Three to four days a week, Larry Rivera’s routine includes hanging out with buddies at the Walmart McDonald’s. ”We talk about three things,” the 83-year-old said. “The medicines we take, who died recently and our biggest topic – Las Vegas.”
Three to four days a week, Larry Rivera’s routine includes hanging out with buddies at the Walmart McDonald’s.
”We talk about three things,” the 83-year-old said. “The medicines we take, who died recently and our biggest topic – Las Vegas.”
Of course, Vegas. Rivera is an entertainer, after all.
”It’s the only place where I can relax,” said Rivera. “I’m envious of the special effects and lighting I can’t get here on Kauai. I don’t bring money with me so I don’t get tempted or robbed. I go to the Jacuzzi and get massages and my wife gets her hair done.”
The man known to many as Mr. Coco Palms with a legendary music career has added another achievement to his resume.
He’s an author.
“Inherit the palms,” is the title of the biography, the piece he worked on for three years with writer Carol Courtney.
The work is loaded with photos and stories from his 63 years at the historic Coco Palms where he got his start as a musician.
It reads like a “who’s who,” with recollections of his brushes with famous singers from the ‘50s and ‘60s, including Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby. He recounts the time Elvis and his 14 friends were in the audience listening to one of his original songs, “Love and Aloha.”
Rivera said the book reveals a lot of secrets, too.
”I’m gonna have to move to Australia,” Rivera joked.
Not so. The down-to-Earth singer makes sure family is part of his act. He has six daughters, 17 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. One of his children, Lerline Fernandez, a keyboardist, takes the stage next to him two nights every week.
”I’ve been in my dad’s show since I first walked – dancing,” Fernandez said, named after the ship with the same name that used to anchor at Kalapaki Beach. “I used to go on that ship when I was young and hula.”
They’ve been playing together for 24 years. They harmonize seamlessly; the bond undeniable.
”It’s natural,” Fernandez, 52, remarked. “It just is when you’ve played with someone that long.”
Her own album, which includes 11 original tracks, is titled “Through your eyes.” It was nominated by The Academy of Recording Arts for best religious album of 2000 at the Na Hanohano Hoku awards.
”I would like to develop my own music,” Fernandez said. “I’ve always helped my sister and my dad.”
Rivera’s latest dream is to have his song, “I don’t want to say goodbye to America,” performed during the Super Bowl half-time show. It was written after he met a young tourist from Japan who at the end of her trip to Kauai didn’t want to return home. It was performed in 1976 by an international chorus named The Continental Singers with 250 members at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
”I couldn’t believe it when I saw them all dressed in red, white and blue,” Rivera remembered.
Dad doesn’t have any plans to slow down, despite the chatting sessions at McDonald’s with his longtime buddies.
”I’ve got four lifetime achievement awards,” Rivera said. “They keep giving them away when they think you’re going to die.”
He’s an author, sure, but musician most of all. He’ll keep on performing four nights a week on Kauai at Cafe Portofino, J.J.’s Broiler, and the Coconut Marketplace. Guitar, ukulele and stories of Hawaiian lore entertain packed houses.
”He’s got lots of good stories,” said Michael Mirabella, a songwriter himself visiting from Berkeley, California who caught a show this week at Cafe Portofino.
Sure, Rivera may have spilled some beans, dished some dirt, in his book, but he’s not moving to Australia any time soon.
”I just like to make people happy,” the Kapaa High School graduate said.
That he does. One of Rivera’s 100 original songs is titled, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life.” When he sings it, it’s apparent he honestly believes in that sentiment with an unbridled passion. It’s part of his secret to success.
”To love everybody no matter what,” Fernandez said of her Dad’s approach to life, “Unconditional love.”
Rivera said that over the years he watched entertainers perform and become rich and famous. He might not have the money they had, but he has something else — something that you can’t buy with all the riches in the world.
”I have the aloha spirit. Aloha can’t be bought or sold, it comes from within,” he said.
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Lisa Ann Capozzi, a features and education reporter can be reached at lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com
