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Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
last updated 2026-09-11 11:26
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Plays on LTZ: (historical total not available beyond this vault's episode folders)
Tracks played
Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World — played 2026-03-12
Research
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole — Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World
Played: 2026-03-12
From Facing Future (1993, The Mountain Apple Company). Recorded in a single take at 3 a.m. in 1988 after Kamakawiwo'ole called engineer Milan Bertosa from a bar; Bertosa had to find a large steel chair to support his weight. The recording sat unused for five years
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Origin: Honolulu, Hawaii, US · born 20 May 1959, died 26 June 1997 · solo artist (deceased)
Members: Solo artist; earlier member of the Makaha Sons of Niʻihau
Genre: Hawaiian music / folk / world / reggae
Discography:
Ka ʻAnoʻi (1990)
Facing Future (1993) — The Mountain Apple Company — his best-known and best-selling record
E Ala E (1995)
N Dis Life (1996)
Facts:
His medley "Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World" spent 358 weeks at #1 on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, the longest run atop any Billboard chart by any song.
Known affectionately in Hawaii as "Bruddah Iz," he lay in state at the Hawaii State Capitol after his death — one of only a handful of people, and the only non-government official, to receive that honor — and the state flag flew at half-staff for his funeral.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Kamakawiwoʻole before being included on Facing Future. Kamakawiwo'ole died of respiratory failure in 1997, aged 37. The song has spent 371 weeks at number one on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, the longest-running number one on any Billboard chart. Selected for the US National Recording Registry in 2020. Over 1.83 billion YouTube views across official uploads.