I knew it was a wonderful adaptation of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" . . . and I knew there was a ukelele playing . . . and I'd heard this upbeat song numerous times, but until I learned more about this song and its arranger, I never knew it was played by a native Hawaiian singer, beloved first in his own region and later throughout the world.

His name was Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, and he had a career as a musician in the Hawaiian Islands, dying at age 38 due to health problems, just before his music was about to become world famous.

His band, "The Makaha Sons of Ni'iahu," was very popular in Hawaii, and won many awards there.  After recording 21 albums with his band, he began a solo career, recording albums by himself.  "Facing Future," his 1993 album, became the best-selling Hawaiian album of all time.  And one of the songs on this album was later to become a #1 hit on the World Digital Songs chart, as well as being a number one single in Germany, France and Switzerland.

It was "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World," sung simply and with ukelele accompaniment.  This is a medley of two songs, and they differ in various ways from the well-known originals.  There is something both joyful and soothing about the way "Iz" sang this medley.  And it has the honor of being the longest lasting number one hit on any Billboard song chart, having spent 185 weeks at #1 on the World Digital Songs Chart.

The song was used in 7 different films, as well as being in TV shows and commercials.

Here it is, for your listening enjoyment, with a still picture of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole:

What a lot of music can come out of this little metal box . . . and I don't mean a radio.  It's about 4 inches long and 1 inch wide, and is human-powered.  And Buddy Greene is a master of this tiny instrument.  It is AMAZING to hear his version of the "Orange Blossom Special," a high energy, traditional fiddle tune, played on it.

Harmonica is my current beginner stage instrument.  I can pick out some melodies, but haven't learned to bend notes yet . . . that is still coming, especially now that I have a book with lots of specific how-to help (Bending the Blues, by David Harp).

After hearing Buddy Green's "Orange Blossom Special" played with harmonica, I am completely awe-struck.  My own goals for playing this instrument are not so high, but it's great to know that such peaks of performance really are possible.

With his exceptionally high level of profiency, you'd think Buddy must have played harmonica his entire life, but he actually started playing at 20 years old, practicing several hours a day for just a couple of years before becoming a performer.  Buddy is also a songwriter, and has created a large number of albums along with other musicians .  Among these are a bluegrass album (RUFUS, 2002),  Hymns and Prayer Songs (2003),  a bluegrass/folk/gospel album Happy Man (2007), and Harmonica Anthology (2011).  In 1991,  He co-wrote the well-known Christmas song "Mary Did you Know?" with Mark Lowry.  This song has been recorded by many well-known artists, and is now considered a Christmas classic.  His most recent album is a Christmas one--  December's Song (2013).  Buddy's music work is still going strong-- I wonder what new direction he'll pursue next . . .  I hope he tries out some jazz + harmonica sometime in the future :)

Meanwhile, here's the traditional fiddle tune, the "Orange Blossom Special" (with harmonica as the lead instrument) . . . hang on to your hat!