One reader said he vaguely remembered reading about a horse named Suck ’Em Up, owned by Duke Kahanamoku. He asked whether I could verify that.
Yes, it’s true. It was co-owned by Duke Kahanamoku and Mark Hankins of the Gravel Hill Stables in Midlothian, Va. Kimo Wilder McVay, who worked with both Kahanamoku and Don Ho, spoke to The Honolulu Advertiser about it in 1966.
“Duke is half-owner of a bay gelding jumper named ‘Suck ’Em Up,’ after Ho’s admonition to the customers to finish their drinks quickly and order more.”
The other owner was Hankins, who also trained the horse. “The grooms and other handlers of Duke’s nag are running around in ‘Suck ’Em Up’ shirts,” McVay said, “and drinking mint juleps out of glasses emblazoned with the same name.
“Dignified announcers at the horse shows have been known to cringe a bit when they announce Suck ’Em Up as the winner in various events,” McVay concluded.
I looked for mentions of Kahanamoku’s horse in mainland papers and saw that he participated in many races but did not win any of the races I found.
Kui Lee
I was curious to know where and when the phrase “suck ’em up” originated. It was not in the local newspapers until 1965 when Kui Lee wrote a song with this title.
Ho asked Lee to write a drinking song. In an hour he penned “Suck ’Em Up.” Ho turned it into a sing-along show standard, performing it thousands of times.
Lee composed over 80 original songs in the last four years of his life, such as “I’ll Remember You,” “Lahainaluna,” “Ain’t No Big Thing” and “The Days of My Youth.”
“The Days of My Youth” was written as he watched his nieces and nephews playing in the yard.
“Ain’t No Big Thing” is pidgin poetry, expressing the island attitude that nothing is worth worrying about.
“I’ll Remember You” was his biggest hit. Over 100 singers recorded a version of it, including Ho, Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett, Connie Francis, Tommy Sands, Andy Williams, Glenn Yarbrough and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. It was recorded in Japanese, Italian, Spanish and Tagalog, making it a worldwide hit.
“I’ll Remember You” was written about his wife, Nani, when she left their tempestuous relationship.
Ho recalled that one night, Lee walked in with the new composition. Lee said he had written the song in just four hours but estimated it would earn him $500,000.
He asked Ho to arrange it. “I sat up all night (with him) absorbing the essence of what he was writing about,” Ho recalled in a 1997 Honolulu Star-Bulletin interview. “The next day, I wrote down the arrangement of the song at the club. That night I said that this was written by a friend of mine.
“At that time he had cancer in his throat. I sang it with the Aliis. I’ll never forget that night. At that moment everybody had tears in their eyes. Then I introduced Kui. He came on stage and he sang it. Then everybody really had tears.”
Lee’s compositions and Ho’s engaging, low-key style combined to elevate both artists to even greater success in the American music scene.
Lee was battling throat cancer during his most prolific songwriting years. He recorded music between cancer treatments, and once, even in the hospital. “I’m in a hurry,” Lee said, “and I’ve got Hawaii’s story to tell. I’m trying to do just that.”
He said his songs “represent my idea of Hawaii today, the beauty, the love, the warmth that is the Hawaii I love.”
‘Suck ’Em Up’ souvenirs
At Kahanamoku’s nightclub at the International Market Place, mai tais were served in 15-ounce “Suck ’Em Up” glasses that guests could keep. The club estimated it purchased 20,000 of the glasses each year. Visitors could also buy hats, T-shirts and other “Suck ’Em Up” souvenirs.
Fans who attended Ho’s 1 a.m. “Suck ’Em Up” show in the early 1980s could drink all they wanted for $5.
Audience participation
Ho invited the audience to participate. He would call on customers to come up and sing or dance in kanikapila (jam session) style. One night he called on Kahanamoku, who had nodded off.
Nadine Kahanamoku nudged her husband, who opened his eyes and said loudly, “Suck ’em up!” He raised his glass and everyone else in the club did, too.
Lawsuit
“Suck ’Em Up” was also the basis of a 1967 lawsuit. The Duke Kahanamoku Corp. stated in Circuit Court that it had registered a design that included the phrase “Suck ’Em Up” and that another firm had copied the idea.
The suit was against Boise Cascade, doing business as the Honolulu Paper Co. (Hopaco). The suit alleged that Boise Cascade violated the copyright when it sold “Suck ’Em Up” cocktail napkins in sizes and designs similar to those used in the nightclub.
The complaint said that Ho had made the term “Suck ’Em Up” familiar through his popular song, and the public identified the term with Kahanamoku’s nightclub.
The corporation said it owned the copyright for the song through an agreement with the late Lee, who composed it. The lawsuit was settled out of court.
Reunion
On Nov. 11, 1988, Ho and the Aliis staged a “20 Year Reunion Suck ’Em Up Show” at The Hilton Hawaiian Village Dome.
About 1,200 fans attended the two-hour show, which was a resounding success. Ho performed songs such as “I’ll Remember You,” “Suck ’Em Up,” “Lahainaluna” and “Tiny Bubbles.”
Lee’s widow, Nani, joined Ho on the song “Ain’t No Big Thing.” You can watch “A Night in Hawaii With Don Ho” on YouTube.
Suck ’Em Up Cruises
Suck ’Em Up was also the name of a Waikiki scenic cruise in 1971. It took tourists on six daily Waikiki Beach adventures for $2-$6. Food was catered by the House of Janus, a restaurant on Ala Moana Boulevard.
Honolulu Advertiser columnist Sammy Amalu threw a party aboard the ship one night. “If you have never seen Honolulu from the sea, go right now and take a Suck ’Em Up Cruise,” he wrote in 1971.
“There is no more pleasant way of doing it. You will love our little city. Her lights all agleam. Her shores like galaxies with every single star ablaze.
“With a well-stocked bar and a full dinner awaiting your pleasure, there is no better way to do it than the one I and my guests took. It was terrific. It was an adventure.”
‘Suck ’Em Up’ saga
What is the status of “Suck ’Em Up” today? I searched the nation’s newspapers in the past four years, and the phrase appeared only in Rearview Mirror and Wayne Harada’s column.
Friends and family of Ho have held annual “Suck ’Em Up” birthday celebrations recently for the late musician at the International Market Place.
There was also a bar and lounge in Kapolei with that name from 2014 until fairly recently.
Lee’s and Ho’s albums continue to be sold, along with hats, T-shirts, glassware and other vintage memorabilia on eBay and other e-commerce sites.
And if you walk by bars in Waikiki late at night, I’m sure you can faintly hear “Suck ’Em Up” being sung inside.
Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com or sign up for his free email newsletter at RearviewMirrorInsider.com.
