McKenna Talks Story with HARA Lifetime Achievement Honoree John Berger
McKenna Maduli welcomes John Berger into the Talk Story Hale. For more than thirty years John has distinguished himself as a reviewer and critic of local entertainment and books. He is a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-Winning Liner Notes writer and was recently recognized for his years of invaluable service to Hawaii’s music industry with the Lifetime Achievement Award. John presents McKenna with a copy of his book Hawaiian Music and Musicians that appropriately includes McKenna’s one-man band dad Kata Maduli.
About: John Berger has covered entertainment in Hawaii since 1972. His affiliation with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and its predecessor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin began in 1988, and where he has covered local entertainment for more than 30 years. He is also the editor of the second edition of Hawaiian Music and Musicians, the definitive one-volume 1000-page encyclopedia on Hawaiian music and musicians that was published by Mutual Publishing in 2012. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, John graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1968 and from the UH-Manoa in 1973. In 1972 he became a full-time contributor to Sunbums, Hawaii’s ’70s era equivalent to Rolling Stone, where he covered local entertainment as a features writer and “three dot” columnist. In 1977 Kamasami Kong invited John to become part of his radio show on KKUA. It was the start of an 18-year career in local radio that included eight years as a member of Michael Qseng’s Morning Maddness Crew on KQMQ.
John is also a Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning liner notes writer, a former member of the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts Board of Governors, and currently serves as a member of the Hoku Awards Selection Committee and as a member of the HARA LTA advisory committee. He received the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts Lifetime Achievement Award in December 2020.
For More Information: www.hawaiianmusicandmusicians.com
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