Alfred Aholo Apaka, Jr. (March 19, 1919 – January 30, 1960) was a Hawaiian singer whose romantic baritone voice was closely identified with Hawaii between the late 1940s and the early 1960s. Alfred Apaka was arguably the foremost interpreter of Hapa haole music, which melded Hawaiian music with traditional pop music arrangements and English lyrics to convey Polynesian imagery and themes.
A 1938 Royal Hawaiian Hotel engagement with Don McDiarmid[4] was Apaka's first professional performance, followed by an engagement with Ray Kinney, and a tour of the mainland. Apaka's band played up and down the Pacific coast of the United States 1946-1949. In 1951, Apaka became established at the Moana Hotel in Waikiki.
Joe Glaser, Louis Armstrong's manager, and Jay Faggen signed on as his talent agents and Apaka was groomed to become a mainstream crooner competing with the likes of Bing Crosby. He joined Crosby's label, Decca Records, in 1950. Bob Hope[5] first saw Apaka performing at a luau at Don the Beachcomber's in Waikiki in 1952. Apaka performed on many Hope and Crosby radio and television broadcasts as well as two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1957. One month prior to his death, Apaka paid a visit to NBC in Los Angeles for a guest spot on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show on December 6, 1959.
When Henry J. Kaiser built his Hawaiian Village, he specifically created its Tapa Showroom[5] exclusively for Alfred Apaka. It was a running gag[6] that Kaiser so loved Apaka as his own son that he planned to buy the island of Molokai and rename it "Apaka Island". Kaiser established Hawaiian Village Records,[7] supposedly to record many local talents, but initially only naming the first Christmas release of an Apaka package.
Apaka was a regular on the enormously popular syndicated radio program Hawaii Calls, produced by Webley Edwards. The radio program was heard around the world and helped to propel Apaka's career worldwide.
The Decca Records release "The Best of Alfred Apaka" noted the following information in the album's liner notes:
"Alfred Aloha Apaka (1919–1960) was one of the influential performers in the history of Hawaii's popular music. Although he recorded for less than a decade, Apaka set the standards for modern Hawaiian music with his joyful, baritone vocals and highly entertaining performances. In his book, Hawaiian Music and Musicians, George Kanahele wrote that Apaka was "the possessor of one of the most remarkable voices to come out of Hawaii. A natural, untrained, voice, it was strong, masculine and agile.....a delicate instrument that could range from B flat to E in pianissimo." Apaka inherited his musical skills from his great aunt, Lydia Ahola, the [hānai] daughter of Queen Lilioukalani. In an interview with The Honolulu Sun Bulletin, Apaka's son, Jeff, who also became an entertainer, said, "I like to think that Dad's musical training came in a direct line from the queen." During the 1940s, Apaka performed with several orchestras including Don McDiamond's Royal Hawaiian Hotel house band and Ray Kenney's band in New York. Overheard by Bob Hope while singing at a luau in Honolulu, Apaka became a regular guest on Hope's radio and television shows. Although many predicted that he would become a successful mainstream vocalist, Apaka took a different route when he convinced multimillionaire Henry Kaiser to build a hotel, The Hawaiian Village, that included a showroom where he starred in his own extravagant revue. Apaka's energetic performances soon made the hotel an essential tourist attraction, and his popularity continued to grow. Plans for a nationally broadcast television special were finalized in February 1960. A few days later, however, Apaka suffered a fatal heart attack while playing hand ball."
Death
Alfred Apaka died suddenly of a heart attack in 1960, aged 40, while playing paddle tennis at a Honolulu YMCA.[8] He was buried[9][10] with a microphone in his hand. His final resting place is at Diamond Head Memorial Park.[11]
alfred, apaka, alfred, aholo, apaka, march, 1919, january, 1960, hawaiian, singer, whose, romantic, baritone, voice, closely, identified, with, hawaii, between, late, 1940s, early, 1960s, arguably, foremost, interpreter, hapa, haole, music, which, melded, hawa. Alfred Aholo Apaka Jr March 19 1919 January 30 1960 was a Hawaiian singer whose romantic baritone voice was closely identified with Hawaii between the late 1940s and the early 1960s Alfred Apaka was arguably the foremost interpreter of Hapa haole music which melded Hawaiian music with traditional pop music arrangements and English lyrics to convey Polynesian imagery and themes Alfred ApakaBackground informationBirth nameAlfred Aholo Apaka Jr Born 1919 03 19 March 19 1919Honolulu HawaiiDiedJanuary 30 1960 1960 01 30 aged 40 Honolulu Hawaii USAGenresHawaiian Traditional pop Hapa haole music StandardsOccupation s SingerInstrument s Voice BaritoneYears active1938 1960LabelsDecca Bell Records Aloha Records Capitol Hawaiian Village ABC Paramount Contents 1 Biography 2 Death 3 Awards and recognition 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksBiography EditAlfred Apaka was born in Honolulu Hawaii 1 to vocalist Alfred Aholo Apaka Sr 2 He was of Chinese Portuguese and Hawaiian ancestry 3 He was a great grandson of Luther Aholo and grandnephew of Lydia Kaʻonohiponiponiokalani Aholo 2 Alfred was a graduate of President Theodore Roosevelt High School where he was an athlete and ROTC cadet captain The family lived for a short time on Molokai but returned to Oahu A 1938 Royal Hawaiian Hotel engagement