Larry Rivera, Kaua`i’s living musical legend

0-year career has spawned oceans of musical aloha

By LESTER CHANG

TGI Staff Writer

On Friday evenings at the

Holiday Inn SunSpree Hotel, longtime entertainer Larry Rivera presents a type

of entertainment visitors and old-time residents can hardly find any more in

Hawai’i: Hapa Hawaiian music from the 1950s.

The music, which mixes

Hawaiian and English words with soft melodies, caresses the ear, relaxes the

body and conjures up images of a balmy South Seas paradise.

Wearing an

aloha shirt and lei, Rivers sits on a stool on an open hotel deck and plays

renditions from 200 songs he has created during a 50-year career.

On this

night, visitors applauded Rivera and demanded an encore.

The type of music

has become an art form in Hawai’i and has helped perpetuate the Hawaiian

culture and family values, Rivera said.

“I love all kinds of music, but I

have heard from so many visitors that they don’t hear enough of this type of

music, which is so associated with Hawai’i,” Rivera said.

His music, which

focuses on all things that are Kaua’i, has helped bring visitors back to the

island, Rivera said.

Some of his more popular songs are “Love and Aloha.”

his first hit, “Beautiful Rainbow,” “Kamalani,” “Beautiful Kaua’i,” which he

popularized ,”What a Wonderful World” and “The Hawaiian Wedding,” made famous

by Elvis Presley.

His music drew the interest of Presley and Bing Crosby

and media celebrities such as Arthur Godfrey.

In Hawai’i, his music has

been recorded by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole and the Makaha Sons and has won

recognition among other musicians, he said.

Rivera, who turned 70 last

month, said he draws his inspiration from one source: Kaua’i, his birthplace.

He sings songs that are synonymous with Hawai’i such as “Beyond the Reef”

and “Tiny Bubbles,” were made famous by Don Ho and Pearly Shells.

Rivera

said he writes music dealing with Kauai’s natural beauty, its people and its

lifestyle.

“You can get inspired from a setting sun, a person’s quotation

or a person’s feeling,” he said.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Iniki,

Rivera felt compelled to craft a song that would lift the spirit of Kauaians,

to encourage them to rebuild the island. His creation was “Valley of Rainbow,”

a song that spoke of optimism in the face of natural destruction.

If there

were any singers he patterned his singing style after, they would be Connie

Francis, “because she sings from the heart,” and Perry Como, “because he sings

so smoothly,” Rivera said.

Rivera got his start in music 50 years ago. Born

and raised in Kekaha, he had worked briefly at the Coco Palms Lodge, a small

operation and the forerunner of the Coco Palms Hotel.

Rivera went into the

Army during the Korean War and met his future wife of 45 years, Gloria, on

O’ahu (they have six grown children now, including three daughters who are

professional entertainers, and there 16 grandchildren and one

great-grandchild).

After the war, Rivera returned to Kaua’i and was

reemployed at the lodge. Grace Guslander and her husband took over the hotel

property in the mid-1950s and began expanding the operations. Rivera worked as

a bartender, dishwater, waiter, front desk clerk and entertainer.

He

initially performed for free. That changed as the Guslanders discovered Rivera

had talent and was marketable, and billed him as top entertainer at the

hotel.

For 20 years, Rivera also attained notoriety by performing the

“Blue Hawaii” weddings in a lagoon on lands used by Hawaiian royalty.

Grace Guslander is dead now, but Rivers said he still holds her in the

highest regard because “she was like a mother to everyone and treated everyone

with respect.”

Rivera worked at the hotel until Hurricane Iniki closed it

down. There are now plans to renovate it and to reopen it.

Rivers recently

led 19 U.S. mainland visitors on a tour through the hotel in conjunction with

Elder Hostel, a Boston-based group that sets up travel outings for people who

are 50 and older. The tour was intended to widen their understanding of

Hawaiian music. Similar musical tours were conducted on Oahu and

Mau’i.

Rivera discussed the history of the hotel, which was the flagship

hotel on Kaua’i in the 1950s and which personified gracious Hawaiian

hospitality.

From an old dining room stage he once performed on, Rivera

reminisced about nightly performances: The blowing of conch shells, the

lighting of torches among a grove of hundreds of coconut trees, and the

pounding of drums.

The grounds were once the home of Queen Debra Kapule,

Kaua’i’s last queen, Rivera said.

Rivera also sang renditions of some of

his favorite songs, including the “Hawaiian Wedding Song,” popularized by

Presley.

Rivera met the king of rock and roll during the filming of Blue

Hawai’i at the hotel in 1961. Rivera recalled it was his turn to perform with

other employees before an audience that included Presley, and that he was so

nervous he could barely look up. Rivera sang “Love and Aloha” and received a

reception that surprised him. Presley stood up and clapped loudly and wanted an

encore, Rivers said. The song was later introduced to Bing Crosby.

Through

their friendship, Rivera was introduced to other heavyweights in the music

industry on the U.S. mainland.

The recent tour at the old Coco Palms

affected Joe Leinbach, a retired banker, and his wife Wilda, both from Florida,

the same way.

Wilda was a teacher at Leileihua High School on Oahu in 1959

when she met her Joe, a Navy officer stationed at Pearl Harbor. They got

married and celebrated their honeymoon at the hotel.

Being on the musical

tour has helped her appreciate Hawaiian music more, Wilda Leinbach

said.

“Larry Rivera is doing a wonderful job,” she said. “His music is more

paniolo than Hawaiian, but it is wonderful. It is part of Hawai’i,

too.”

Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225)

and lchang@pulitzer.net