Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (; meaning 'the fearless eye, the bold face'; May 20, 1959June 26, 1997), also called Bruddah Iz or just simply IZ, was a Hawaiian musician, singer, songwriter, and

Hawaiian sovereignty The Hawaiian sovereignty movement ( haw, ke ea Hawaiʻi), is a grassroots political and cultural campaign to re-establish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom of Hawaii due to desire for sovereignty, self-determination, and self-gover ...

activist. He achieved commercial success outside Hawaii when his album ''

Facing Future ''Facing Future'' is the second album by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, released in 1993. The best-selling album of all time by a Hawaiian artist, ''Facing Future'' combines traditional Hawaiian-language songs, hapa-haole songs with ...

'' was released in 1993. His

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music * Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People * Medley (surname), list of people with this n ...

of "

Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" (also known as "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World") is a medley of " Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World", recorded by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. First released on ...

" was released on his albums '' Ka ʻAnoʻi'' and ''Facing Future'', and was subsequently featured in several films, television programs, and television commercials. The song has had 358 weeks on top of the

World Digital Songs The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one o ...

chart, making it the longest-leading number-one hit on any of the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' song charts. Along with his

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

playing and incorporation of other genres, such as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, Kamakawiwoʻole remains influential in Hawaiian music, and is seen by many as the greatest Hawaiian musician of all time. He was named "The Voice of Hawai‘i" by

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

in 2010.

Early life

Kamakawiwoʻole was born at

Kuakini Medical Center Kuakini Medical Center is a private hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. The center is run by the Kuakini Health System which also runs geriatric care facilities and a foundation. History The organization started as the Japanese Benevolent Society in 189 ...

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 isla ...

to Henry "Hank" Kaleialoha Naniwa Kamakawiwoʻole Jr. and Evangeline "Angie" Leinani Kamakawiwoʻole. His parents both worked at a popular

Waikiki Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the distri ...

nightclub, his mother the manager, his father a bouncer; his father was also driver of a sanitation truck at the U.S. Navy shipyard at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

. The notable Hawaiian musician

Moe Keale Wilfred Nalani "Moe" Keale (December 3, 1939 – April 15, 2002) was an American musician of Hawaiian music, a ukulele virtuoso, and an actor. He was the uncle and major musical influence of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. He died from a heart attack on ...

was his uncle and a major musical influence. Kamakawiwoʻole was raised in the community of

Kaimuki Kaimukī is a residential neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. History In the 19th century the area was a farm of King Kalākaua, where ostriches roamed wild over the mountain side. It later became the site of a carnation farm f ...

, where his parents had met and married. He began playing music with his older brother Henry Kaleialoha Naniwa Kamakawiwoʻole III ("Skippy") and cousin Allen Thornton at the age of 11, being exposed to the music of Hawaiian entertainers of the time such as Peter Moon,

Palani Vaughan Palani Vaughan (May 27, 1944 – December 8, 2016) was a Hawaiian musician. During his career, he was a featured artist on Hawaii Calls. KCCN radio included his songs "Ipo Lei Manu", "Ka Mamakakaua", "Eia No Kawika/Kalakaua He Inoa", "He Pua Wehiw ...

Keola Beamer Keola Beamer (born Keolamaikalani Breckenridge Beamer February 18, 1951) is a Hawaiian slack-key guitar player, best known as the composer of "Honolulu City Lights" and an innovative musician who fused Hawaiian roots and contemporary music. Keola ...

and

Don Ho Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the album of the same name. Life and career Ho was a singer of Native ...

, who frequented the establishment where Kamakawiwoʻole's parents worked. Hawaiian musician Del Beazley spoke of the first time he heard Kamakawiwoʻole perform, when, while playing for a graduation party, the whole room fell silent on hearing him sing. He remained in Hawaii as his brother Skippy entered the Army in 1971 and his cousin Allen moved to the mainland in 1976. In his early teens, he studied at

Upward Bound Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program within the United States. The program is one of a cluster of programs now referred to as TRiO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (the War on ...

(UB) of the

University of Hawaii at Hilo A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and his family moved to Mākaha. There he met Louis Kauakahi, Sam Gray, and Jerome Koko. Together with Skippy, they formed the Makaha Sons of Niʻihau. A part of the

Hawaiian Renaissance The Hawaiian Renaissance (also called the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance) was the Hawaiian resurgence of a distinct cultural identity that draws upon traditional kānaka maoli culture, with a significant divergence from the tourism-based culture ...

, the band's blend of contemporary and traditional styles gained in popularity as they toured Hawaii and the mainland United States, releasing fifteen successful albums. Kamakawiwoʻole's aim was to make music that stayed true to the typical sound of traditional Hawaiian music. His cousin Bill Keale is also a musician.

Music career

The Makaha Sons of Niʻihau recorded ''No Kristo'' in 1976 and released several more albums, including ''Hoʻoluana'', ''Kahea O Keale'', ''Keala'', ''Makaha Sons of Niʻihau'' and ''Mahalo Ke Akua''. The group became Hawaii's most popular contemporary traditional group with breakout albums 1984's ''Puana Hou Me Ke Aloha'' and its follow-up, 1986's ''Hoʻola''. Kamakawiwoʻole's last recorded album with the group was 1991's ''Hoʻoluana''. It remains the group's top-selling CD. In 1982, Skippy died at age 28 of a heart attack. Later the same year, Kamakawiwoʻole married his childhood sweetheart Marlene. Soon after, they had a daughter whom they named Ceslie-Ann "Wehi" Kamakawiwoʻole (born ). In 1990, Kamakawiwoʻole released his first

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

'' Ka ʻAnoʻi'', which won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA). ''

'' was released in 1993 by The Mountain Apple Company. It featured a version of his most popular song, the

" (listed as "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"), along with "Hawaiʻi '78", "White Sandy Beach", "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man", and "Kaulana Kawaihae". The decision to include a cover of " Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was said to be a last-minute one by his producer

Jon de Mello Jon de Mello is an American record producer, manager, composer, artist, who was born in Honolulu and raised in Waikiki, and notable for producing Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole. Early years Jon de Mello's father was composer Jack de Mello. Jon d ...

and Kamakawiwoʻole. ''Facing Future'' debuted at No.25 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top Pop Catalogue chart. On October 26, 2005, ''Facing Future'' became Hawaiʻi's first

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

album, selling more than a million CDs in the United States, according to the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. On July 21, 2006,

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

announced that "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World (True Dreams)" would be released as a single in America. In 1994, Kamakawiwoʻole was voted favorite entertainer of the year by the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA). '' E Ala E'' (1995) featured the political title song "ʻE Ala ʻE" and " Kaleohano", and ''

N Dis Life ''N Dis Life'' is the fourth and final album of original music by Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainla ...

'' (1996) featured "In This Life" and "Starting All Over Again". In 1997, Kamakawiwoʻole was again honored by HARA at the Annual Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, Favorite Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Island Contemporary Album of the Year. He watched the awards ceremony from a hospital room. The posthumously released album ''Alone in Iz World'' (2001) debuted at No.1 on ''Billboard'' World Chart and No.135 on ''Billboard'' Top200, No.13 on the Top Independent Albums Chart, and No.15 on the Top Internet Album Sales charts. His album ''Facing Future'' is the best-selling album by a Hawaiian artist in history.

Support of Hawaiian rights

Kamakawiwoʻole was known for promoting Hawaiian rights and Hawaiian independence, both through his lyrics, which often stated the case for independence directly and through his own actions. For example, the lyric in his song "Hawaiʻi '78": "The life of this land is the life of the people/and that to care for the land (malama ʻāina) is to care for the Hawaiian culture", is a statement that many consider summarizing his Hawaiian ideals. The

state motto Most of the United States' 50 states have a state motto, as do the District of Columbia and 3 of its territories. A motto is a phrase intended to formally describe the general motivation or intention of an organization. State mottos ca ...

of Hawaiʻi is a recurring line in the song and encompasses the meaning of his message: "Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono" (proclaimed by

King Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kī ...

when Hawaiʻi regained sovereignty in 1843. It can be roughly translated as: "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness"). Kamakawiwoʻole used his music to promote awareness of his belief that a second-class status had been pushed onto fellow natives by the tourism industry.

Later life

In the 1990s, Kamakawiwoʻole became a

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...

. In 1996, he was baptized at the Word of Life Christian Center in Honolulu and spoke publicly about his beliefs at the

Na Hoku Hanohano Awards The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, occasionally called the Nā Hōkū Awards or Hoku Awards, are the premier music awards in Hawaii.Berger, John"A night of Na Hoku Hanohano" ''Honolulu Star-Advertiser''. May 22, 2011.Haug, Kawehi"Hoku awardees shine ...

