Bruddah Iz on the rise again

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

There's still a pot of gold at the end of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's rainbow.

Bruddah Iz is on the ascent again on R&R's (Radio & Records) national play list. His "Over the Rainbow," fueled by its prominent use in the Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore film "50 First Dates," is No. 27 on R&R's AR (adult contemporary) charts.

Further, it's No. 1 in the Most Increased Plays segment of the survey, and the tune also is seeing new exposure on the No. 1 station in New York City, WLTW 106.7 Lite FM.

"It's absolutely the result of the movie exposure," said Suzi Mechler, a vice president at Mountain Apple Company, which distributes Iz's Big Boy Records catalogue.

The airplay also is the result of a heavy radio campaign in selected markets, anticipating a wave of interest — new and renewed — in Kamakawiwo'ole.