Jan 21, 20233 min read

Alfred Apaka: The Voice of Hawaii

The Best of Alfred Apaka album - 1960

(Courtesy of Chet Wallace)

When I was a kid, my grandparents had a record collection that I loved to peruse. I found a 45 r.p.m. record with a Decca label that was Lovely Hula Hands – Alfred Apaka on one side, and the other side was White Ginger Blossoms – Alfred Apaka. Once I spun this on the turntable, I was hooked. My grandmother loved Hawaiian music and my grandfather had recorded this particular record onto a cassette tape and brought it on our trips to Florida when we vacationed in Destin. He had a portable tape player that he brought to the beach and these two songs and other Hawaiian music were included on the cassette. Next to Frank Sinatra, Apaka is my favorite male vocalist.

Ever since finding this record, I always tried to search out Alfred Apaka's music. At the present I have two albums, Sing Me a Song of the Islands and The Best of Alfred Apaka, both released by the Decca label. Not many people have heard of Apaka. He was a talented baritone singer and was just at the prime of his career when he was cut down by a heart attack in 1960.

Sing Me a Song of the Islands album - 1960

(Courtesy of Chet Wallace)

Alfred Apaka was born on March 19, 1919, and was a direct descendant of King Kaumala, a ruler of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. His parents, Alfred and Mary Aholo Apaka, originally settled on the island of Molokai. Alfred Sr. was a farmer and sang in his own band. Alfred was the only son out of six children. Alfred Sr. also served five terms in the Hawaiian legislature. Alfred Jr. wanted to become a doctor, but he also wanted to sing. In the end, his desire to sing obviously won out.

His Aunt Tutu Aholo came over to the house to give his father singing lessons. Alfred Jr. was always nearby watching and listening. He kept his desire to sing a secret until he entered Roosevelt High School. In school he was a talented athlete but once he started singing for school functions, his classmates and teachers realized that his soft velvety voice was destined for greatness. His high school music teacher recorded a school revue that was shared with the orchestra leader of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu. He was signed as a vocalist with the band.

Apaka spent six months with the Royal Hawaiian Orchestra before joining Gigi Royce’s band at the Alexander Young Hotel, which closed in 1964. During this period, Apaka was broadcast for the N.B.C. network as “The Voice of Hawaii.” Once Apaka got this exposure, he traveled to New York where he joined the Ray Kinney Orchestra and performed at the Hawaiian Room of the Hotel Lexington. He remained in this position for four years and then moved back to Hawaii and married a professional singer, Edna Blake. They sang together for two years until Apaka decided to organize his own band in 1945 that played at the La Hula Rumba night club.

In 1947 Apaka started a two-year radio program named Hawaii Calls, which was broadcast throughout the United States. In 1949 he appeared at the Moana Hotel and dabbled in politics, following in his father’s footsteps in the Hawaiian Legislature. He sang songs with his ukulele before each legislative session. Apaka then took a second tour of the mainland United States, this time to California. He appeared on television for 13 weeks and even was in a movie short named Hawaiian Nights in 1954. In 1955 he returned to Hawaii to sing at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. He was asked to star in the grand opening festivities of industrialist Henry Kaiser’s Hawaiian Village Hotel. He went on to become a permanent singing star and entertainment director at the resort.

Alfred Apaka died of a heart attack on January 30, 1960, at the age of 40. He was at a Honolulu YMCA facility playing handball. At the much-publicized funeral a microphone was placed in his hands inside the coffin. The day that Apaka died became known throughout Hawaii as “The Day Hawaii Cried.” He was buried at the Diamond Head Memorial Park. Throughout his entire career, Apaka only recorded six albums.