Prominent Hawaii musician Ernie Cruz Jr., of the Ka‘au Crater Boys, died Tuesday after being found unresponsive in waters off Sandy Beach, the Honolulu medical examiner and a family member confirmed.
Lifeguards pulled Cruz out of the water after he was found unresponsive about 100 yards to 150 yards offshore at Sandy Beach about 2:30 p.m. Lifeguards performed CPR, and Cruz was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where police said he died.
The musician’s sister confirmed his death. An autopsy will be conducted today, the medical examiner’s office said.
Cruz, 56, was working on a project with a group in Japan and had cut his trip short, his sister, Doodie Downs of Hilo, said Tuesday night.
He returned to the islands on Monday with his young son, Kailoa, and wife Kahelelani, and “came up to the Big Island to spend time with our youngest brother, Guy,” who is in hospice, Downs said. “He just went home (in Honolulu) yesterday.”
“He really, really loved Sandy Beach,” she said. “He got married on Sandy Beach. He played on Sandy Beach.”
He enjoyed body surfing and just sitting on the beach “with his … crew and they would enjoy the sunrise or the sunset,” Downs said. “Ernie passed away doing what he loved at a place he held dear.”
She added, “I know that my brother will be missed, not only by our family but our friends and the people of Hawaii, who were fans of Ka‘au Crater Boys and his music as a solo artist.”
A guitarist, Cruz broke out in the local music business in the early 1990s after he and Troy Fernandez formed the Ka‘au Crater Boys (Kaau Crater is in the Koolau Mountains, behind Palolo Valley). The duo’s debut album, “Tropical Hawaiian Day,” recorded and released in 1991, established them as local favorites. Their next two, “Valley Style” and “On Fire!,” released in 1993 and 1994 respectively, were Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winners. The duo won Contemporary Album of the Year two years in a row.
The key ingredients were Cruz’s voice and Fernandez’s intricate picking and strumming on ukulele.
By the time the fourth Ka‘au Crater Boys album, “Making Waves,” was released in 1996, Fernandez was splitting his time between that band and another group. Cruz and Fernandez eventually decided to stop performing as the Ka‘au Crater Boys and went on to record separately.
As a solo artist, Cruz won two Hoku Awards — Male Vocalist of the Year and Island Contemporary Album of the Year — for his album “Portraits” in 2002.
Cruz also worked as a longshoreman.
His father, well-known musician Ernie Cruz Sr., died in May in Arizona. His brothers, John and Guy, are also well-known local musicians.
Renowned ukulele teacher Roy Sakuma, who with his wife, Kathy, produced the Ka‘au Crater Boys’ four albums, described Cruz as a talented musician with an incredible sense of rhythm as well as a kind heart.
Sakuma managed the group before the duo parted in 1997 when they were at the top of their game.
“He’s going to go down as someone very special in the history of the music of Hawaii,” Sakuma said. “He was always giving to others, and he always had nice things to say about other people.”
Sakuma said the Hawaiian contemporary group left their mark on the local music scene. “He’s a part of a group that inspired so many teenagers to pick up the ukulele.”
Sakuma, who has long spotted trends among his students, noticed one when the duo came out with hit songs such as “Tropical Hawaiian Day” and “Surf.” “Then came so many inquiries from teenagers, which we’ve never had before, wanting to learn to play the ukulele.”
Over the years, Sakuma said, many people have mimicked the style of the Ka‘au Crater Boys — and if someone strums the four chords C, A minor, F and G7 on the ukulele, many people recognize it as “Surf.”
“It’s just something about that song,” Sakuma said. “When I used to go to schools and strum those four chords, all the kids would yell out, ‘Surf.’”
“I’m kind of emotional,” he added. “I really loved the man.”
Downs said she and her brother, along with 10 other siblings, grew up in a home filled with music of all genres. They were “always surrounded by words,” she added. “We were readers, debaters and songwriters. We love words.”
She said Cruz and Fernandez, who lived in the building next door, met in elementary school in Palolo. “They were always playing music in our house,” she said.
In addition, the family would often sing karaoke. “There was always music in the valley,” Downs said. “There was always music in our house, all the neighborhood kids singing in our house.”
She added that her brother was the “Jeopardy!” fanatic and family champion after beating her.
Star-Advertiser reporter John Berger contributed to this report.
