It’s Don Ho’s Birthday. If you’re a Tiki aficionado, like me, you know that Don, more than any other singer, brought Polynesian music to the masses in the 60s and 70s. He was like a Hawaiian Dean Martin, with the same sonorous voice and easy-going charm. His biggest hit was “Tiny Bubbles,” and if you can’t recall which bubbles he was referencing, allow me to refresh your memory. “Tiny bubbles, in the wine. Make me happy, make me feel fine.” After the song charted in 1966, everybody and their brother covered it, sometimes trading the wine for beer. Don kept at it for 40 years and never stopped being a draw in Diamond Head, right on into the 2000s. True fact: Don called his late-night performances the “Suck ‘Em Up” shows, because he constantly encouraged the audience to suck up their cocktails. A friend of mine attended one of these shows in the 1990s and said Don was quite persuasive. So tonight, tell Alexa to play “Tiny Bubbles” or “Pearly Shells” and suck up some Tiki drinks for Don.
