Drew Beaty

Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

Israel Kamakawiwo’ole was born in 1959 in Honolulu. As a native Hawaiian, he felt a

strong connection to the culture and the music of Hawaii. As a child, he began playing music

with his older brother and established Moe Keale, Palani Vaughn, and Peter Moon as musical

influences. Though his brother and cousin both left Hawaii when they were older, Israel

remained on the island. In his older age, Israel became an avid Hawaiian rights activist. He

began making political statements in support of Hawaiian independence with his music and

lyrics. He believed that second-class status had been imposed on the native Hawaiian people by

the tourist industry and he continued to fight for justice until his death in 1997. Israel had a

profound impact on Hawaiian culture and the was ukulele music could be used. The way he

fought injustice with a soprano ukulele gave meaning and importance to the little instrument. He

forced the world to listen to and respect Hawaiian culture.

His most popular song is a mix between the two songs, ​What a Wonderful World ​and

Somewhere Over the Rainbow​. I personally love the way he mixed the two songs that people

normally did not associate with each other. He explores the range in his voice with the two songs

and plays the ukulele very clearly. The songs mostly has chords and does not use very much

fingerpicking, but I appreciate the simplicity of the song and of the ukulele. One of his more

political songs was ​Hawai’i 78​ where he incorporated several political statements into his lyrics.

Even including the phrase, “​Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono.” This phrase roughly translates

to “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.” This was the same phrase that the King

of Hawaii proclaimed when Hawaii regained sovereignty in 1843. So though some of his songs
had a more subtle political message, this was not one of them. This song perfectly displays how

Israel could masterfully combine song and political activism. He had a contributed greatly to

Hawaiian culture, activism, and music.