Charles L. Davis

Charles Keonaonalaulani Llewellyn Davis was a Native Hawaiian opera singer and musician. He was a child prodigy, raised on a sugar cane plantation, and a direct descendant of John Papa ʻĪʻī, personal attendant to Lunalilo. Trained as an opera singer, he vocalized in both tenor and baritone ranges. He and actor James Shigeta briefly toured as a nightclub act. Versatile with a variety of vocal forms, and a multi-linguist, he sang the music of Cole Porter at the Hollywood Bowl, and presented a concert in honor of Kamehameha Day at Carnegie Hall. Davis performed with the Opera Company of Boston during a White House engagement, and was a nightclub performer in Hawaii. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts, and was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.