AlohaCalendar
Legends & Icons
The foundational voices of Hawaiian music.
Alfred Apaka
Hawaiian baritone and Waikīkī entertainer known as "the Golden Voice of Hawaiʻi."
1938–1960
Dennis Kamakahi
Hawaiian slack-key guitarist and prolific composer, three-time Grammy winner and Sons of Hawaii member.
1973–2014
Don Ho
Waikīkī entertainer known for the 1966 hit "Tiny Bubbles" and a decades-long showroom act.
1930–2007 (recording career from 1965)
Eddie Kamae
ʻUkulele virtuoso, founding member of the Sons of Hawaiʻi, and documentary filmmaker.
active 1940s–2010s (1927–2017)
Gabby Pahinui
Hawaiian slack-key guitarist and singer, a central figure of the Hawaiian Renaissance.
1946–1980
Genoa Keawe
Hawaiian falsetto vocalist and ʻukulele player known as "Aunty Genoa," associated with the song "ʻAlika."
1918–2008 (recording career from 1946)
Henry Kapono
Native Hawaiian singer-songwriter, the 'Kapono' of 1970s duo Cecilio & Kapono, later a solo Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winner.
1970s–present (recording career began with Cecilio & Kapono, formed 1973; solo career from 1981)
Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole
Native Hawaiian singer and ʻukulele player known for his "Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World" medley.
c. 1976–1997 (with the Mākaha Sons of Niʻihau from the mid-1970s; solo career 1990–1997)
Sonny Chillingworth
Hawaiian slack-key guitarist (1932–1994) known as "The Waimea Cowboy."
1932–1994 (recording from the 1950s)
Willie K
Versatile Maui musician (1960-2020) known for blending Hawaiian music, blues, rock, and opera in performance.
1970–2018 (professional recording career from c. 1991; performed publicly from childhood)
Photos: Naukilo (CC BY-SA 3.0) · baldeaglebluff (Flickr) (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons user Twobikeminimum (CC BY-SA 3.0) · United States Marine Corps (photographer not individually credited on file page) (Public Domain (PD-USGov-Military) — work of a U.S. military/Department of Defense employee taken as part of official duties; no NC or ND restriction)