Aunty Genoa Keawe, 1918-2008

Taken from the HonoluluAdvertiser.com article (for a sample of her vocals, click on the article link and there are clips at the bottom of the article):

Music legend Aunty Genoa Keawe dies

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Pomaika'i Keawe knows that Thursday night's show will be particularly special when she takes over for her grandmother at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.

Her grandmother, Aunty Genoa Leilani Keawe — an icon of Hawaiian music famous for her soaring, seemingly endless falsetto in the song "Alika" — died early yesterday at her Papakolea home as she slept. She was 89.

Pomaika'i, 26, has been sitting in with Keawe's four-piece band every Thursday night at the Marriott's Moana Terrace since Keawe was admitted to The Queen's Medical Center on Feb. 1.

Not all of the performances have been easy for Pomaika'i.

"But this Thursday will be a good one," Pomaika'i said. "She'll be here in a better spirit."

Asked about filling the same stage that her grandmother held for 14 years, Pomaika'i said, "I feel it's more of a responsibility than a privilege."

LONG ILLNESS

Keawe had cancer, heart, stomach and kidney problems. She entered The Queen's Medical Center on Feb. 1 after having difficulty producing "enough blood cells to give her energy," said her son, Eric, Keawe's manager and vice president of Genoa Keawe Records Inc.

Keawe never again performed in public but was constantly singing in the hospital, Eric said.

She even admonished him for not remembering to bring her 'ukulele to her bedside.

"I got scolding," Eric said yesterday at a news conference at the Moana Terrace.

On Thursday, Keawe returned home to Papakolea, then watched the first, one-hour set as her granddaughter and band performed at the Marriott.

Always the teacher, Keawe later critiqued her granddaughter's command of the Hawaiian lyrics she sang — a bedrock of her musical philosophy to get the language right and always remember one's roots.

But during the show, from the audience, "She kept saying, 'You sound beautiful,' " Pomaika'i said.

"She was a teacher, she was a student, she was Hawai'i," said Jon de Mello, CEO of the Mountain Apple Co.

"She gave us anything we needed in music. She lived it," de Mello said. "And I was fortunate to visit her a week ago at Queen's hospital. When I walked in the door, she looked like a little angel and she smiled. She motioned to Eric for her 'ukulele and she grabbed it and sang 'Ho'onanea.' "

De Mello called her "an amazing person, with a heart. If anyone was going to meet their maker, she was totally prepared, totally in balance."

Remembrances poured in from performers, politicians and everyday people.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann said he "grew up in her shadow."

Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona called her "a beloved icon."

Jacqueline Rossetti, an Internet radio personality and longtime expert on Hawaiian music and culture, said "you grew up with her."

"I called her the first lady of Hawaiian song, and she'd say, 'Oh, no, no, no, that belongs to somebody else.' " She was so gracious, so humble, so giving."

MUSICAL ROOTS IN LA'IE

Keawe was born Oct. 31, 1918, and learned to love music while singing with the Mormon choir in La'ie. According to Eric, she would run home from school during lunch hour to listen to Johnny K. Almeida's radio show.

Before World War II, she sang in bandstand shows in Kailua and with George Hookano and his band. In the 1940s, Keawe took a dare and sang a birthday song to her niece, "For You a Lei," on Almeida's radio show, which got her a return invitation.

Keawe then performed on KULA radio and became a regular on television's "Lucky Luck Show" from 1951 through 1955. She was a featured soloist on the "Hawaii Calls" radio show and in 1964 sang with the Honolulu Rapid Transit Musicians on KGU radio.

There were weekend gigs at places like Club Polynesia, Aloha Grill, Kapahulu Tavern, Waikiki Tavern, Waikiki Sands, Sierra Cafe, Knights Inn, Steamboats, Ala Moana Americana Hotel, the Willows and Duke's Canoe Club.

"We will miss the gentleness (of those forgotten times) with the passing of Aunty Genoa," said Robert Cazimero of The Brothers Cazimero.

Keawe later became a Waikiki fixture at the Hawaiian Regent Hotel, now known as the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.

PROLIFIC OUTPUT

Along the way, she recorded dozens of albums and singles with 49th State Records as Genoa Keawe and Her Hawaiians.

There also were recordings with Hula Records and Poki Records before forming Genoa Keawe Records in 1969.

Na Hoku Hanohano awards presented Keawe with the Sidney Grayson Award, Anthology Award and — in 1995 — Female Vocalist Award.

Among other presentations and proclamations, Keawe also was honored by the City and County of Honolulu, the state House of Representatives and the state Senate, and the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

On Keawe's 85th birthday, Gov. Linda Lingle thanked her for her contribution to Hawaiian culture.

The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii proclaimed Keawe a "Living Treasure of Hawai'i." She also was honored in 2000 by the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 2005, the University of Hawai'i presented Keawe with an honorary degree for her contribution to Hawaiian music. She received the degree in full regalia at Windward Community College.

In the past 10 years, Keawe had been diagnosed with breast cancer, which spread to her arm 18 months ago.

She had turned down chemo-therapy or breast surgery — a decision that her son, Eric, believes "extended her life."

He said his mother told doctors at the time, "I've lived a full life. When the Lord is ready to take me, I'll be ready."

She later developed a herniated stomach, and heart and kidney problems, and a pacemaker was implanted in May 2005.

In November 2006, the cancer spread to her stomach and lungs.

SERVICES PENDING

Services are pending and will be conducted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The funeral may be held at Borthwick Mortuary in Chinatown or perhaps in her hometown of La'ie, Eric said.

Wherever the location, it is certain to bring together an all-star lineup of Hawaiian entertainers.

But Eric suggested that it may be low-key.

"She was a very simple person," he said.

Keawe outlived nine of her 12 children. She is survived by sons Eric and Gary P. Keawe-Aiko, and daughter Eli Kaeo Paalua; 40 grandchildren; 98 great-grandchildren; and 81 great-great-grandchildren. She also was supported by several of her deceased children's spouses: Howard Lono, Iwalani (Ho), Frederick Amina, Snooks (Watson), Barbara (Buchanan), Patrick Ah Yuen and two hanai daughters, Suzie Harrison and Roberta Silva.