By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Ron Perreira has been writing letters for five years now, letters that have gone largely unanswered.

"I don't care how long it takes," he says. "I just told myself that I'm going to make it a crusade and do what I can. As long as I'm alive I'm still gonna hound these guys and all that."

Perreira laughs to soften his words, but his mind is made up. His obsession has roots that go deep, back 30 years, to a time when he worked at a Waikiki hotel and would go after hours to hear George Helm play music.

"I just love his music, his voice, and he was such a nice guy," he says. Perreira treasures memories of how Helm would come over to his table to talk story during his breaks. "He was a real down-to-earth guy. I thought he was a remarkable person."

Not only was Helm a musician and singer, he was an activist and a leader in the efforts to reclaim Kaho'olawe from the U.S. military. On March 8, 1977, during a mission to occupy the island, Helm was lost at sea.

"He was 26 years old when he died and this makes 26 years after his death and still he hasn't received his due," Perreira says.

The one honor that Perreira believes Helm deserves is the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts' Lifetime Achievement Award.

There have been many posthumous honors for Helm over the years, from musicians, from his alma mater St. Louis High School, from the media and from Native Hawaiian organizations, but not the big one from the body that gives out Na Hoku Hanohano awards. But Helm's name is on the long list of nominees.

Winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Hilo Hattie, Genoa Keawe, Vicky I'i Rodrigues, Nona Beamer, Arthur Lyman, Martin Denny, Kahauanu Lake, Gabby Pahinui, Irmgard Aluli ... a distinguished list.

In terms of the recording industry, George Helm made just one record. In 1977 a live album was recorded at the Gold Coin restaurant. The album was re-released as a CD in 1996 titled "The Music of George Helm — a True Hawaiian."

Alan Yamamoto of HARA chooses his words carefully to explain why he thinks Helm hasn't made it off the list of nominees and onto the list of awardees. It has to do more with the award not fitting George Helm than the other way around.

"I'm not saying that he's not as deserving," says Yamamoto, "but I think that there have been others that held a longer career or more recordings, a greater impact on the recording or the music industry."

Helm's life had an impact that was broader than music; he lived with purpose, he died for a cause he believed in. His work was political, cultural, even spiritual, things that perhaps don't fit into a Lifetime Achievement Award from the recording industry.

This argument doesn't sit well with Perreira. "Maybe he only came out with one album," he says, "but within that 26 years of his life, I think he's done more than most that are still living yet, you know?"

There's also the issue of timing. Yamamoto says Helm's time may not have come yet.

"Most of the award recipients are people whose careers started in the early years of statehood," says Yamamoto. "They're the ones being recognized. ... We haven't gotten to his contemporaries yet. ... Until the Peter Moons and those kind of guys get recognized, he probably doesn't have that much of a chance until that point."

Until then, Ron Perreira will continue his mission undaunted. "I'm getting my letters ready and all that. This is a one-man army, but I'm not gonna quit. He was such a gentleman. I think he deserves it."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.