Helen Kapuailohia Desha Beamer was a musician, composer of songs in the Hawaiian language, hula dancer and coloratura soprano of Hawaiian ancestry. Her descendants have also become accomplished artists in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1928, her duet of "Ke Kali Nei Au" with Sam Kapu Sr. on Columbia Records was the first commercial recording of the Charles E. King composition. She was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1995.

Charles Edward King was an educator, Hawaii territorial legislator, and a songwriter who is most widely known as the composer of "Ke Kali Nei Au". King was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1995. Music historian George Kanahele regarded King as the "Dean of Hawaiian Music", although this sobriquet is more associated with John Kameaaloha Almeida.