June 25, 2007
Israel Kamawiwo’ole - 10 years gone
There will be sadness and smiles on this anniversary. The big man left us ten years ago, but his legacy touches us daily. It is not possible to go one day in Hawaii without hearing his sweet tenor and playful ukelele tickling the ear. I hear it from the radio of the car next to me in traffic. He sings to me as I weigh potatoes and check the freshness date on milk at the grocery. He croons from a CD player as I stroll the beach. His unique version of “What a Wonderful World/Somewhere Over the Rainbow” sells toys and travel on TV. Iz is everywhere. He was - still is - the voice of Hawaii.
Come. Listen to Bruddah Iz. Yeah, that guy. You’ve been hearing his voice in movies and commercials for years. That one song took wing shortly after his death and spread his fame far beyond these islands. Listen to a medley from a new CD that combines Iz tracks with symphonic orchestration. I’m not sure yet what to think of the new sound. I think I prefer the simplicity of Iz, un-fooled-around-with, but I’ll buy the album. We all will. We need it for our Iz collections. It’s more though. Iz did well in his lifetime, but his estate is making more money now than he could ever have imagined. In the last twenty-four hours I’ve heard three people say they’ll buy his “new” music for his daughter. She is ours, too, and we want her to have the financial support of our love for her father, our affection for her. You can listen, read and watch on the Honolulu Advertiser/Bruddah Iz link above and I think you’ll see why. You’ll see why our Sunday paper this week was saturated with Iz, why we were all thrilled with the sample from the new album that arrived with it on our doorsteps.
He called this coast home. I’ve never seen his bust unadorned with lei. He is ever in our minds, this favorite son who spoke for the kanaka - the Hawaiian people - and to us all. The music and the man belong to the whole world now, but he’s a part of us in a way that others can’t know. We know the streets where he grew up, the ocean and beaches where he took his leisure, the drug culture that sucked him in. He was one of the fortunate ones, one of the strong ones who beat that powerful demon. He couldn’t beat his other demon though, the gross obesity that finally smothered the life out of him. His heart was enormous, but not big enough to keep beating under the weight of his nearly half-ton body. He had a heart attack at thirty and succumbed at only thirty-eight. His music has not stopped, though, and Iz has not really left us. He blesses our lives every day. I hope you’ll enjoy a little interlude with him today. Tip your hat to the big man and rejoice that his music lives on.
[tags]Hawaiian music, Honolulu Advertiser, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, Iz, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, What a Wonderful World[/tags]
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June 26th, 2007 at 3:12 am, Kate Says:
I think I’ll pull out my CD and listen to Hawaii ‘78 today. And cry.
June 26th, 2007 at 6:42 am, Kat Says:
I never knew until today that he is the one who sings over the rainbow, the version I adore and makes me cry every time I hear it.
You wrote a beautiful post girl. Very touching tribute to him.
June 26th, 2007 at 7:38 am, Martin Says:
This man’s music is played quite regularly during the workday. His voice was a thing of beauty. The way his voice has carried a message and a feeling around the World for all these years even after he is gone is amazing.
June 26th, 2007 at 8:54 am, skeet Says:
Kate, I’m going to take a lei over there later today. I’ll leave it with my aloha … and yours. Hawaii 78 and his sweet version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star always make me cry.
June 26th, 2007 at 8:57 am, skeet Says:
Mahalo, Kat. I should have mentioned that his “What a Wonderful World” is arranged as medly with “Over the Rainbow.” The man is still making the whole world cry.
June 26th, 2007 at 8:59 am, skeet Says:
Iz was an amazing man, Martin. I’m glad that so many people around the world have a chance to know that now.
June 26th, 2007 at 9:45 am, Whim Says:
Touching post Skeet.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:54 pm, Fez Travel Says:
His life is really inspiring and the influence he has on the people in Hawaii is really unbelievable. Hope his legacy lives on forever.
June 26th, 2007 at 7:29 pm, skeet Says:
Mahalo, whim. Iz brings out the emotional side of many of us.
June 26th, 2007 at 7:31 pm, skeet Says:
I hope Iz’s legacy live forever, too, Fez. I believe it will. I didn’t even touch on his influence in the Hawaiian sovreignity movement in this post. That’s for another day.
June 26th, 2007 at 11:44 pm, Melissa Says:
That was really lovely. Thanks for sharing. I clicked through to the CD samples with the orchestra and me and my five year old daughter loved it. She was dancing around to Hawaiian ukele music in our study in Canberra. Wow. What a wonderful world.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:18 am, IndieMusicMan Says:
His music takes me to a better place… a place I like to be. Nice post!