with Don McDiarmid 4 was Apaka s first professional performance followed by an engagement with Ray Kinney and a tour of the mainland Apaka s band played up and down the Pacific coast of the United States 1946 1949 In 1951 Apaka became established at the Moana Hotel in Waikiki Joe Glaser Louis Armstrong s manager and Jay Faggen signed on as his talent agents and Apaka was groomed to become a mainstream crooner competing with the likes of Bing Crosby He joined Crosby s label Decca Records in 1950 Bob Hope 5 first saw Apaka performing at a luau at Don the Beachcomber s in Waikiki in 1952 Apaka performed on many Hope and Crosby radio and television broadcasts as well as two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1957 One month prior to his death Apaka paid a visit to NBC in Los Angeles for a guest spot on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show on December 6 1959 When Henry J Kaiser built his Hawaiian Village he specifically created its Tapa Showroom 5 exclusively for Alfred Apaka It was a running gag 6 that Kaiser so loved Apaka as his own son that he planned to buy the island of Molokai and rename it Apaka Island Kaiser established Hawaiian Village Records 7 supposedly to record many local talents but initially only naming the first Christmas release of an Apaka package Apaka was a regular on the enormously popular syndicated radio program Hawaii Calls produced by Webley Edwards The radio program was heard around the world and helped to propel Apaka s career worldwide The Decca Records release The Best of Alfred Apaka noted the following information in the album s liner notes Alfred Aloha Apaka 1919 1960 was one of the influential performers in the history of Hawaii s popular music Although he recorded for less than a decade Apaka set the standards for modern Hawaiian music with his joyful baritone vocals and highly entertaining performances In his book Hawaiian Music and Musicians George Kanahele wrote that Apaka was the possessor of one of the most remarkable voices to come out of Hawaii A natural untrained voice it was strong masculine and agile a delicate instrument that could range from B flat to E in pianissimo Apaka inherited his musical skills from his great aunt Lydia Ahola the hanai daughter of Queen Lilioukalani In an interview with The Honolulu Sun Bulletin Apaka s son Jeff who also became an entertainer said I like to think that Dad s musical training came in a direct line from the queen During the 1940s Apaka performed with several orchestras including Don McDiamond s Royal Hawaiian Hotel house band and Ray Kenney s band in New York Overheard by Bob Hope while singing at a luau in Honolulu Apaka became a regular guest on Hope s radio and television shows Although many predicted that he would become a successful mainstream vocalist Apaka took a different route when he convinced multimillionaire Henry Kaiser to build a hotel The Hawaiian Village that included a showroom where he starred in his own extravagant revue Apaka s energetic performances soon made the hotel an essential tourist attraction and his popularity continued to grow Plans for a nationally broadcast television special were finalized in February 1960 A few days later however Apaka suffered a fatal heart attack while playing hand ball Death EditAlfred Apaka died suddenly of a heart attack in 1960 aged 40 while playing paddle tennis at a Honolulu YMCA 8 He was buried 9 10 with a microphone in his hand His final resting place is at Diamond Head Memorial Park 11 Awards and recognition Edit1995 Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame 10 1997 Hawai i Academy of Recording Arts Lifetime Achievement Award 12 1997 Alfred Apaka statue by artist Kim Duffett 5 Hilton Hawaiian Village 2009 Hawaii Hospitality Hall of Fame 13 References Edit Alfred Aholo Apaka Jr Square One org Retrieved 28 May 2010 a b Aholo Lydia Kaonohiponiponiokalani Kamehameha Schools Retrieved October 27 2016 Berger John October 1998 The Magnetic Alfred Apaka Hawaii Magazine Archived from the original on 2009 01 14 Retrieved 2008 06 21 Allen Robert C 2004 Creating Hawaii Tourism Bess Press Inc p 210 ISBN 978 1 57306 206 0 a b c Burlingame Burl 1997 03 17 Tribute to Alfred Honolulu Star Bulletin Retrieved 2007 08 16 Johnson Erskine 3 September 1957 Hollywood Today Park City Daily News Kaiser to Enter Disk Business via Own Label Billboard 27 October 1956 18 Monahan Robert 31 January 1960 Singer 40 Stricken At Tennis The Honolulu Advertiser p 1 Retrieved 1 January 2020 Final Rites Ocala Star Banner 7 February 1960 a b Honoree Alfred Apaka Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame Retrieved 28 May 2010 Apaka Final Resting Place Find A Grave Retrieved 28 May 2010 Kanahele George S Berger John eds 2012 1979 Hawaiian Music amp Musicians 2nd ed Honolulu HI USA Mutual Publishing LLC ISBN 9781566479677 OCLC 808415079 Petrello Randi 7 October 2009 HHHF Pacific Business News Retrieved 2007 08 16 Further reading EditHoffman Frank 2004 Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound Garland Reference Library of the Humanities Routledge p 1320 ISBN 978 0 415 93835 8 Kanahele George S Berger John eds 2012 1979 Hawaiian Music amp Musicians 2nd ed Honolulu HI USA Mutual Publishing LLC ISBN 9781566479677 OCLC 808415079 page needed Todaro Tony 1974 The Golden Years of Hawaiian Entertainment Tony Todaro Pub ASIN B000TA2GNA External links EditAlfred Apaka at Find a Grave Alfred Apaka at IMDb Alfred Apaka recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alfred Apaka amp oldid 1127659733, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
