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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name =| image = Israel Kamakawiwo?ole.jpg| caption =| image_size =| background = solo_singer| name = Israel Ka?ano?i Kamakawiwo?ole| birth_name =| instrument = Ukulele , vocals | birth_date = birth date|1959|5|20|mf=y|birth_place = Honolulu , Hawaii , United States|U.S. | death_date = Death date and age|1997|6|26|1959|5|20|death_place = Honolulu , Hawaii , United States|U.S. | origin = Hawaii , United States|U.S. | genre = Music of Hawaii|Hawaiian | occupation = Musician , singer-songwriter | years_active =| label = Big Boy Records Mountain Apple Company | associated_acts = Makaha Sons of Ni?ihau | website =| notable_instruments = Ukulele Israel "IZ" Ka?ano?i Kamakawiwo?ole (IPA-haw|ka?maka??iwo'?ole; May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997) was a Hawaiian musician.
He became famous outside Hawaii when his album Facing Future was released in 1993. His Medley (music)|medley of " Over_the_Rainbow#Israel_Kamakawiwo.27ole_version|Over the Rainbow " and " What a Wonderful World " was subsequently featured in several films, television programs, and television advertisement commercials.
Through his ukulele playing and incorporation of other genres (such as jazz and reggae ), Kamakawiwo?ole remains a very large influence in Hawaiian music.cite news |title=The Legacy: A Voice Of Hawai?i and Hawaiians |last=Gordon |first=Mike |coauthors=Beverly Creamer and Wayne Harada |url= http://iz.honoluluadvertiser.com/story_p3.html |work=The Honolulu Advertiser |accessdate=August 19, 2008
Early life
Kamakawiwo?ole was born at Kuakini Medical Center|Kuakini Hospital in Honolulu to Henry Kaleialoha Naniwa Kamakawiwo?ole, Jr., and Evangeline Leinani Kamakawiwo?ole. He was raised in the community of Kaimuki , where his parents had met and married. He began playing music with his older brother Skippy and cousin Allen Thornton at the age of 11, being exposed to the music of Hawaiian entertainers of the time such as Peter Moon (musician)|Peter Moon , Palani Vaughn, and Don Ho , who frequented the establishment where Kamakawiwo?ole's parents worked. Israel continued his path as his brother Skippy entered the Army in 1971 and cousin Allen parted ways in 1976 for the mainland.
listen |filename=Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over The Rainbow - What A Wonderful World.ogg |title=Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World |description= In his early teens, he studied at Upward Bound (UB) of the University of Hawaii at Hilo and his family moved to Makaha . There he met Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray, and Jerome Koko.cite web|url= http://www2.hawaii.edu/~hartwell/music.htm |title=Article by Jay Hartwell of the University of Hawai?i at Manoa |publisher=.hawaii.edu |date=May 26, 1991 |accessdate=January 24, 2011 Together with his brother Skippy they formed the Makaha Sons of Ni?ihau . From 1976 throughout the 1980s, the Hawaiian contemporary band gained in popularity as they toured Hawaii and the continental United States and released fifteen successful albums.
In 1982, Kamakawiwo?ole's brother, Skippy, died of a heart attack. In that same year, Kamakawiwo?ole married his childhood sweetheart Marlene. Soon after, they had a daughter whom they named Ceslie-Ann "Wehi".
Music career
Kamakawiwo?ole formed the musical group Makaha Sons of Ni?ihau with brother Skippy, Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray and Jerome Koko. They recorded No Kristo in 1976 and released four more albums, including Kahea O Keale , Keala , Makaha Sons Of Ni?ihau and Mahalo Ke Akua , before Skippy died of a heart attack in 1982. The group became Hawaii's most popular traditional group with breakout albums 1984's Puana Hou Me Ke Aloha and its follow-up, 1986's Ho?ola . Kamakawiwo?ole's last recorded album with the group was 1991's Ho?oluana . It remains the group's top-selling CD.
In 1990, Kamakawiwo?ole released his first solo album Ka ?Ano?i , which won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year from the Hawai?i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA). Facing Future was released in 1993 by The Mountain Apple Company . It featured his most popular song, the medley "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World", along with "Hawai?i 78", "White Sandy Beach of Hawai?i", "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man", and "Kaulana Kawaihae". Facing Future debuted at #25 on Billboard Magazine| Billboard magazine 's Top Pop Catalogue chart. On October 26, 2005, Facing Future became Hawaii's first certified platinum album, selling more than a million CDs in the United States, according to figures furnished by the Recording Industry Association of America .cite news |url= http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/06/news/briefs.html |title=Brudda Iz's Facing Future goes platinum, a first for Hawaii |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date=October 6, 2005 On July 21, 2006, BBC Radio 1 announced that " Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World (True Dreams)" would be released as a single in America.
