RIP 2011

[Alex]

Mickey Goldesn. A music publisher (whatever that is), including for Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles."

That reminded me of a story I learned on this last vacation. The first week, Lani's mom was along with us and Don Ho came up.

Before he moved into arranging, Lani's dad was lead in a pretty successful Japanese pop band and at one point they had reasonably successful tour in the United States. This was why we stayed at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, they'd played the main room there for two weeks on that tour.

Anyway, at the conclusion of the tour the American promoter tried to sign them to a multi-year deal where the band (and their families) would be moved to Hawaii and using that as a base of operations they'd tour the Pacific Rim. Lani's dad was in favor but the other members of the band didn't want to leave Japan so he had to say know.

Later, they did get booked in Honolulu for several months and again at the end of that gig they were offered a permanent spot at one of the new Waikiki hotels. Again, Lani's dad was all in favor of it, but to his anger (and whoever it was that was trying to hire them) the rest of the band said no.

The person that the hotel hired instead was Don Ho, and that was the gig in which Don Ho became Don Ho.

Later, when Lani's family emigrated and were in Honolulu, apparently they went to Don Ho's show several times and there exists, somewhere, a photo of Lani as a child on stage with Ho. This is a photograph I must eventually possess.