Lena Machado was a Native Hawaiian singer, composer, and ukulele player, known as "Hawaii's Songbird". She was among the first group of musical artists honored by the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1995. Noted for her use of the Hawaiian vocal technique of "ha'i," which emphasizes the transition between a singer's lower and falsetto vocal ranges, and her use of "kaona" when writing song lyrics, she entertained primarily in Hawaii and the mainland United States. She sold leis on the Honolulu piers as a child, and aspired to become a singer like the women she saw greeting incoming passengers. KGU radio manager Marion A. Mulroney discovered her as she sang in a mango tree next door to his home. She performed regularly on KGU, where Royal Hawaiian Band conductor Mekia Kealakaʻi heard her and hired her as a featured soloist in 1925. Her association with the Royal Hawaiian Band would last five decades. During World War II, she had her own radio show on KGU.

The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame is an organization dedicated to recognizing the cultural importance of the music of Hawaii and hula. Established in 1994, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame promotes the appreciation and preservation of Hawaiian culture through educational programs and annual inductions honoring significant individuals, groups, institutions, chanters and songs.