John Kameaaloha Almeida
| John Kameaaloha Almeida | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Celestino Almeida Jr. |
| Also known as | Johnny Kameaaloha Almeida |
| Born |
November 28, 1897 Pauoa Valley, Oahu, Republic of Hawaii |
| Died | October 9, 1985 (aged 87) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Genres | Hawaiian |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, ukulele, mandolin, guitar, steel guitar, violin, banjo, bass saxophone, piano |
| Years active | 1901–1985 |
| Labels |
Brunswick Records Hawaiian Transcription Productions 49th State Records Waikiki Records Hana Ola |
John Kameaaloha Almeida (November 28, 1897 – October 9, 1985) was a blind musician and songwriter from Oahu, Hawaii. His 1930s radio program on Hawaii radio station KGU earned him the sobriquet "The Dean of Hawaiian Music". By the time of his death he had composed hundreds of meles that have today become Hawaiian music standards.
Almeida was born John Celestino Almeida Jr. in the Pauoa Valley on the island of Oʻahu in the then-Republic of Hawaii. His father was Portuguese contract laborer John Celestino Almeida Sr.; his mother was Honolulu lei seller Julia Kamaka Almeida. On December 25, 1900, John's sister Annie was born. John Sr. soon deserted the family and returned to Portugal. Julia and the children moved to Wai'anae, where they eventually moved in with Paulo Kameaaloha, who became hānai father to both children.Hānai is the Hawaiian tradition of fostering, or unofficial adoption, where one family gives a child to another family to raise. John carried his hānai name Kameaaloha for the rest of his life, becoming John Kameaaloha Almeida. Paulo and Julia added sister Martha to the family in 1904. Conversations in the Kameaaloha home were held exclusively in Hawaiian, giving young Johnny the advantage of being bilingual at an early age.
Around the time of his birth his mother was gathering the maile shrub for making leis, she did not have time to wash off the poisonous sap which led to his early blindness. As Johnny's vision worsened, his musical ability grew with his accomplishments on his beloved 'ukulele, which he discovered at the age of four. By then, he was already active in church choir. Paulo taught Johnny ancient chants and traditional songs. John was totally blind by the age of 10. His mother's doctor diagnosed the "probable" cause as maile sap on her hands at the time of John's birth. Advances over the past century in knowledge of childhood vision loss indicate a more likely cause to be congential blindness.
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