Israel Ka'ano'I Kamakawiwo'ole Courtesy of Craig Thompson.

Kamakawiwo'ole, Israel Ka'ano'i (20 May 1959-26 June 1997), known to his fans as Iz, singer, musician, and activist for Hawaiian rights and sovereignty, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Evangeline Keale, manager of Harris Kalaeikini's Steamboat Lounge (Steamboats), a popular Waikiki nightclub, and Henry Kaleialoha Naniwa Kamakawiwo'ole, Jr., a bouncer at the club and driver of a sanitation truck at the U.S. Navy shipyard at Pearl Harbor. Israel spent his early years in working-class communities several miles outside of downtown Honolulu, most often in the company of his maternal grandfather in Palolo. During the summer his grandfather took him to his native Niihau, the smallest of the Hawaiian islands and one that had been off-limits to outsiders for more than one hundred years. This experience enhanced his cultural education, as it is considered "the most Hawaiian place on earth."

At age six, Israel learned the ukelele by watching and listening to others play, including his mother, his older brother, and his uncle, the Hawaiian musician and actor Moe Keale, who played with the Sons of Hawaii, the group that inspired the "Hawaiian Music Renaissance." The young boy's personal link to this beloved group influenced the music that he played throughout his career. He first performed publicly at around age ten, when he and his older brother, Skippy, were called up to the stage by bands that played regularly at their parents' workplace.

In 1970 the brothers began working on a tourist boat. Israel, then eleven years old, gained some notoriety singing hapa-haole songs (songs with Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian elements, such as "Tiny Bubbles," popularized by Don Ho) to tourists who thought he was cute.

During the 1970s, clubs that featured Hawaiian music fell into decline as acid rock grew in popularity and Hawaii became a haven for Vietnam-era soldiers on leave. Steamboats closed, and Israel's parents lost their jobs and moved to rural Makaha, on Oahu's westerly Waianae Coast. There the young teen saw and was deeply affected by the "real" Hawaii. In this area, which held the largest concentration of the native Hawaiian population, he encountered the worst of the problems that resulted from years of oppression and neglect: poverty, drug use, gang violence, and general subsistence living. Around this time, Israel dropped out of high school.

Also around this time, Israel came into contact with legendary Hawaiians, such as the surfer Buffalo Keaulana, who helped him improve his surfing skills, and activists, such as the surfer Rell Sunn, known throughout the islands.

A fortuitous meeting with Jerry Koko on Makaha Beach one day when both young men cut school led to the formation of the band that paved the way for Kamakawiwo'ole's fame as a singer-songwriter and voice for Hawaiian sovereignty and resistance. Through Koko, he met other aspiring musicians, and they formed a band in 1976. Skippy, the more serious of the brothers, became the leader of the new band, and it was he who named it the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau and shaped its mission to find and play music that connected to and represented the true spirit of Hawaii. The musicians played Hawaiian music--music written in Hawaiian language about the feelings of Hawaiian people--that reflected native Hawaiian pride. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s their popularity grew as they played clubs and all kinds of affairs and events, were featured on the all-Hawaiian music radio station KCCN, and produced records.

The early 1980s proved to be life-altering years for Kamakawiwo'ole. In 1982 he married his high school sweetheart, Marlene Ah Lo. Soon after, his brother died of a heart attack; the next year, Marlene gave birth to a daughter. Kamakawiwo'ole and the band went on hiatus as they recovered from the death of a beloved brother and leader. They released a new album two years later. It was then that Kamakawiwo'ole began to be the voice of the band, not only singing in his signature sweet, light tenor but also talking more, onstage and off. He became progressively more involved in the Hawaiian rights movement, publicly demanding that the grievances and concerns of the Hawaiian people be heard and addressed, including the right to sovereignty. He became an important and respected voice of Hawaiians, singing and speaking on their behalf. In his song "E Ala E" (Arise, Arise), he sings, "We, the voices behind the face/ Of the Hawaiian nation, the Hawaiian race/ Rise for justice the day has come/ For all our people to stand as one."

In 1993, after seventeen years that included best-selling local albums, Hawaiian music industry awards, and enormous popularity in the islands, Kamakawiwo'ole left the band. Kamakawiwo'ole's poor health contributed to the breakup. His chronic obesity worsened, making it hard for him to travel and contributing to missed performances. Nonetheless, he launched a solo career, winning numerous Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, given by the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Artists, including entertainer of the year in 1994 and 1997. He produced four albums on his Big Boy Records label, which became the most successful small recording company in Hawaii music history.

The airing of his rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" by a disc jockey on a morning California radio show in 1995 catapulted Kamakawiwo'ole onto the world stage, greatly increasing his visibility as a respected artist. This piece is often heard in commercials, television shows, and films. In 2008 it was played at the conclusion of the newsman Tim Russert's memorial service. Kamakawiwo'ole's albums, even those that include highly political themes, are popular in and outside of Hawaii and continue to spread his message of aloha (love, mercy, compassion, peace), an understanding of Hawaiian culture, and his hope for a better life for the Hawaiian people. Fans all over the world knew him as Iz. He died in Honolulu. His body lay in state at the state capitol, the only nonpolitician ever to be so honored.

The most comprehensive biography of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's life is Rick Carroll, IZ: Voice of the People (2006), which gives an overview of his life, with photographs, album covers, and concert posters as well as interviews with family, friends, and colleagues. The book contextualizes the historical and popular culture connections that played a part in Kamakawiwo'ole's life and career; it also includes copies of pages written in his hand that were to have become a memoir. Other sources include newspaper obituaries, primarily the Honolulu Star Bulletin, 26 June 1997.