John Kameaaloha Almeida

John Kameaaloha Almeida (November 28, 1897 Pauoa Valley, Oahu, Hawaii – October 9, 1985 in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii) Blind musician and songwriter from Oahu, Hawaii. Of mixed Portuguese and Hawaiian descent, Almeida grew up in a Hawaiian-speaking household. By age 10, he lost his eyesight to congenital blindness. At that time, he had already started singing and playing the ukulele. Later, he also mastered the piano, guitar, banjo, violin, bass, and saxophone, but his trademark instrument became the mandolin. At age 15, he started the Waianae Star Glee Club, which later evolved into John Kameaaloha Almeida's Hawaiians. At age 17, he performed at Queen Lili'uokalani's funeral. In the 1930s, he had his own radio program on Hawaii radio station KGU, which earned him the sobriquet "The Dean of Hawaiian Music". Almeida ranks among the top composers of Hawaiian songs, composing more than 300 titles, many of them in the Hawaiian language. His best-known songs include "Tuberose Hula," "Green Rose Hula," "Iesu Me Ke Kanaka Waiwai," and "Kuu Ipo Pua Rose." His song "Maile Swing" became a hit for Genoa Keawe, but many of his songs are considered standards of Hawaiian music today. In 1998, Almeida was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. Almeida's nephew, Charleston Puaonaona, grew up as John's foster son and became famous as Pua Almeida. 1978: Winner of a Special Award which was a predecessor of the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award under the auspices of the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts.