Kaunakakai (Hawaiian pronunciation: [kɐwnəkəˈkɐj]) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaiʻi, United States.

[3] In the mid-1800s, King Kamehameha V sometimes spent his summers on Moloka'i at a home in Kaunakakai.

The main street of Kaunakakai, Ala Malama Avenue, was named after the king's summer home.

[4] Around mid-1935, the song was written for the celebration of the first honorary mayor, 'The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai', during the vacation visit by Academy Award winning Best Actor in 1929, Warner Baxter.

The "election" was a seven-day celebration by the locals and Baxter's vacation party.