"Tiny Bubbles"

From Hawaii, with Don Ho

Our word this last weekend of June is tropical, so how about our song? For today, what came to mind was not so much a song as a personality — a very popular Hawaiian singer-entertainer called Don Ho. I guess you could call Don Ho a One-Hit Wonder, but I don’t think that that title does him justice. After all, his career did span almost 50 years, and audiences loved him everywhere he went.

Don Ho was born in Hawaii in 1930, almost 30 years before his homeland became the 50th state. And it was the same year that Hawaii was admitted fully to the Union that Don Ho began his musical career. In 1959, he was still in the Air Force, having earned his commission in 1954, upon his graduation from the ROTC at the University of Hawaii. (Anyone who is interested can read an interview with Don Ho about his time as an Air Force pilot here.) Ho left the Air Force on a hardship discharge when his mother became ill, and he had to go back home to Hawaii to run her business — a night club called “Holly’s.” Don Ho took to the work with a military-style precision, and was conveniently located near The Kaneohe Marine Base. He had bought an electronic keyboard in California, while in the military, and began singing to entertain patrons of the club. Of course, he was a natural “entertainer,” in addition to having a fine singing voice. He was a patriot, having grown up in the midst of the second World War. Throughout his career, Don made a point of asking war veterans to stand for applause. Whenever WWII vets in were in the audience, Don Ho invited them on stage to join the hula dancers. That was a bit of schmalz, perhaps? But he did it consistently, and always expressed his gratitude to those who had served in the Pacific theater during the war.

So what about Do Ho’s one big hit, “Tiny Bubbles?” Well, the song was originally written for Lawrence Welk — aka, “Mr. Champaigne Music” (after his “bubbly” easygoing style). But guess what? Welk turned the song down! Hello, Don Ho, with the break of his career, and a signature song to boot. “Tiny Bubbles” hit the charts in 1966, after Ho had recorded two albums of other people’s hits as well as some popular Hawaiian standards. But “Tiny Bubbles” (and his third O, of the same name) kept Ho on the airwaves for two solid years! Don Ho was active for the next 30 years on the entertainers’ circuit across the US. Oh, and guess what? Lawrence Welk DID perform “Tiny Bubbles” on his popular television show, and in concerts! But it was definitely Do Ho’s song.

What follows requires that patented Esolen …
!!DIFFERENT UNIVERSE ALERT!!

Prepare to enter a world of long ago. The first clip shows Don Ho entertaining and interacting with an audience of grownups, dressed suitably for the occasion, with just his electric keyboard and a few backup muscians and singers. Notice how natural and, well, homey it all is. Notice the off the cuff “toast” to Lawrence Welk. And look at the size of Don Ho’s champaign glass, and well, all the bubbles from his bubble machine!

The second video shows what Lawrence Welk did with the song, and yes, he did also adopt it for his own theme. Sometimes a Song is a little hit with a long lifespan.

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Word & Song is an online magazine devoted to reclaiming the good, the beautiful, and the true. We publish six essays each week, on words, classic hymn, poems, films, and popular songs, as well a weekly podcast, alternately Poetry Aloud or Anthony Esolen Speaks. To support this project, please join us as a free or paid subscriber.