Alfred Apaka
| Alfred Apaka | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alfred Aholo Apaka Jr. |
| Born |
March 19, 1919 Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Died | January 30, 1960 (aged 40) Honolulu, Hawaii, USA |
| Genres |
Hawaiian Traditional pop Hapa haole music Standards |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Voice, Baritone |
| Years active | 1938—60 |
| Labels | Decca, Bell Records, Aloha Records, Capitol, Hawaiian Village, ABC-Paramount |
| Associated acts |
Hawaii Calls Benny Kalama Sonny Burke Rosalie Stephenson |
Alfred Aholo Apaka, Jr. (March 19, 1919 – January 30, 1960) was an American singer whose romantic baritone voice was closely identified with Hawaii between the late 1940s and the early 1960s. Alfred Apaka was arguably the foremost interpreter of Hapa haole music, which melded Hawaiian music with traditional pop music arrangements and English lyrics to convey Polynesian imagery and themes.
Alfred Apaka was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to vocalist Alfred Aholo Apaka, Sr. He was of Chinese, Portuguese, and Hawaiian ancestry. He was a great-grandson of Luther Aholo and grandnephew of Lydia Kaʻonohiponiponiokalani Aholo. Alfred was a graduate of President Theodore Roosevelt High School where he was an athlete and ROTC cadet captain. The family lived for a short time on Molokai but returned to Oahu.
A 1938 Royal Hawaiian Hotel engagement with Don McDiarmid was Apaka's first professional performance, followed by an engagement with Ray Kinney, and a tour of the mainland. Apaka's band played up and down the Pacific coast of the United States 1946-1949. In 1951, Apaka became established at the Moana Hotel in Waikiki.
Joe Glaser, Louis Armstrong's manager, and Jay Faggen signed on as his talent agents and Apaka was groomed to become a mainstream crooner competing with the likes of Bing Crosby. He joined Crosby's label, Decca Records, in 1950. Bob Hope first saw Apaka performing at a luau at Don the Beachcomber's in Waikiki in 1952. Apaka performed on many Hope and Crosby radio and television broadcasts as well as two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1957. One month prior to his death, Apaka paid a visit to NBC in Los Angeles for a guest spot on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show on December 6, 1959.
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