller John Mahiʻai Miller/Kaneakua (Oct. 9, 1860-Jan. 26, 1936) County Clerk of Kaua‘i Hui Hawaiian Aloha ʻĀina Lucy Kaʻumealani Cummings Samuel Kalimahana Kaialiilii Miller.[v][vi] (1868-Nov. 24, 1933) Daisy Amoe Ai[vii] George Langhern Desha Isabella Haleʻala Kaʻili Miller[viii][ix] (1865-Feb. 28, 1949) Noa Miller Charles Miller Sakichi Hayashi Annie Maikaʻi Miller Charles Hoolulu Siemsen Peter Carl Beamer Helen Kapuailohia Desha (Sept. 8, 1882–Sept. 25, 1952) David Lester Desha James Waichiro Miller Milton Hoʻolulu Beamer (October 18, 1903[x] - ) Kaaloehukaiopuaena Copp Francis Kealiʻinohopono Beamer Louise Leiomälama Harriet Kekahiliokalani Beamer Peter Carl Kaleikaʻapunihonua Beamer Jr. Helen Elizabeth Kawohikukapulani Beamer Mahi Beamer Odell Steppe Winona Beamer Keola Beamer Kapono Beamer Notes: Hawaiian researcher Dorothy Barrère lists Kanekapolei as the wife of Mela (Miller) on page 458 of her book from the full Mahele land claim of Kanekapolei's son Alika Mela- LCA 8018.[α] Kaʻanoʻi Walk writes in an article for the Hawaiian Cultural Center: "..my great-grandfather John Mahiʻai Kāneakua was born in Honuaʻula, Maui to his loving parents Alexander P. Miller and Kanuha (Kaialiilii) Miller".[β] Kapuailohiawahine and her daughter Isabella, taught Hula in secret, hiding it after the ban by Kaʻahumanu.[γ] The son of Charles Makee (the son of James Makee, a wealthy sea Captain) Charles Miller was the son of "Sarah Miller, written as "S. Mila" on the marriage record".[δ] Hawaii State Archives lists Samuel Kaia Miller marrying Amoy Ai on 5-2-1903 in Honolulu, Hawaii.[ε] The Marriage certificate of Samuel and Daisy Amoe Ai lists Alika Miller and Kanuha as parents to Samuel, with Namakelele and Ai as parent to Daisy.[ζ] Daisy Amoe and Samuel Kalimahana Miller had 12 children and resided in Kalihi where Samuel worked as a painter.[η] In a press release from the Hula Preservation Society, they list Isabella Hale`ala Miller Desha as Nona Beamer's great grandmother.[θ] The Desha Genealogy lists William Francis Desha as the son of Isabella and George Desha.[ι] Hawaii Births and Christenings, 1852-1933. Milton Hoolulu Desha Beamer, 18 Oct 1903; citing Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii, reference p 36; FHL microfilm 1,031,747.[κ] Barrère, D.B. (1994). The King's Mahele: The Awardees and Their Lands. D.B. Barrère. OCLC 31886789. Walk, Kaʻanoʻi. "Kāneakua, John Mahiʻai". Hawaiian Cultural Center. Kamehameha Schools. Retrieved December 27, 2014. Barbara Bennett Peterson (1984). Notable Women of Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8248-0820-4. Chinese America, History and Perspectives. Chinese Historical Society of America. 1988. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-9614198-1-3. "MARRIAGES: Oahu (1832-1910)". Hawaiian Genealogy indexes. Hawaiʻi State Archives. Retrieved December 27, 2014. State of Hawaii Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring, Certificate of Marriage, May 2, 1903 "No Race Suicide Here". The Garden Island. December 17, 1918. Retrieved May 14, 2014. "Hula Preservation". Hula Preservation Society. Hula Preservation Society. Retrieved December 27, 2014. DeWitt Collier Nogues (1983). Desha genealogy: a survey. ATEX Austin Inc. p. 212. Births, Kaʻanoʻi. "Milton Hoolulu Desha Beamer". Family Search. Retrieved September 4, 2015.

References

1. Moreno, Loren (July 11, 2007). "Hawaiian music legends to be honored". Honolulu Advertiser.
2. "Beamer, Burrows, Cox, Kodama, Tanaka honored". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. January 19, 2008.
3. "Winona Beamer dies at 84 on Maui". Pacific Business News. April 10, 2008.
4. Rath, J. Arthur (2005). Lost Generations: A Boy, a School, a Princess. University of Hawaii Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-8248-3010-6.
5. Pitts, Michael (2010). Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928–1982. McFarland. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-7864-4447-2.
6. "Mahi Beamer". Hawaiian Music History. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
7. Hawaii music legend Mahi Beamer dies. Hawaii News Now. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
8. "Credits for Mahi Beamer". AllMusic. Retrieved July 16, 2012.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
9. Mahi Beamer's album lists him as the arranger. huapala.org says this is a traditional Hawaiian chant, set to music by Winona Beamer. "- Hawaii's Mahi Beamer". Discogs. Retrieved May 11, 2020.; "Kahuli Aku". www.huapala.org. Retrieved May 11, 2020.