Carole Kai

Carole (Shimizu) Kai (born October 28, 1944) is an entertainer (singer and pianist), recording artist, and philanthropist from Hawaii.

Personal life

Born as Carole Shimizu in Honolulu, she graduated from McKinley High School in Honolulu. Kai began performing shortly after she graduated; she also recorded for several local record labels.

Career

In the late 1970s, when she was already well known as a Hawaii showroom headliner, her manager, Yemun Chung, paired her with a young island showband he was also managing, The Fabulous Krush (The group later dropped "Fabulous" and performed as "The Krush"). Kai was never a member of the group; they performed as her backing band as well as doing their own shows.

In the late 1990s, following the national success of shows featuring two or more "divas," she joined three other local singers with showroom experience -- Loyal Garner, Melveen Leed, and Nohelani "Baby Diva" Cypriano—to form a new show group named The Local Divas. The group broke up after Garner's death several years later.

Kai was also co-host, with Kimo Kahoano, of a televised karaoke contest, Hawaii Stars, that was the most popular locally produced show of its kind in Hawaii.

Philanthropy

Kai is also known for her charitable work. She was the organizer and namesake of the first bed race in Hawaii, the Carole Kai Bed Race (later the Honolulu International Bed Race). It was an annual event benefiting the Variety Schools, a local school for children with special needs. Later, in 1985, she and local cardiologist Jack Scaff organized a road race between Aloha Tower in downtown Honolulu and Aloha Stadium. This race became the Great Aloha Run, and it is now one of the largest road races in Hawaii, attracting about 20,000 runners annually.