Genoa Leilani Adolpho Keawe-Aiko, known as Genoa Keawe, was born on October 31, 1918, in Kakaʻako, Honolulu, Oʻahu. She began singing in a church choir at a young age and started her professional music career before World War II with performances at officers' clubs and bandstand shows.
Keawe's breakthrough came when she landed a radio show on KULA, singing with John Kameaaloha Almeida. She released her first album, Party Hulas, in 1965, and later founded Genoa Keawe Records to help preserve traditional Hawaiian music. Keawe received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hawai‘i in 2005 and a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2000. She passed away on February 25, 2008.
