Carole Kai (née Shimizu; born October 28, 1944) is an entertainer (singer and pianist), recording artist, and philanthropist from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Personal life

Born Carole Shimizu in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, she graduated from McKinley High School in Honolulu. She began performing shortly after she graduated; she also recorded for several local record labels. Her first album, "All at once..." (Kanaka KM-1002), was produced by island record industry veteran George J.D. Chun. At that time she was billed as Carol Kai.

Career

In the late 1970s, when she was already well known as a Hawaii showroom headliner, her manager, Yemun Chung, paired her with a young island show band he was also managing, The Fabulous Krush (later known simply as "The Krush"). Kai was not a member of the group; they performed as her backing band as well as doing their own shows. In the late 1990s, following the national success of shows featuring two or more "divas", she joined three other local singers with showroom experience —

Loyal Garner Loyal Garner (September 28, 1946 – November 15, 2001) was a Hawaiian musician and ''de facto'' leader of the Hawaiian singing group Local Divas. Her hits included "Shave Ice" from the 1982 album ''Island Feelings'' and "Blind Man in the Bleachers ...

, Melveen Leed, and Nohelani "Baby Diva" Cypriano — to form a new show group named ''The Local Divas''. The group made several recordings but broke up after Garner's death several years later. Kai was also the co-host, with Kimo Kahoano, of a televised

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

contest, ''Hawaii Stars'', that was the most popular locally produced show of its kind in Hawaii. Kai appeared in Hawaii Five-0 (1968 TV series) season 3 episode 7 "Force of Waves" as a nurse, in a small role.

Philanthropy

Kai was the organizer and namesake of the first bed race in Hawaii, the Carole Kai Bed Race (later the Honolulu International Bed Race). It became an annual event benefiting the Variety Schools, a local school for children with special needs. Later, in 1985, after ending her affiliation with the bed race, she partnered with local cardiologist Jack Scaff to organize a road race between

Aloha Tower The Aloha Tower is a retired lighthouse that is considered one of the landmarks of the state of Hawaii in the United States. Opened on September 11, 1926, at a then astronomical cost of $160,000, the Aloha Tower is located at Pier 9 of Honolulu ...

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the nor ...

and Aloha Stadium. This race became the

Great Aloha Run The Hawai'i Pacific Health Great Aloha Run is a road race that takes place annually in Honolulu, Hawaii on the third weekend in February ( Presidents' Day in the United States). It is a charity event that benefits Carole Kai Charities, a philanthr ...

, and is now one of the largest road races in Hawaii, perhaps second to the Honolulu Marathon, attracting about 20,000 runners annually.

References

Hawaii people of Japanese descent American musicians of Japanese descent University of Hawaiʻi alumni Musicians from Honolulu Living people 1944 births {{Hawaii-stub