Read about the growing success of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, a Hawaiian artist known to many simply as "IZ,"....

In 1993, following a successful recording and performing career as part of the Mäkaha Sons of Ni'ihau group, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole released his solo CD "Ka 'Anoi" and "Facing Future" which launched an impressive solo career and even today remains one of the top selling Hawaiian albums in the world. "Facing Future" was followed by another four remarkable recordings, "E Ala E" (1995), "N Dis Life" (1996), "IZ In Concert: The Man And His Music" (1998), and "Alone In IZ World" (2001); each recording shares IZ's love of Hawai'i and her people through his sweet voice.

IZ's music gained national attention, and Billboard Magazine writer Doug Reece writes: "In 1997 there were only seven weeks when Hawaiian musicians--citizens of a state whose population is a fraction of all others--did not appear on the Top World Music Albums chart. Even more impressive was the individual tally scored by cherished, recently deceased vocalist Israel Kamakawiwo`ole. His (most recent) album 'N Dis Life' ran a remarkable 39 weeks on that chart…"

As listeners around the world were becoming aware of IZ's music, so were people in power in film and television who were insistent in their desire to use Israel's music within their projects. His music was featured in numerous television series and film, including "Young Americans" (Fox Television), "Wind On Water" (NBC), "Party of Five" (Fox Television), "Picket Fences" (CBS), "Race The Sun" (Tri-Star film), "Little Girls In Pretty Boxes" (Victor Television-Lifetime Television Movie Of The Week), "Byrds In Paradise" (ABC), "Lani Loa" (Chrome Dragon Pictures film) and "In God's Hands" (Independent feature film produced by Zalman King- 1998 release).

Universal Studios contacted The Mountain Apple Company regarding Israel's recording of "Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World" after the song caught the ear of director Martin Brest ("Scent Of A Woman", "Beverly Hills Cop").

Following the success in "Meet Joe Black," eToys.com adopted IZ's music for a series of national television commercials. Israel's sweet voice lends itself beautifully to the television commercials developed for eToys.com, which celebrate the innocence and beauty of childhood and the discovery of a world filled with wonder.

success of IZ's music prompted feature articles in the Washington Post and in the December 2-8, 2000 issue of TV Guide.

In December 2000, national best-selling author Dean Koontz honored Israel in the front page of his new book "From The Corner of His Eye". Koontz's quote pays tribute to IZ's music:

    "As I wrote this book, the singular and beautiful music of the late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole was always playing. I hope that the reader finds pleasure in my story equal to the joy and consolation that I found in the voice, the spirit, and the heart of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole."
Koontz followed this tribute by yet another kudo to IZ's music in his newest best selling book "One Door Away From Heaven" released in December 2001 by saying:
    "For the second time (the first having been as I worked on From the Corner of His Eye), I have written a novel while listening to the singular and beautiful music of the late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. When I mentioned Bruddah Iz in that previous book, a couple thousand of you wrote to share your enthusiasm for his life-affirming music. Of his six CDs, my personal favorites are Facing Future, In Dis Life, and E Ala Ë."

IZ's musical momentum continued into 2001, as once again his music was featured in a major motion film, "Finding Forrester" starring Sean Connery and directed by Gus Van Sant ("Good Will Hunting"), released in January 2001.

In July 2001, IZ's music hit the big screen once again, this time in the movie "Made" starring Vince Vaughan and Jon Favreau.

On January 29, 2001, America On Line (AOL) included information on IZ on their welcome screen, unheard of for a Hawaiian musician. Millions of AOL subscribers were introduced to IZ and his music as they logged on-line.

2001 also saw the release of IZ's new CD, "Alone In IZ World," which debuted #1 on Billboard's World Chart and #135 on Billboard's Top 200. This was an unprecedented achievement for this CD, one of only 12 CDs to ever debut #1 on the World Chart. It has remained consistently in the Top 10 of Billboard's World Chart for the 34 weeks since it's release.

The release of "Alone In IZ World" garnered IZ articles in the prestigious Washington Post and Chicago Tribune newspapers.

In May 2002, producer John Wells selected IZ's music for the top-rated television show "ER," selected it for the Dr. Greene final episode that was viewed by 50 million people. Also in 2002, IZ's music has been featured in the NBC series "Providence" and is slated to be a part of Fox's series "Pasadena" in the summer.

Following the exposure of IZ's music in "ER," he was featured in People Magazine (30,000,000 circulation) and Parade Magazine (35,900,000 circulation and 77,600,000 readership).

Fans of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's music include Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dean Koontz, Paul Simon, Jimmy Buffett, Jon Favreau, New York Mets' Benny Ahgbayani, director Martin Brest, producers John Wells and Zalman King, Japan sumotori Konishiki, Akebono and Musashimaru



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