A memorable medley

It was the middle of the night when Israel Kamakawiwo'ole shuffled through the door of a Honolulu recording studio on Kalakaua Avenue, a man the size of three carrying an 'ukulele that looked like a toy.

He begged the sound engineer to work with him, cajoled the man into saying yes. Twenty minutes later, the massive musician went home, unaware that the playful medley he just recorded — "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" — would stand as a milestone in the history of Hawaiian music.

The medley was Kamakawiwo'ole at his best: Simple and sweet, heartfelt and haunting, accessible and unforgettable. Somehow he evoked peace amid a world of turmoil.

"What Iz was able to express was an innocence and child-like simplicity that truly resonates in our contemporary, fear-driven and complex world," says singer-composer Keola Beamer. "His gentle voice, coupled with the sweet sound of the 'ukulele in his hands, soared high above this cacophony."

The "ooohs" in the prelude established the mood of the melody, but the uniquely identifiable 'ukulele strums gave it the power to soar far beyond Hawai'i's shores.

Released on Kamakawiwo'ole's 1993 album "Facing Future," the medley was an anthem for the world as he saw it — a world filled with love, hope and possibility.

The medley became Kamakawiwo'ole's most popular and most-licensed work, with some customers even purchasing just the ethereal series of "ooohs."

If Hawai'i is a melting pot, then that medley is its musical metaphor: Two haole tunes played on a Portuguese instrument by a Hawaiian-Japanese vocalist who changed the melody, altered the words and made them his own.

So many people have heard the medley in the decade since Kamakawiwo'ole's death that a vice president at EMI Music Publishing — which owns the rights to "Over the Rainbow" lyrics — once told Mountain Apple executives that the version made famous by Judy Garland will ultimately be forgotten. Instead, Kamakawiwo'ole's version — the one some call the Hawaiian version — will be the one that stands alone.

Veteran recording engineer Jim Linkner says Kamakawiwo'ole's powerful voice gave the medley "Hawaiian-ness."

"He brought a Hawaiian touch with the 'ukulele," says Linkner, who worked with Kamakawiwo'ole on his solo "Ka "Ano'i" CD and has worked with Keali"i Reichel in the past decade.

"But Israel's delivery had something to do with it," he says. "It's light, it's accessible, and it's simple. Just Iz and his 'ukulele."

Daniel Ho, a two-time Hawai'i-born Grammy winner for producing Hawaiian music who now lives in Los Angeles, says the medley is engaging, personal and honest.

"Producers hear that track and hear the sincerity and happiness and peacefulness that is Hawai'i," Ho says. "It is not just a copy of the songs, it is his art. It's his own personal statement."

'You can feel it'

People who would normally ignore Hawaiian music know Kamakawiwo'ole because of that medley, track 14 on "Facing Future." It connects them to Hawai'i.

Go to YouTube — a Web site where anyone can post a video, homemade or otherwise — and you'll find scores of them accompanied by the medley.

New Jersey resident Scot Orzillo remembers first hearing the medley during a 2003 vacation on Kaua"i and now doesn't go a day without listening to Kamakawiwo'ole's music.

The singer had such a profound effect on him that Orzillo felt compelled to share "the good vibe" by uploading a music video of Kamakawiwo'ole's "White Sandy Beach" on YouTube.

"Every once in a while, there's an artist who comes along and puts their soul out there," Orzillo says. "It is not just playing music, it is his soul. And you can feel it. It is very special listening to the man's music."

Millions of people would agree. Kamakawiwo'ole's music has swept audiences around the world to peaks of emotion.

Consider the final episode back in 2002 in the NBC hospital drama "ER," when a beloved character succumbed to cancer. At the end of the episode filmed in the Islands, Kamakawiwo'ole's "Over the Rainbow" played in the background for a TV audience of 54 million people as Dr. Mark Greene died.

John Wells, executive producer, writer and director of the episode, said the music was a natural choice. In Hawai'i, Wells says he always feels closer to a divine presence, and Kamakawiwo'ole's music reminds him of that.

"His rendition of ‘Over the Rainbow' is ethereal and transcendent," Wells says. "It seemed to me that Greene was leaving this life to travel to another, and his gorgeous tenor evoked the emotion of that."

After the episode aired, NBC was swamped with calls and e-mails from viewers who wanted to know who had sung the song. For weeks, sales of the singer's albums increased ten-fold.

To this day, Kamakawiwo'ole's angelic voice remains connected to that TV moment, even as new listeners discover "Facing Future." The album is still listed among the top 10 selling albums in Borders stores in Hawai'i.

Earlier this year, Kellogg's Rice Krispies also picked the medley, choosing a few seconds of it for a series of TV commercials called "Childhood is Calling."

It didn't matter that other ad campaigns had already used parts of the same medley.

"It was felt the music evoked positive, warm emotions," says company spokeswoman Jill Saletta, "making it a great fit."

William Aila Jr., a Wai"anae resident who knew Kamakawiwo'ole when they were teenagers, says the recording transcends narrow definitions and stereotypes, going far beyond concerns about whether it's truly Hawaiian.

"There are no Hawaiian words, and it was written on the Mainland, but it has a Hawaiian feel to it," he says.

"It has Hawaiian spirit."