Don Ho
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donald Ho Tai Loy (in Chinese characters, 何大來), born August 13, 1930) is a Hawaiian musician and entertainer. Ho, of mixed Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaʻako but he grew up in Kāneʻohe on the windward side of the island of Oʻahu. In 1954, Ho entered the United States Air Force and spent time flying fighter jets in both Texas and Hawaii. Ho left the Air Force in 1960 due to his mother's illness. In 1962, Ho moved from KāneKakaʻakoohe to Waikīkī in Honolulu and played at a night club called Duke's, 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 and easy listening charts and caused the subsequent Tiny Bubbles LP to remain in the album Top 20 for almost a year. Guest appearances on television shows such as The Brady Bunch soon followed. Although his album sales peaked in the late 1960s, he was able to land a television spot on ABC from October 1976 to March 1977 with the Don Ho Show variety program.
Don Ho continues to be a popular concert tour draw. He still performs regularly at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. He also can be seen at the restaurant/night club that borrowed his name called Don Ho's Island Grill in downtown Honolulu near Aloha Tower.
Don Ho was diagnosed with heart failure caused by cardiomyopathy. The cause of his heart failure is unknown, but there was no treatment available. He contacted Theravitae, a biotechnology company specializing in treating heart conditions with adult stem cells working in conjunction with Dr. Amit Patel, a cardiac surgeon and pioneer of the use of adult stem cells for heart disease. On December 6, 2005, Ho had his own blood-derived stem cells injected into his heart by Dr. Patel with his surgeons in Thailand. The treatment went without incident. In an interview with the Associated Press later in the month, Ho said, "I'm feeling terrific, 100 percent better". He credited the treatment with saving his life.
In September of 2006, Ho married Haumea Hebenstreit who produces his show at the Waikiki Beachcomber.
Ho's daughter, Hoku, performed with her father in his Waikīkī show and later went on to become a nationally known recording artist in her own right.
A cover version of Tiny Bubbles became the signature tune of the Scottish soft country and western singer Sydney Devine.
California Punk Rock band NOFX released a 12" single entitled HOFX. The cover had a picture of the band with Don Ho in Hawaii.
