HONOLULU (AP) — One of the most enduring and beloved voices in Hawaiian music is silent with the death of ‘‘Aunty’’ Genoa Leilani Keawe.
Family members say the icon of traditional island music passed away peacefully in her sleep Monday morning. She was 89.
Known widely as Aunty Genoa, she recorded more than 20 albums, dating back to vinyl 78 rpm and 33• rpm albums and about 150 singles.
Her son, Eric K. Keawe of Keawe Records, says his mother died peacefully at home in Papakolea, Oahu.
He says she had suffered health problems over the last decade but always managed to bounce back into the limelight.
Keawe was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which will conduct her funeral services.
‘‘She was a very simple person. She loved the people of Hawaii and her many fans throughout the world for their support through her experiences and travels,’’ her son said.
He said she maintained the strength of her beautiful soprano voice up to her last day. The celebrated falsetto stylist could hold the high notes of her signature song, “Alika,” for more than two minutes.
Born Genoa Leilani Adolpho in 1918, Keawe was married to Edward P. Keawe-Aiko. They had 12 children, including three who survive. She had 40 grandchildren, 98 great-grandchildren and 81 great-great-grandchildren.
Keawe’s life in music started in Laie, center of Mormon culture in Hawaii. She sang with the island Mormon choir and said her sister, Annie, was a great influence on her music as they sang church songs together.
She began her professional career in 1939, singing for bandstand shows in Kailua, Oahu, and with George Hookano and his band for the Officers Club before World War II.
Keawe sang on the radio, and in early TV she became a regular on the ‘‘Lucky Luck Show,’’ hosted by Robert Luck. She also sang on the nationally broadcast ‘‘Hawaii Calls’’ and at several clubs and hotels on Oahu. For the past decade, she had been performing weekly at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.
She recorded on several island labels, starting with her group Genoa Keawe and Her Hula Maids on 49th State Records. She later produced, promoted and distributed her own recordings. She was president of Genoa Keawe Records Inc., which also featured other Hawaiian music artists.
She received many music awards and took traditional Hawaiian music across Asia, Canada, Switzerland, Brazil and many U.S. cities. She performed on a trip to Russia when she was in her 80s.
In February 2004, Keawe joined four other well-known Hawaii residents in being named a ‘‘Living Treasure of Hawaii’’ by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
Her music is featured often at hula festivals. In 2000, she was inducted into the Hawaii Music Hall of Fame and also received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
‘‘She was a teacher, she was a student, she was Hawaii,’’ said Jon de Mello, chief executive officer of Mountain Apple Co. He said he had visited Keawe a week ago in the hospital, where she played ukulele and sang ‘‘Ho‘onanea.’’ Her last public performance was Jan. 31, but family members said she continued to sing to staff and visitors at the hospital.
University of Hawaii President David McClain noted that Keawe had served as an instructor in ukulele workshops as part of the Windward Community College Hawai‘i Music Institute and that UH had conferred an honorary degree to her in 2005.
“The University of Hawaii ohana was truly honored to count her amongst its members as a friend and supporter, and especially as an educator,” McClain said. “Her talent and her music were an inspiration to us all, and though we are saddened by her passing, we are grateful to know that her spirit will live on through her music and through the lives of our students whom she has touched and inspired.”
Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona said he spoke on behalf of Gov. Linda Lingle and the people of Hawaii to “extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and fans who will forever remember her signature soprano voice, her beautiful smile and her legacy.”
