This song deserves every award invented by man. The song speaks a million words. A song that is spoken from the heart. This is the best song I’ve ever heard when I’m either feeling sad or calm. I had a feeling I heard this song when I was like 5 and now I’ve found it ❤️❤️
This song always gets me asinging and adancing all around with a heart full of love and light!
I have this song, listen on repeat every Night i go to sleep. I Fall asleep to this song and wake up to this song. I never have nightmares anymore and i feel more happy than ever before… Israel Kamakawiwoʻole was a Hawaiian musician, who performed his own songs as well as beautiful renditions of other songs while playing the ukulele.
Israel had an amazing voice and is best known for his medley of two famous songs, “Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World.” He is also remembered for fighting for his country’s independence.
Locals and fans called him the ‘Gentle giant’. The artist got that nickname because of an unbelievable combination of his soft, touching voice and appearance: Israel weighed 757 pounds and was 6 feet 2 inches tall.
The musician’s moving lyrics and melodies still touch listeners’ heartstrings.
Kamakawiwoʻole passed away at the age of 38 in 1997. The Hawaii state flag flew at half-staff on July 10, 1997, the day of Kamakawiwoʻole’s funeral. He was the third person in his country’s history to be awarded this honor. He is a Hawaiian legend indeed!
His voice became famous outside Hawaii when his album Facing Future was released in 1993. His medley of «Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World» was subsequently featured in several films, television programs, and television commercials.
Along with his ukulele playing and incorporation of other genres, such as jazz and reggae, Kamakawiwoʻole remains influential on Hawaiian music. In 1990, Kamakawiwoʻole released his first solo album Ka ʻAnoʻi, which won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts. Facing Future was released in 1993 by The Mountain Apple Company.
It featured his most popular song, the medley «Somewhere Over the Rainbow, What a Wonderful World», along with «Hawaiʻi 78», «White Sandy Beach of Hawaiʻi», «Maui Hawaiian Sup’pa Man», and «Kaulana Kawaihae». The decision to include a cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow was said to be a last-minute decision by his producer Jon de Mello and him. Facing Future debuted at №25 on Billboard magazine’s Top Pop Catalogue chart.
