Haunani Kahalewai

Kahalewai was acknowledged by Hawaiian entertainers as "Hawai‘i's First Lady of Song". She was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1996, its second year of existence.

After leaving Hawai‘i for the San Francisco area, Kahalewai considered herself semi-retired, but performed for special occasions. She went back to school and prepared for a new career in computers, but before she could do so, she died at her home in San Carlos, California, on March 2, 1982.

She began her professional career in a small club outside Honolulu. Kahalewai performed with musical group the Rainbow Serenaders in the 1950s in small clubs on Oahu. They won a talent contest to perform at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for a two-week engagement, which became a three-month gig due to their popularity. Later, a producer filming in Hawai‘i recorded her voice on a film soundtrack; after hearing her on the film soundtrack, producer Webley Edwards exclaimed, "Find that voice!" Performer Al Kealoha Perry convinced Kahalewai to stop performing at a small resort on Kauaʻi in order to perform on Edwards's weekly radio program Hawaii Calls. She became one of the featured singers on Hawaii Calls.

Her voice was first recognized at age three, when she won a silver dollar in a radio contest hosted by Ray Kinney. She performed in her high school chorus and graduated from Kaimukī High School in 1947

Haunani Kahalewai (February 19, 1929 – March 2, 1982) was a singer and entertainer known as the "First Lady of Song in Hawai‘i". Her distinctive contralto voice spanned three octaves. She was featured on dozens of recordings and headlined the Polynesian Review at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. Kahalewai was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

Myrna Kahaunaniomaunakeakauiokalewa Kahalewai was born in Hilo on February 19, 1929. The day she was born an unusual snowfall blanketed Mauna Kea; her given middle name is translated as "beautiful snow on the slopes of Mauna Kea".