# Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663 "2011-07-11T19:26:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/1 "2011-07-11T19:26:47Z")
i must have been searching YouTube for videos on Israel when I ran across [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I) video. It blew my mind - what a beautiful rendition! Unfortunately, I found out he died more than 10 years ago. Can anyone tell me more about his music? Are there any songs of his that are particularly amazing? What do I download? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/2 "2011-07-11T19:34:43Z")
[This article in Mix magazine](http://mixonline.com/recording/tracking/bruddah_iz_somewhere_over_rainbow/) about the recording of the song is a pretty decent overview of the man and his music, although it is written for people who record music, so it might get too technical for a bit. That song, and “What A Wonderful World” was recorded as a demo in 15 minutes, in one take. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/3 "2011-07-11T19:35:38Z")
Oh my- get your iTunes account ready! Iz was a phenomenal talent (as large as his sarong!). My favorite album is “Facing Future” which includes several traditional Hawai’ian songs as well as his awesome covers of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and the “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What A Wonderful World” that you like so much. But really, any Iz will do! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/4 "2011-07-11T19:37:35Z")
The hit count on that video keeps going up and up. When I first saw it, it had 2M views. Those are his ashes at the end, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/5 "2011-07-11T19:54:05Z")
Did he ever make any attempts to control his weight? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/6 "2011-07-11T19:57:03Z")
Bruddah Iz was an island boy- 'nuff said. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/7 "2011-07-11T20:36:09Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > Did he ever make any attempts to control his weight? I’m sure he tried - his older brother Skippy died at 28, and his father was a huge guy named “Tiny”. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/8 "2011-07-11T20:52:25Z")
Speaking of Iz’s father, there are two versions of a protest song on “Facing Future” called Hawai’i 79, IIRC. In one of them, Iz is talking about his father and a couple of other dead relatives appearing to him, asking him to turn his life around. Quite an interesting story. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/9 "2011-07-11T20:55:11Z")
if a song ever qualified as hauntingly beautiful, this would rank up there near the top ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/10 "2011-07-11T21:04:31Z")
Re-read the article. It says that he was at a peak of 750 lbs, which would seem to indicate that he had dropped from that. No matter what, dropping several full-sized human being’s worth of weight is going to be difficult, and you may not live through the attempt. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/11 "2011-07-11T21:06:01Z")
I love his music. I have not heard anything from him I did not like. I introduced my 7 year-old to his version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World”, now she wants to go to Hawai’i and see him in concert. I had to explain that 1) we are not going to Hawai’i any time soon and 2) he’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/12 "2011-07-11T21:34:54Z")
Love this song for a while now, and _Facing Future_ is great. An aside; does anyone know where the name “Israel” comes from for a native Hawaiian? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/13 "2011-07-11T21:40:23Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > I introduced my 7 year-old to his version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World”, now she wants to go to Hawai’i and see him in concert. I had to explain that 1) we are not going to Hawai’i any time soon and 2) he’s dead. and 3) There’s no Santa. I prefer his version SOtR alone to the one mixed with “What a Wonderful World”. I got it from iTunes and sometimes just listen to it in a loop. also 4. Your kitty is _not_ living on a farm ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/14 "2011-07-12T00:05:15Z")
I was introduced to Iz by a guy who lived down the hall in my dorm. My dormmate hailed from the Big Island. This was the '97-'98 school year, around the time Iz died. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/15 "2011-07-12T02:54:37Z")
> [@jk1245](#): > > An aside; does anyone know where the name “Israel” comes from for a native Hawaiian? It is very common for Native Hawaiians (heck, many ethnicities in Hawaii) to have English/American first names and ethnic middle names. About a third of the people with Native Hawaiian blood I knew had English names; the rest have long Hawaiian names and a shortened-version nickname. Iz’s parents have English names, as do his widow and daughter. I’m ethnically Japanese, and I’ve got English first and middle names. I’m literally the only person I can think of between friends and family who is from Hawaii and doesn’t have an ethnic middle name. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/16 "2011-07-12T03:32:17Z")
Essentially everyone today who sings “Over the Rainbow”, whether in TV talent shows, local talent shows, YouTube videos, or professional performances, is either trying to imitate Iz’s version of the song or Eva Cassidy’s version of the song: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccCnL8hArW8) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/17 "2011-07-12T03:51:37Z")
I must say I prefer the more standard version as sung by Judy Garland as a song. It’s a plaintive growing up song with touching lyrics and a great tune. I think Iz’s version buries all that. However, I think his version is a great piece of music. It sounds stunning. Just not a good rendition of the song. ---
**Author:** ![FoundWaldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@FoundWaldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoundWaldo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/18 "2011-07-12T03:58:50Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > is either trying to imitate Iz’s version of the song or Eva Cassidy’s version of the song And both of them died too early. Is singing that song beautifully bad luck? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/19 "2011-07-12T04:06:31Z")
Apparently so. Judy Garland sang a great version and died at 47. Israel Kamakawiwoʻole did a better version and died at 38. Eva Cassidy sang the best version yet and died at 33. Connie Talbot, watch out! I know the version you did on _Britain’s Got Talent_ when you were 6 was great, but if you keep improving, by the time you’re 18 you’ll do the best version of all. And you’ll immediately fall over dead. ---
**Author:** ![SantaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@SantaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SantaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663/20 "2011-07-12T05:23:31Z")
> [@Geek\_Mecha](#): > > It is very common for Native Hawaiians (heck, many ethnicities in Hawaii) to have English/American first names and ethnic middle names. About a third of the people with Native Hawaiian blood I knew had English names; the rest have long Hawaiian names and a shortened-version nickname. Iz’s parents have English names, as do his widow and daughter. > > I’m ethnically Japanese, and I’ve got English first and middle names. I’m literally the only person I can think of between friends and family who is from Hawaii and doesn’t have an ethnic middle name. Reminds me of the song “Glen Miyashiro” by the Hawai’ian native parodist by Frank Delima, where he posits that 80% of Hawai’ian Japanese males have the first name Glenn [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-iz-kamakawiwo-ole/588663.md?page=2)