Don Ho, born Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007)

was a Hawaiian musician and entertainer.

Ho, of mixed Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent,

was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood

of Kakaako, but he grew up in Kaneohe on the windward side of the island of Oahu.

He was a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools in 1949 and he attended Springfield College

in 1950, but returned home to earn a bachelor's degree in sociology at

University of Hawai'i in 1953. In 1954 Ho entered the United States Air Force and

spent time flying fighter jets in both Texas and Hawaii.

Ho left the United States Air Force in 1959 due to his mother's illness and began singing

at his mother's club, Honey's. In 1963, he moved from K?ne?ohe to Waikiki

in Honolulu and played at a night club called Duke's owned by Duke

Kahanamoku, where he caught the attention of record company officials.

Ho was originally signed to Reprise Records. 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 (#8 Billboard) and easy listening charts

and caused the subsequent Tiny Bubbles LP to remain in the album Top 20 for almost a year.

Another song familiar to Don was "Pearly Shells". Guest appearances on television shows such

as I Dream of Jeannie, The Brady Bunch, Sanford and Son, Charlie's

Angels, and Fantasy Island 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 which aired on weekday mornings (which by coincidence,

replaced Hot Seat and got replaced by Second Chance, both game shows were hosted by Jim Peck)

Don Ho - I'll Remember You (a slide show tribute)