Al Nobriga and Island Company

Al Nobriga’s “My Last Disco Song” tells of a time when nightclubs lined Kalakaua Avenue and practically every hotel hosted live entertainment. Seven days a week, locals rubbed elbows with visitors in discos like The Point After, Cock’s Roost, Garden Bar, Infinity, Duke Kahanamoku’s, Foxy Lady Too, Valentino’s, Hawaiian Hut—the list goes on.

In the years following the release of Al Nobriga with Island Company’s LP, They’re Playing My Music, a massive shift in Waikiki’s tourism industry began. More and more nightclubs closed their doors or hired duos and disc jockeys to entertain guests. The venues that once lined Kalakaua Avenue eventually gave way to newly constructed luxury shopping centers, a trend that continues into the 21st century.

Not long after the album’s 1980 release, Checo met Marvin Gaye, who was living on Maui (where George Benson also resided). Shortly after, Marvin invited Checo and his counterparts to join his multi-city tour across Europe. Videos of Checo rocking keyboards, percussion and singing background vocals for Marvin Gaye’s last European tour can be found online.

Checo, born in Florida yet raised in lush Manoa Valley as well as Okinawa, Japan, now resides in Vancouver, Canada, where he leads the VOC Sweet Soul Gospel Choir and continues to deliver his signature sound:
high energy, positive, “sweet soul” music.