Hawaiian singer Don Ho, who became synonymous with Hawaiian music on the U.S. mainland thanks to the champagne ode “Tiny Bubbles” and a slew of appearances on TV shows, passed away over the weekend at his home in Honolulu. Ho, 76, is survived by his wife and 10 children (including the pop singer Hoku); he performed his final Waikiki nightclub show on Thursday, according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Below is an MP3 of Ho’s biggest hit, as well as a surprisingly hypnotic cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Shock The Monkey” that Ho recorded in 2002:
Don Ho - Tiny Bubbles [MP3, link expired]
Don Ho - Shock The Monkey [MP3, link expired]
Don Ho - We’ll Remember You [Honolulu Star-Bulletin]
It’s very sad, I loved seeing him on I Dream of Jeannie.
That said, it’s nice to have a news story containing the word Ho that doesn’t pertain to Don Imus.
love the P.Gabriel cover, ultimately disappointed that he never attempted “Schock Den Affen”. Don Ho…in German?…woulda/coulda/shoulda been fucking priceless.
The (animated) “Shock the Monkey” video is up on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE-pbBYwPHs
As odd/strange/bizarre as that cover is, it’s still better than the Coal Chamber version.