Israel Kamakawiwo`ole's cover of "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" was featured in Dr. Greene's farewell episode of ER, eToys commercials, Meet Joe Black, Finding Forrester, just to name a few.
His passing in 1997 saddened everyone here, and the entire state mourned his passing. Not only was he a great performer, but he was a cultural icon that embodied the true spirit of "ALOHA". He was the only non-politician to have laid in state at the State Capitol, and at his memorial service at Makua Beach (location of his boyhood home), 2 enormous Polynesian voyaging canoes, HUNDREDS of outrigger canoes, and even more people on boards paddled out to sea to scatter his ashes.
If you liked "Facing Future", I'd also suggest "Alone in IZ World" as well as the new DVD that just came out (I forgot what it was called). His contemporary stuff is awesome, but his older classics are even better.
It's awesome that, even years after he has passed, his legacy still lives on not only in Hawai`i but with the rest of the world too.
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