Sonny Cunha
Sonny Cunha, full name Albert Richard Cunha (October 1, 1879 – January 23, 1933) was an American composer, bandleader, pianist, singer, politician and entrepreneur. He was the first to popularize hapa haole music, a type of Hawaiian music with influences from popular music and with lyrics that are a combination of English and Hawaiian (or wholly English). |
Birth and Death Data: Born (Honolulu (city in and county seat of Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, that is also the capital city of Hawaii)), Died 1933 (Honolulu (city in and county seat of Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, that is also the capital city of Hawaii) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1913 - 1941
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, arranger
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 52 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | B-13113 | 10-in. | 4/11/1913 | My Honolulu hula girl | Hawaiian Quintette ; E. K. Rose | Male vocal solo and male vocal quintet, with instrumental quintet (Hawaiian) | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-13148 | 10-in. | 4/18/1913 | Honolulu tom boy | Hawaiian Quintette | Male vocal solo, with instrumental quintet (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Victor | B-15352 | 10-in. | 11/6/1914 | Halona | Toots Paka Hawaiian Troupe | Vocal and instrumental ensemble (Hawaiian) | arranger | |
| Victor | B-15582 | 10-in. | 1/12/1915 | Cunha medley | David K. Kaili ; Pale K. Lua | Guitar duet (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Victor | B-16633 | 10-in. | 10/11/1915 | On the beach at Waikiki medley | Louise and Ferera | Guitar duet (Hawaiian) | arranger | |
| Victor | B-17066 | 10-in. | 1/26/1916 | On the beach at Waikiki | Meyer Davis Kalaluhi Hawaiians | Instrumental ensemble (Hawaiian) | arranger | |
| Victor | B-18434 | 10-in. | 9/16/1916 | Dear old Honolulu | Wright and Dietrich | Female-male vocal duet, with 2 guitars and ukuleles | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-18435 | 10-in. | 9/16/1916 | My Honolulu hula girl | Wright and Dietrich | Female-male vocal duet, with 2 guitars and ukuleles | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-18455 | 10-in. | 9/23/1916 | "My Hawaiian maid" medley | Wright and Dietrich | Female-male vocal duet, with ukulele and 2 guitars | composer | |
| Victor | B-19058 | 10-in. | 1/17/1917 | Everybody hula | Louise and Ferera | Guitar duet (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Victor | B-19193 | 10-in. | 2/19/1917 | Hawaiian medley no. 2 | E. K. Rose | Guitar solo (Hawaiian) | arranger | |
| Victor | B-19303 | 10-in. | 2/20/1917 | My Honolulu hula girl | E. K. Rose | Male vocal solo, with ukulele (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Victor | B-24648 | 10-in. | 10/21/1920 | The hula blues | Billy Murray ; Ed Smalle | Male vocal duet, with mandolin and orchestra | lyricist | |
| Victor | B-29028 | 10-in. | 11/24/1923 | Hawaiian melodies | Nicholas A. Barbarito ; Warren B. Patterson | Guitar duet (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Victor | B-30061 | 10-in. | 5/9/1924 | My Waikiki mermaid | Edith MacDowell ; Grace MacDowell | Female vocal duet, with guitar and ukulele | composer | |
| Victor | B-30062 | 10-in. | 5/9/1924 | She sang aloha to me | Edith MacDowell ; Grace MacDowell | Female vocal duet, with guitar and ukulele | composer | |
| Victor | BS-77331 | 10-in. | 12/12/1933 | The hula blues | Jim & Bob | Guitar duet, with male vocal duet (Hawaiian) | lyricist | |
| Victor | BVE-89056 | 10-in. | 3/26/1935 | Hula girl | Sam Alama Hawaiians | Instrumental ensemble (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Victor | BVE-89111 | 10-in. | 4/6/1935 | Honolulu tomboy | Sam Alama Hawaiians | Instrumental ensemble (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Victor | PBVE-203 | 10-in. | 5/10/1926 | Good-bye, Honolulu | Keaumoku A. Louis | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble (Hawaiian) | arranger | |
| Victor | PBVE-233 | 10-in. | 5/14/1926 | Kuu pua roselani | Keaumoku A. Louis | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | arranger | |
| Victor | PBVE-277 | 10-in. | 4/22/1927 | Hula girl | Kane's Hawaiians | Vocal and instrumental ensemble (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Victor | PBS-061158 | 10-in. | 4/14/1941 | Hapa haole hula girl | Ray Andrade Orchestra | Instrumental ensemble, with vocal (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Columbia | 46309 | 10-in. | 12/29/1915 | Hapa haole hula girl | Louise and Ferera | Steel guitar and guitar duet (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| Columbia | 46417 | 10-in. | 2/15/1916 | Manua kea | Henry N. Clark | Male vocal solo and vocal octet, with steel guitar and ukulele (Hawaiian) | arranger |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Cunha, Sonny," accessed December 28, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111852.
Cunha, Sonny. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 28, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111852.
"Cunha, Sonny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 28 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Cunha, Sonny, 1879-1933 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2002076783
Wikidata: Albert “Sonny” Cunha - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4709576
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/92946371
MusicBrainz: Albert “Sonny” Cunha - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/65d0a232-ce8c-4e8d-a7c4-4dfbfbe4e167
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