Ask the average person to name a Hawaiian song and inevitably they choose “Tiny Bubbles,” the infamously catchy song about champagne. Although Ho didn’t write the song, it became his signature tune in 1966 when it charted at #8 on both the Pop and Easy Listening Billboard charts.
Born Donald Tai Loy Ho, Don grew up in O’ahu, leaving for a year for college in the states before returning to the islands and getting his bachelor’s degree at the University of Hawaii. Ho joined the Air Force after college but left after his mother passed away. Ho’s parents owned a club, Honey’s, and Ho’s father asked him to sing at the club in order to attract business. Ho continued to perform in Hawaii and make television appearances for the rest of his life.
Diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2005, he fought the disease with several treatments, including experimental stem cell treatment. He died of heart failure on Saturday in Waikiki.
Visit Don Ho’s website
Tiki Farm still has a couple of Don Ho drinkware items in stock: Ho-Waiian Don ($22.95) from the Hawaiian Idols series, Don Ho’s Tiki Mug and Don Ho’s Suck ‘em Up Glass ($8.99 and $2.99 respectively) are both hugely discounted but probably won’t last long now that the singer has passed.
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