In 1994, Kamakawiwo?ole was voted favorite entertainer of the year by the Hawai?i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA).
E Ala E (1995) featured the political title song "?E Ala ?E" and " Kaleohano ", and N Dis Life (1996) featured "In This Life" and "Starting All Over Again".
In 1997, Kamakawiwo?ole was again honored by HARA at the Annual Na Hoku Hanohano awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, Favorite Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Island Contemporary Album of the Year. He watched the awards ceremony from a hospital room.
Alone in Iz World (2001) debuted at #1 on Billboard's World Chart and #135 on Billboard's Top 200, #13 on the Top Independent Albums Chart, and #15 on the Top Internet Album Sales charts.
Support of Hawaiian Rights
Kamakawiwo?ole was known for promoting Hawaiian rights and Hawaiian sovereignty movement|Hawaiian independence , both through his lyrics, which often stated the case for independence directly, and his life.Carroll, Rick. Iz: Voice of the People. Honolulu, Hawai'i: Bess, 2006. Print. His song ''Hawai'i '78'' demonstrates the beliefs and hopes that he had for the people of Hawai’i: the life of this land is the life of the people, and that to care for the land is to care for the Hawaiian culture.Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. "Hawai'i '78." Facing Future. Mountain Apple Company, 1993. MP3. The state motto of Hawai'i is a recurring line in the song and encompasses the meaning of Iz's message: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ?Aina i ka Pono (Roughly translated: The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness). http://www.netstate.com/states/mottoes/hi_motto.htm
Death
Throughout his life, Kamakawiwo?ole was obese and at one point weighed convert|757|lb|kg st standing convert|6|ft|2|in|m|2|adj=on tall ( Body mass index|BMI = 97.05& nbsp;kg/m²).cite news |last=Kekoa Enomoto |first=Catherine |coauthors= Gregg K. Kakesako |url= http://archives.starbulletin.com/97/06/26/news/story1.html |title='IZ' Will Always Be |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date=June 26, 1997 He endured several hospitalizations because of problems caused by his obesity. Beset with respiratory and other medical problems, he died in Queen's Medical Center at 12:18 a.m. on June 26, 1997. Kamakawiwo?ole is survived by his widow, Marlene Kamakawiwo?ole, and their daughter, Ceslie-Ann "Wehi".cite news |last=Adamski |first=Mary |url= http://archives.starbulletin.com/1997/07/10/news/story3.html |title=Isles Bid Aloha, not Goodbye, to 'Brudda Iz' |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date=July 10, 1997
The Hawaii state flag flew at half-staff on July 10, 1997, the day of Kamakawiwo?ole's funeral. His koa|koa wood coffin lay in state at the state capitol building in Honolulu. He was the third person in Hawaiian history to be awarded this honor, and the only one who was not a government official. Approximately ten thousand people attended the funeral. Thousands of fans gathered as his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at Makua Beach on July 12, 1997. The funeral and the scattering of Kamakawiwo?ole's ashes were featured in the official music video of "Over the Rainbow" released posthumously by Mountain Apple Company; as of the end of 2011, the video as featured on YouTube has garnered over 69 million views.cite news|url= http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=V1bFr2SWP1I |title=OFFICIAL Somewhere over the Rainbow - Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo?ole |publisher=Mountain Apple Company |accessdate=28 December 2011
On September 20, 2003, hundreds paid tribute to Kamakawiwo?ole as a bronze bust of the revered singer was unveiled at the Waianae Neighborhood Community Center on O?ahu. The singer's widow, Marlene Kamakawiwo?ole, and sculptor Jan-Michelle Sawyer were present for the dedication ceremony.cite news |title=Sculpture's Debut Honors 'Braddah IZ' |url= http://starbulletin.com/2003/09/21/news/indexwild.html |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date=September 21, 2003
Legacy
Kamakawiwo'ole's recording of "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" was featured as a sound track in the movies Meet Joe Black , Finding Forrester , 50 First Dates , Fred Clause , Glee (TV series)|Glee , UK original version of Life on Mars (TV series)|Life On Mars series 2, and IMAX : Hubble 3D ,cite web|url= http://www.torontoscreenshots.com/2010/03/18/imax-hubble-3d/ |title=IMAX: Hubble 3D – Toronto Screen Shots |date=18 March 2010|accessdate=2 May 2011, and Cold Case among others.cite book|title=Lonely Planet Hawaii|author=Kim Grant|coauthors=Glenda Bendure, Michael Clark, Ned Friary, Conner Gorry, Luci Yamamoto|page=97|isbn=978-1-74059-871-2|year=2005|publisher= Lonely Planet Publications |edition=7th
"Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" reached #12 on Billboard s Hot Digital Tracks chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004). It passed the 2 million paid downloads mark in the USA by September 27, 2009, and then sold 3 million in the USA as of October 2, 2011. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74420/week-ending-oct-2-2011-songs-gone-but-not-forgotten/;_ylt=AiD_OJ9nEgtKcMuaQRr99VUPwiUv Week Ending Oct. 2, 2011. Songs: Gone But Not Forgotten
On July 4, 2007, Kamakawiwo?ole debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart with "Wonderful World," selling 17,000 units. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do? model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums& model.vnuArtistId=119886& model.vnuAlbumId=1201718 Artist Chart History – Israel Kamakawiwo?ole, Billboard
In April 2007, "Over the Rainbow" entered the UK charts at #68, and eventually climbed to #46, spending 10 weeks in the Top 100 over a 2 year period.
