Singer Dennis Pavao dies

Na Hoku-winning Maui entertainer with sweet falsetto became ill last week

By LIZ JANES-BROWN, Staff Writer

WAILUKU — One of Hawaii’s most beloved voices was stilled Friday morning when Dennis Pavao died at Maui Memorial Medical Center. The 50-year-old entertainer was surrounded by family members at the time of his death. 

Pavao had been hospitalized for a week after taking ill following a performance at Lahaina’s Feast at Lele, where he entertained regularly. The cause of death has not been officially released.

Noted for his sweet falsetto, Pavao first came into prominence with Hui Ohana, a trio that included his cousins Ned-

ward and Ledward Kaapana. His first solo album, “Na Leo Ki‘eki‘e,” released in 1987, won him Male Vocalist of the Year honors at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. In 1989, his “Hawaiian Soul” received a Hoku for best Traditional Hawaiian Album.

“He was a regular guy with an extraordinary talent,” said KPOA radio personality Alaka‘i Paleka, who has known Pavao for years. 

She remembered Pavao singing at Keali‘i Reichel’s first Kukahi concert at the 

Waikiki Shell. “A crowd of 10,000 people just went off,” she said, attesting to the singer’s huge fan base.

Jerry Kunitomo, one of Pavao’s close longtime friends, said he liked to tease the Lahaina entertainer about the first time he heard his music. It was at Kunimoto’s Junior Prom at the Oceania restaurant when Pavao was singing with Hui Ohana.

“Dennis’ recordings over three decades will be sung for generations; he’s one of those performers,” Kunimoto said. “If our lives can be measured by the number of people we can touch in a positive way, then Dennis is in a place we all aspire to.”

“I grew up with Hui Ohana,” said kumu hula and recording star Uluwehi Guerrero, who sometimes worked with Pavao. “He was like a mentor to me. I looked up to him with his beautiful falsetto singing. He accomplished a lot in a very short life and has left a lot of beautiful memories.”

Pavao is survived by his wife Leialoha and the couple’s 10 children. He also leaves seven brothers and sisters and his parents, Mildred Kuulei Pavao and Edwin Pavao, both of Hilo.

Surfing great Archie Kalepa and his wife, dancer Alicia Kalepa, first met Pavao at a rehearsal for a show at Tokyo Disneyland in 1982. They became close friends and the Kalepas are godparents to a number of the Pavao children.

“Dennis was always there if we needed anything; he’d go the extra mile. He was fun to be around and could hang with the best of them,” said Archie Kalepa. “He was a down-to-earth guy, plain and simple.”

He recalled a time when the singer played for Kalepa’s grandfather as he lay dying at Maui Memorial Medical Center. “We had some special times,” he said.

“Dennis was like the brother I never had,” Alicia Kalepa said. “I first heard him when I was a kid. It’s a great loss for all of us in Hawaii.”

Services are pending. Preliminary plans call for services to be held on the Big Island, Pavao’s birthplace, and Maui.