Key island music figures being honored for their work

BYRD	DELA CRUZ	FO	KANE

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Five veterans in the Hawai'i recording industry, including four performers and a specialist with an encyclopedic knowledge of music, will be honored with Lifetime Achievement awards from the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony and luncheon March 29 at the Tapa Ballroom of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and will be a prelude to the annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards event, set for May 28 at the Hawaii Ballroom of the Sheraton Waikiki, where the winners will again be saluted.

The 2003 winners are:

Jerry Byrd, world-renowned steel guitarist and influential teacher, with recording credits here and in Nashville.

Linda Dela Cruz, classic musician, songbird and recording artist, known for her solo recordings on Tradewind Records as well as with her work with her acclaimed Halekulani Girls. Dela Cruz also has served as an Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee.

Buddy Fo, longtime recording artist, who has performed as a soloist on Makaha Records and as a member of the Invitations vocal group; after living on the Mainland and performing on Maui with wife Sammi, he is back on O'ahu and performs both with the Don Ho Show at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel and at Restaurant Punalu'u at the former Ahi's in Punalu'u.

Raymond Kane, revered as the ambassador of ki ho'alu (Hawaiian slack-key guitar), whose recordings span decades as well as labels from Tradewind to Hula, from Dancing Cat to Respect. Kane also has earned a National Endowment for the Arts Folk Heritage Fellowship.

Lydia Ludin, (not pictured) respected Hawaiian music and recording resource specialist, for decades a source of information and kokua at the House of Music store.

The luncheon event begins at 11 a.m., with no-host cocktails, followed by lunch at 11:30 a.m. and the awards show. Tickets are $55. Reservations: 235-9424.