. He also recorded the song "Ke Alo O Iesu" ( haw, The Presence of Jesus).

Death

Kamakawiwoʻole suffered from

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

throughout his life, at one point weighing while standing tall. He endured several hospitalizations because of his weight. With chronic medical problems including respiratory and cardiac issues, he died at the age of 38 in the

Queen's Medical Center The Queen's Medical Center, originally named and still commonly referred to as Queen's Hospital, is the largest private non-profit hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. The institution was founded in 1859 by Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV, and is ...

at 12:18am on June 26, 1997, from

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

. On July 10, 1997, the Hawaiian flag flew at

half-staff Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...

for Kamakawiwoʻole's funeral. His

koa KOA (short for Kampgrounds of America) is an American franchise of privately owned campgrounds. Having more than 500 locations across the United States and Canada, it is the world's largest system of privately owned campgrounds. It was founded in ...

wood casket

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) ...

at the

state capitol building This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...

in Honolulu, making him the third person (and the only non-government official) to be so honored. Approximately 10,000 people attended his funeral. Thousands of fans gathered as his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at Mākua Beach on July 12, 1997. According to witnesses, many people commemorated him by honking their car and truck horns on all Hawaiian highways that day. Scenes from the funeral and scattering of Kamakawiwoʻole's ashes were featured in official music videos of "Over the Rainbow", released posthumously by

Mountain Apple Company The Mountain Apple Company is a record label based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that specializes in traditional and contemporary music of Hawaii as well as other artists with a connection to Hawaii. It is known for popularizing the career of Israel Ka ...

. , the two official video uploads of the song, as featured on YouTube by Mountain Apple Company Inc, have collectively received over 1.259 billion views. Israel

On September 20, 2003, hundreds paid tribute to Kamakawiwoʻole as a bronze bust of him was unveiled at the Waianae Neighborhood Community Center on Oʻahu. His widow, Marlene Kamakawiwoʻole, and sculptor Jan-Michelle Sawyer were present for the dedication ceremony.

Legacy

On December 6, 2010,

named Kamakawiwoʻole as "The Voice of Hawaii" in its 50 great voices series. On March 24, 2011, Kamakawiwoʻole was honored with the German national music award

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

. The music managers

Wolfgang Boss Wolfgang Boss is a German music executive, producer and president of A&R for Sony Music Entertainment company. Wolfgang holds the position of Sony Music's Executive President A&R globally since 2012. With more than 100 gold and platinum certific ...

and Jon de Mello accepted the trophy in his stead. A 2014

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

short film, ''

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

'', features two volcanoes as the main characters. Kamakawiwoʻole's cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and his style of music was James Ford Murphy's partial inspiration for the short film. On May 20, 2020,

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

published a page in celebration of Kamakawiwoʻole's 61st birthday. It featured information about his life, musical career, and impact on Hawaii. Included was a two-minute cartoon video with Kamakawiwoʻole's cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" playing as the background and imagery of Hawaii. The section of the page explaining the inspiration of the Doodle says that "The Doodle is full of places in Hawaiʻi that had special significance for Israel: the sunrise at Diamond Head, Mākaha Beach, the Palehua vista, the flowing lava and volcanic landscape of the Big Island, the black sand beach at Kalapana and the Waiʻanae coast."

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"

Kamakawiwoʻole's recording of "

" gained notice in 1999 when an excerpt was used in the TV commercials for eToys.com (later part of

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loca ...

). The full song was featured in the movies '' K-Pax'', '' Meet Joe Black'', '' Finding Forrester'', '' Son of the Mask'', ''

50 First Dates ''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the story of Henry, a womanizing m ...

'', ''

Fred Claus ''Fred Claus'' is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film directed by David Dobkin, screenplay by Dan Fogelman and a story by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Eliz ...

'', ''

Letters to Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

'' and ''

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme ...

Hubble 3D ''Hubble'' (also known as ''Hubble 3D'', ''IMAX: Hubble'', or ''IMAX: Hubble 3D'') is a 2010 American documentary film about Space Shuttle missions to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. It is narrated by the actor Leonardo DiCaprio. ...

''. It was also featured in TV series '' ER'', ''

Between The Lions ''Between the Lions'' is an American animated/live-action/puppet children's television series designed to promote reading. The show was a co-production between WGBH in Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in New York City, in association with Mis ...

