As a young girl growing up in La'ie, Genoa Keawe would run home from school each lunch hour to catch musician Johnny K. Almeida's popular radio show on KULA. Years later, with a musical career of her own under way, Keawe would find her fortunes suddenly elevated by a phone call to Almeida's show.
Deeply religious, Keawe had received her own musical training as a member of the Mormon choir. In 1939, she started singing in bandstand shows with George Ho'okano's band.
One day, Almeida invited listeners to call in and sing a song. Taking a dare from her friends, Keawe called and sang "For You A Lei" in honor of her niece's birthday. Almeida was so impressed, he invited Keawe back to the show and she eventually became part of the station's in-house band.
From 1951 to 1955, Keawe was a fixture on the "Lucky Luck Show." In the 1960s, she sang with the Honolulu Rapid Transit Musicians on KGU.
Keawe has recorded more than 20 albums and some 150 singles, many with 49th State Records. In 1969, she joined Philip Helsley and his wife in forming her own label, Genoa Keawe Records, for which she served as a producer, promoter and distributor.
Keawe's prolific recording history is matched only by her endurance as a live performer. Over the years, she and her band have staged memorable performances at Club Polynesia, the Waikiki Sands, Duke's Canoe Club and dozens of other venues. At age 86, she still maintains an active performance schedule.
Among her many honors, Keawe, who has taught 'ukulele at Windward Community College's Hawai'i Music Institute, has been recognized with a 2001 induction into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, a National Heritage Fellowship and an honorary degree from the University of Hawai'i.
