Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole

Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997), widely known as IZ or Braddah IZ, was a Native Hawaiian singer and ʻukulele player. He was born in Honolulu; his mother was from the island of Niʻihau and his father was part-Hawaiian from Oʻahu, and he retained deep family ties to Niʻihau while becoming closely associated with Oʻahu's Waiʻanae coast. He first gained recognition in the 1970s as a co-founder of the Mākaha Sons of Niʻihau, a group that helped drive the Hawaiian cultural and musical renaissance of the era.

In 1990 Kamakawiwoʻole launched a solo career with his debut album 'Ka ʻAnoʻi.' His 1993 album 'Facing Future,' released on Honolulu's Mountain Apple Company, became his breakthrough. It featured his signature medley of 'Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World,' along with tracks such as 'Hawaiʻi '78' and 'White Sandy Beach of Hawaiʻi.' On October 26, 2005 'Facing Future' became the first Hawaiʻi album certified platinum by the RIAA, and it is documented as the best-selling album by a Hawaiian artist.

Beyond his music, Kamakawiwoʻole was an advocate for Native Hawaiian rights and sovereignty, themes that ran through much of his repertoire. He died of respiratory failure in 1997 at age 38. His casket lay in state at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol in Honolulu, where he was the only non-government official to be so honored. He was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 2017 and was named one of NPR's '50 Great Voices' in 2010, which called him 'The Voice of Hawaiʻi.'