Albert "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).
Also recorded as Albert Cunha · Sonny Cunha · Albert Richard Cunha
Albert "Sonny" Cunha
- Born
- 1879 · Honolulu.
- Died
- 1933 · Honolulu.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- composer
- Education
- Yale Law School
- Honours
- Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame
In this article
Early years
Albert Richard Cunha was born on October 1, 1879, in Honolulu, Kingdom of Hawai'i to Angela Gilliland and Emmanuel Cunha. He was educated at Saint Louis School and Punahou School and later attended Yale Law School in 1898, where he was a star baseball and football star, although he did not graduate.
In 1903 he composed My Waikiki Mermaid, the earliest known hapa haole song. This was followed in 1905 by his first big hit, My Honolulu Tomboy. Other notable songs followed, My Hawaiian Maid, My Tropical Hula Girl and Honolulu Hula Girl.
In 1905 a sextette led by Cunha played the entire summer season at a California beach resort in Santa Cruz. In 1906 he directed the Royal Hawaiian Glee Club on their tour of the West Coast of the US with the Royal Hawaiian Band.
In 1914 he published the first hapa haole songbook, Famous Hawaiian Songs. He played piano, sang and led a dance orchestra in Honolulu for many years, toured the mainland, founded the Cunha Music Company (which sold instruments and presumably sheet music). He also served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Hawaii Territorial Legislature from 1923 to 1924.
His son was B movie director Richard E. Cunha.
He died on January 23, 1933, in Honolulu. He was buried at the Oahu Cemetery.
Publications
• Songs of Hawaii, Bergstrom Music, 1903
• Famous Hawaiian Songs, Bergstrom Music, 1914
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Sonny Cunha, revision 1347517309 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record.
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Pg composer C.
- 2.Garrett, Charles Hiroshi. Struggling to Define a Nation: American Music and the Twentieth Century. University of California Press. 174–176. 2008. 978-0-520-25486-2.
- 3.Tranquada, Jim. The Ukulele: A History. University of Hawaii Press. 61. 2012. 978-0-8248-3634-4.
- 4.Yale University. Alumni Directory of Yale University [Graduates and Non-graduates]. 508. 1920. 657021096.
- 5.Cunha, Albert R. Famous Hawaiian Songs. Bergstrom Music Co., Ltd. 1914.
- 6.Cunha, Albert R.
- 7.Grave Marker of Albert Richard "Sonny" Cunha. Oahu Cemetery.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Kanahele. Hawaiian Music & Musicians. Mutual Publishing, LLC. 2012. 9781566479677.
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 27 August 2026.
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