Johnny Kameaaloha Almeida

The acknowledged dean of Hawaiian music, John Kameaaloha Almeida was the premier Polynesian composer of the 20th century, contributing myriad songs that are now island standards. Born November 28, 1897, in Honolulu's Pauoa Valley region, Almeida went blind at the age of ten. At the moment of his birth, his mother was alone, gathering flowers on the hillside, and with no time to wash the poisonous maile bush sap from her hands before delivering her child, she irrevocably damaged his eyesight. A longtime fixture of his church choir, Almeida assembled his own Waianae Star Glee Cl...