Jon de Mello is an American record producer, manager, composer, artist, who was born in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
and raised in
Waikiki
Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii.
Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...
, and notable for producing
Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole.
Early years
Jon de Mello's father was composer
Jack de Mello
Jack de Mello (November 15, 1916 – April 27, 2019) was an American composer, arranger, producer, and recording artist from Hawaii. He was known for being a composer and advocate of Hawaiian music
The music of Hawaii includes an array of tradi ...
. Jon de Mello began playing the piano at the age of five, and began learning his father's trade by sitting in on recording sessions and business meetings. His interest expanded to fine art, and he studied painting at the
California College of Arts and Crafts
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...
, graduating in 1970 with a fine arts degree. When he returned to Hawaii, he continued his artistic studies at the
University of Hawaiʻi
The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...
while simultaneously embarking on several business ventures.
Career
In 1974, de Mello started
Mountain Apple Company
The Mountain Apple Company is a record label based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that specializes in traditional and contemporary music of Hawaii as well as other artists with a connection to Hawaii. It is known for popularizing the career of Israel Kama ...
and in 1978, signed
The Brothers Cazimero as the company's first act. Since then, Jon de Mello has produced over 150 recording projects that range from traditional
Hawaiian to contemporary Hawaiian to island music, most notably being
Israel Kamakawiwoʻoleʻs multi-platinum selling ''
Facing Future
''Facing Future'' is the second album by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, released in 1993. The best-selling album of all time by a Hawaiian artist, ''Facing Future'' combines traditional Hawaiian-language songs, hapa-haole songs with ...
'' and ''
Alone in Iz World
''Alone in IZ World'' is an album by the Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole released in 2001, 4 years after his death in 1997. The album has charted on several of Billboard’s album charts. These are:http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch ...
'' albums. In 2002, he became the first producer from a Hawai'i record label to have achieved an
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
certified
Gold Record and 2005 achieved
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
. He also served as an entertainment consultant to
Sheraton Hotels
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Ce ...
' Pacific Division,
Westin Hotels, and the SS Monterey Luxury Liner.
[
He worked closely in developing a CD that was nominated on the 2002 final ]Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
ballot for "Reggae Album of the Year." In 2005, he was a part of the campaign of the creation of Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album. This category was a part of the Grammy Awards from 2005 to 2011, in which he was a part of the production of many nominated albums. The recording projects he has developed and worked with have garnered over 100 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards
The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, occasionally called the Nā Hōkū Awards or Hoku Awards, are the premier music awards in Hawaii.Berger, John"A night of Na Hoku Hanohano" ''Honolulu Star-Advertiser''. May 22, 2011.Haug, Kawehi"Hoku awardees shine ...
. In 2010, the song he is best known for producing, ' Over the Rainbow' won "Hit of the Year" at the German Echo Awards
Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and it was set up to hono ...
where Jon accepted the award on Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole's behalf.
References
External links
*
Mountain Apple Company YouTubeJon de Mello Page
Discogs: Jon de Mello pagePBS Hawaii: Interview by Leslie Wilcox with Jon de MelloGreater Good Radio Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mello, Jon de
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Record producers from Hawaii
Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni