Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho

 Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007)

He was best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles". Ho left the United States Air Force in 1959 due to his mother's developing illness and began singing at her club in Kaneohe. Honey's became a hotspot for the local entertainment and the growing customers from the Kaneohe Marine Base servicemen. Ho always honored the military remembering his own years of military service. In 1963, he moved the Kāneʻohe Honey's to Waikīkī. After much success, and little room to grow, promoter Kimo Wilder McVay sought Don to play at a night club called Duke's owned by Duke Kahanamoku, where he caught the attention of record company officials .Ho released his debut album, Don Ho Show, in 1965 and began to play high-profile locations in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and New York City. In 1966 he released his second album, a live compilation called Don Ho – Again!, which charted in the early part of that year. In the fall of 1966, Ho released his most famous song, "Tiny Bubbles", which charted on both the pop (#57 Billboard) and easy listening charts and caused the subsequent Tiny Bubbles LP to remain in the album Top 20 for almost a year. Another song associated with Don was "Pearly Shells". Guest appearances on television shows such as I Dream of Jeannie, The Brady Bunch, Sanford and Son, Batman, Charlie's Angels, McCloud, and Fantasy Island soon followed.

Although his album sales peaked in the late 1960s, he was able to land a television series on ABC from October 1976 to March 1977 with the Don Ho Show variety program which aired on weekday mornings. In 1995 at the age of 65, Ho's health began declining which began with a mild stroke. By 2002, he had developed cardiomyopathy, a deterioration of the heart muscle unrelated to coronary artery disease, leaving him with only 30% of normal cardiac capacity. Despite his health, Ho was always hopeful, and resilient to find a solution. He also continued his nightly performances, making a few concessions such as trading in his glass of Scotch that he kept on top of his piano at shows for pineapple juice. He died from heart failure on April 14, 2007, age 76.