In October 2010, following its use in a trailer for the TV channel VOX http://www.nzzfolio.ch/www/d80bd71b-b264-4db4-afd0-277884b93470/showarticle/3be0059d-b39a-45f9-93a1-1bec21f2f59e.aspx Herr der Goldtruhen NZZ Folio vom 7. Oktober 2010. and on a TV advertisement – for Axe deodorant (which is itself a revival of the advertisement originally aired in 2004) cite web|url= http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=BauTYOod9e4 |title=Lynx – Getting Dressed Commercial Song Israel Kamakawiwo'ole – Somewhere Over the Rainbow |publisher=YouTube |date=November 24, 2010 |accessdate=January 24, 2011 – it hit #1 on the List of number-one hits of 2010 (Germany)|German singles chart , was the number one seller single of 2010cite web |url= http://www.media-control.de/musik-jahrescharts-sanfter-riese-und-der-graf-setzen-sich-durch.html |title=Musik-Jahrescharts: 'Sanfter Riese' und der Graf setzen sich durch – media control |trans_title=Music charts of the year: 'Gentle giant' and der Graf|work=media-control.de| date=January 6 January 2011|accessdate=6 March 2011 and was eventually certified 2× Platinum in 2011.Certification Cite|region=Germany|title=Over the Rainbow|artist=Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole|type=single
As of November 1, 2010, "Over the Rainbow" peaked at No. 6 on the OE3 Austria charts, which largely reflect airplay on Austria's government-operated Top 40 radio network.cite web|url= http://charts.orf.at/oe3/single/2010/woche42 |title=oe3.ORF.at / woche 42/2010 |publisher=Charts.orf.at |date= |accessdate=January 24, 2011 It also peaked at No.1 in France and Switzerland in late December 2010.
On December 6, 2010, Kamakawiwo?ole was named one of the 50 great voices on National Public Radio .cite web|last=Kamakawiwo |first=Israel |url= http://www.npr.org/2010/12/06/131812500/israel-kamakawiwo-ole-the-voice-of-hawaii |title=Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: The Voice Of Hawaii |publisher=NPR |date=December 6, 2010 |accessdate=January 24, 2011
On March 24, 2011, Kamakawiwo?ole was honored with the German national music award Echo (music award)|Echo . The music managers Wolfgang Boss and John de Mello accepted the trophy in his stead. http://www.badische-zeitung.de/fotos-starauflauf-bei-der-echo-verleihung-in-berlin? id=43269096 Starauflauf bei der Echo-Verleihung in Berlin Badische Zeitung, March 25th, 2011
Discography
Albums
Ka ?Ano?i (1990)
Facing Future (1993)
E Ala E (1995)
N Dis Life (1996)
Iz in Concert: The Man and His Music (1998)
Alone in Iz World (2001)
'' Wonderful World (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole album)|Wonderful World (2007)
Over the Rainbow (Israel Kamakawiwo?ole album)|Over the Rainbow (2011)
Notes
reflist
References
cite book
| last =Carroll | first =Rick | title =IZ: Voice of the people | publisher = Bess Press | location = Honolulu, Hawai?i | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-1-57306-257-2 | oclc =71325451
cite book
| last =Kois | first =Dan | title =Facing Future | publisher = Continuum (part of the 33? series) | location = New York | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-0-8264-2905-X Please check ISBN|reason=Check digit (X) does not correspond to calculated figure.
External links
IMDb name|0436377
findagrave|64639201
http://www.izhawaii.com/ Mountain Apple Record Company's Official Israel Kamakawiwo?ole Site
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=V1bFr2SWP1I& feature=relmfu "Somewhere over the Rainbow"
Persondata | NAME = Kamakawiwoole, Israel | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = May 20, 1959 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Honolulu , Hawaii , United States|U.S. | DATE OF DEATH = June 26, 1997 | PLACE OF DEATH = Honolulu , Hawaii , United States|U.S. DEFAULTSORT:Kamakawiwoole, Israel Category:1959 births Category:1997 deaths Category:Native Hawaiian musicians Category:American male singers Category:Songwriters from Hawaii Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Native Hawaiian activists Category:Ukulele players Category:Musicians from Hawaii
