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Not a single profile or article referencing him. If you have Googled “Sonny Nicholas” as I invited you to Google “Jimmy Kaopuiki” previously, you will find… next to nothing. But it was his vocals that added character to what at times might have been considered by some critics as an awfully repetitive show. Known mostly as a bassist, Sonny played rhythm guitar with the Hawaii Calls group. But like Kaopuiki, Nicholas was a utility player, content to do whatever he needed to do to make the stars shine brighter.

Some of his old bandleaders – like Alfred Apaka and Pua Almeida – would eventually play more prominent roles on Hawaii Calls than Sonny would. Sonny Nicholas already had a long and storied history in Hawaiian music – leading his own groups at times, and playing the supporting role for other Hawaiian music legends other times. (An accordion would have been novel, but also inappropriate.) That does not mean the music and presentation were any less beautiful. The show had such natural constraints as a limited repertoire and an expected instrumentation. And when he was credited, it was most often – as host Webley Edwards was wont to do – by his Hawaiian name “Halemano.” (Edwards did this with numerous members of the cast – as you will read eventually – but who among the show’s listeners could know if these were the musicians’ first names, last names, or middle names?)Įdwards took great pains to combat the criticism that “All Hawaiian music sounds alike,” but more often than not, the critics were right. And, like Kaopuiki, he often opened the program uncredited, and like Kaopuiki, this is likely because Nicholas was not one of the stars of Hawaii Calls, but a member of its rhythm section. Like bandmate Kaopuiki, Nicholas often opened Hawaii Calls programs with an up-tempo ditty – the kind of song perfectly suited for him. Perhaps it is for this reason that they rarely handed him a sad song to sing. Even when singing the saddest of songs, the joviality in Sonny’s voice shined through. shared a name with his father, as often happens in such cases at some point family and friends simply began referring to him as “Sonny.” But as an entertainer, the name suited him because he could not help but spread sunshine wherever he went. Take, for example, Sonny Nicholas.īecause Joseph Papapa Halemano Nicholas, Jr. But much of what I wrote about Kaopuiki would apply to other cast members as well. I only recently finished paying tribute to the unheralded bassist and vocalist of Hawaii Calls for many decades, Jimmy Kaopuiki.