Frank Ferera

Frank Ferera
Frank Ferera
Background information
Birth name	Frank Ferreira
Also known as	Frank Ferera Palakiko Ferreira
Born	(1885-06-12)June 12, 1885 Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
Died	June 26, 1951(1951-06-26) (aged 66)
Occupation(s)	Live performer
Instruments	Ukulele Guitar
Years active	1900 – 1951
Labels	List Aeolian Banner Blue Amberol Brunswick Cameo Clarion Columbia Crown Edison Diamond Disc Emerson Empire Gennett Globe Harmony Imperial Lyric Mandel Montgomery-Ward Okeh Olympic Operaphone Paramount Pathé Perfect Regal Supertone Velvet Tone Victor Records
Associated acts	List Al Bernard Annette Hanshaw Anthony J. Franchini Athenian Mandolin Quartet Dave Kaili Ferera's Hawaiian Instrumental Quartet Frank Ferera and His Hawaiian Trio Frank Ferera's Hawaiian Quartette Frank Ferera's Hawaiian Trio Frank Ferera's Hawaiians Hawaiian Trio, The Helen Louise Ferera Helen Louise and Palakiko Ferreira Irene Greenus John K. Paaluhi Jack Miller Louise and Ferera Hawaiian Orchestra Louise and Ferera Hawaiian Troupe Louise and Ferera Waikiki Orchestra Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra Sam Kainoa Vernon Dalhart Virginia Burt Waikiki Hawaiian Orchestra

Frank Ferera (June 12, 1885 - June 26, 1951) was a Hawaiian musician who recorded successfully between 1915 and 1930. He was the first star of Hawaiian music and influenced many later artists.

Frank Ferera was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1885 of Portuguese ancestry. Ferera first visited the mainland United States as part of the Keoki E Awai troupe, which had been booked to entertain at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

He married Helen Louise Greenus, daughter of Seattle businessman Albert E. Greenus, and toured with her through the USA, appearing in vaudeville. In 1915, they signed a contract with Columbia Records and recorded prolifically.

On December 12, 1919, Frank and Helen were on board the steamship SS President, from Los Angeles back to their home in Seattle. Frank reported that Helen had gone on deck for a walk at 4 a.m. and never returned. After a search failed to turn up the missing Mrs. Ferera, she was presumed lost at sea.

In 1924, Frank played guitar accompaniment to Vernon Dalhart's ballad "Wreck of the Old 97" (Victor Record No. 19427), sometimes cited as the first million-selling country music release in the American record industry.

In the late 1920s, during a wave of Hawaiian music popularity, Frank Ferera's Hawaiian Trio recorded a number of songs with jazz singer Annette Hanshaw, including: "Was It A Dream?", "For Old Time's Sake", "Get Out and Get Under the Moon", "I Love A Ukulele", "Lonely Nights In Hawaii", "Chiquita", "Maui Girl", "Sonny Boy", "Sweet Lei Lehua", "Carolina Moon", "Maui Chimes", "Pagan Love Song", "Singing in the Rain", "Ua No a Like - Sweet Constancy", and "Forget Me Not", "Lazy Louisiana Moon", and "Pale Blue Waters".

While Ferera was the first commercially successful Hawaiian recording artist in the teens, by the late 1920s, a new wave of steel guitarists, including Sol Hoʻopiʻi, were upstaging him.

...
Wikipedia