My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii
"My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii", written by Tommy Harrison, Bill Cogswell, and Johnny Noble in Hawaii in 1933, is a Hawaiian song in the Hawaiian musical style known as hapa haole. One of the earliest recordings by Ted Fio Rito and his orchestra reached number one on the charts in 1934. Honolulu magazine listed it as number 41 in a 2007 article, "50 Greatest Songs of Hawaii". It has been heard in many movies and television shows and has been covered dozens of times. The title is sometimes shortened to "My Little Grass Shack" or "Little Grass Shack". Composition The song was written by Tommy Harrison and Bill Cogswell for Kona's Independence Day celebration in 1933. The scene was set by the Kona Historical Society: Cogswell, a Montana native working in Honolulu who in the 1950s became managing director of the Hawaii Visitors Bureau, was accompanying visitors to the Big Island of Hawaii when he wrote the lyrics, a parody of a 1924 song, "Back in Hackensack, New Jersey". Harrison, who composed the music, showed the song to Hawaiian songwriter and band leader Johnny Noble, a leading figure in hapa haole music. Noble had already heard the song