Recording arts group honors 23 isle entertainment icons

The Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2012 by awarding a record 23 Lifetime Achievement Awards in May.

The time and place of the awards presentation have yet to be announced, but here are the honorees:

» The Aliis: Showroom entertainers and hit recording artists for two decades. Al Akana, Rudy Aquino, Benny Chong, Manny Lagodlagod and Joe Mundo were the other half of Don Ho & the Aliis at Duke Kahanamoku’s in the 1960s. Carlos Barbosa, LD Cabral, Danny Couch and Bobby King contributed to the group’s success in the ’70s and early ’80s. (Don Ho received the Sidney Grayson Award, the predecessor of the current Lifetime Achievement Award, in 1979.)

» Pua Almeida: Vocalist, musician (steel guitar), arranger and recording artist.

» Frank De Lima: Showroom entertainer, recording artist and the most successful local comedian of his generation

» Wayne Harada: Longtime entertainment journalist and "Show Biz" columnist for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser

» Alice Johnson: Songwriter and recording artist who sang with the Royal Hawaiian Band

» Kimo Kahoano: Pioneer "Hawaiian radio" deejay, Waikiki showroom entertainer, recording artist ("Aloha Friday") and "Hawaii Stars" host, who is known for his show-stopping rendition of "Boy from Laupahoehoe"

» Moe Keale: Vocalist, musician, showroom entertainer and recording artist who was one of the great Hawaiian voices of the 20th century. Received a HARA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for his work as a member of the Sons of Hawai‘i.

» The Lim Family: A Hoku Award-winning family group from Kohala, they are Elmer Lim Sr., wife Mary Ann and their children, Elmer "Sonny" Lim Jr., Nani and Lorna Lim. Lorna and Sonny have enjoyed success as solo recording artists. Sonny received a HARA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 for his work as a member of the Makaha Sons of Ni‘ihau.

» ‘Ihilani Miller: Vocalist, songwriter, choreographer and recording artist who sang with the Royal Hawaiian Band

» Nalani Olds: Vocalist, recording artist, dancer and cultural resource

» Betty Loo Taylor: Jazz pianist best known for her musical partnership with Jimmy Borges at Trappers and other jazz venues

The Sidney Grayson Award for lifetime achievement in the Hawaii recording industry was created along with the regular Na Hoku Hanohano Awards by KCCN "Hawaiian radio" in 1978 and named in honor of KCCN owner Sidney Grayson. HARA took over administration of the Hoku Awards in 1982 and removed Grayson’s name from the award five years later. It has been the Lifetime Achievement Award ever since.