'', '' Scrubs'', ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

'', '' Glee'', ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

'', ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'', ''

Storm Chasers ''Storm Chasers'' is an American documentary reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2007, on the Discovery Channel. Produced by Original Media, the program follows several teams of storm chasers as they attempt to intercept ...

'', the UK original version of ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

'', and in ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...

'', among others. In 1988, a friend of Kamakawiwoʻole called a Honolulu recording studio owned by Milan Bertosa at 3:00 am with a request that Kamakawiwoʻole be allowed to come in to make a recording. Bertosa was about to shut down, but told the friend that Kamakawiwoʻole could come if he was able to make it within 15 minutes. In a 2011 interview, Bertosa recalled, "In walks the largest human being I had seen in my life. Israel was probably like 500 pounds. And the first thing at hand is to find something for him to sit on." A security guard gave Kamakawiwoʻole a large steel chair. "Then I put up some microphones, do a quick sound check, roll tape, and the first thing he does is 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' He played and sang, one take, and it was over." Five years later, Bertosa was working as an engineer at Mountain Apple Company when Iz was making a solo album there. Bertosa remembered the old demo tape and introduced it to de Mello who remarked "Israel was really sparkly, really alive." The original 1988 acoustic version of the song was released with the 1993 ''Facing Future'' album. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" reached No.12 on ''Billboard'''s

Hot Digital Tracks The Hot Digital Tracks chart is a song popularity chart that ranks the best selling digital tracks in the United States according to ''Billboard'' magazine. It is not to be confused with the Hot Digital Songs chart, which combines different vers ...

chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004). It passed the two million paid-downloads mark in the US by September 27, 2009, and then sold three million in the US as of October 2, 2011. And as of October 2014, the song has sold more than 4.2 million digital copies. The song is the longest-leading number-one hit on any of the ''Billboard'' song charts, having spent 358 weeks on top of the World Digital Songs chart. On July 8, 2007, Kamakawiwoʻole debuted at No.44 on the ''Billboard'' Top200 Album Chart with "Wonderful World", selling 17,000 units. In April 2007, "Over the Rainbow" entered the UK charts at No.68, and eventually climbed to No.46, spending ten weeks in the Top100 over a two-year period. In October 2010, following its use in a trailer for the TV channel VOX and on a TV advertisementfor Axe deodorant (which is itself a revival of the advertisement originally aired in 2004)it hit No.1 on the German singles chart, was the number-one seller single of 2010 and was eventually certified 2× Platinum in 2011. As of November 1, 2010, "Over the Rainbow" peaked at No.6 on the OE3 Austria charts, which largely reflect airplay on Austria's government-operated Top40 radio network. It also peaked at No.1 in France and Switzerland in late December 2010. On October 24, 2016, ''The Healer'' premiered at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis, which featured "Over the Rainbow". On December 21, 2020, the official music video for "Over the Rainbow" reached a billion views on YouTube. In the Comedy Central comedy series '' Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens'', the titular character and her father share an affinity for Kamakawiwoʻole. Radio host

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is syndicated to hundreds of radio stations in ...

uses "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" as

bumper music Bumper music, or a bump, is a term used in the radio broadcasting industry to refer to short clips of signature songs or theme music used to buffer transitions between programming elements, typically lasting no longer than fifteen seconds. It is ...

on the overnight talk radio show ''

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 1 ...

''. In 2021, the song was inducted into the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservat ...

as part of the heritage in American recorded sound.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Ka ʻAnoʻi'' (1990) *''

'' (1993) *'' E Ala E'' (1995) *''

'' (1996)

Compilation albums

*''IZ in Concert: The Man and His Music'' (1998) *''

Alone in IZ World ''Alone in IZ World'' is an album by the Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole released in 2001, 4 years after his death in 1997. The album has charted on several of Billboard (magazine), Billboard’s album charts. These are:http://www.billbo ...

'' (2001) *'' Wonderful World'' (2007) *''Somewhere Over the Rainbow: The Best of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole'' (2011)

References

Sources

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamakawiwoole, Israel 1959 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American male singers American Christians American male songwriters Burials at sea Christians from Hawaii Converts to Christianity Deaths from respiratory failure Hawaiian ukulele players Mountain Apple Company artists Musicians from Honolulu Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners Native Hawaiian musicians Native Hawaiian nationalists Respiratory disease deaths in Hawaii Singers from Hawaii Songwriters from Hawaii