Kawai Cockett was an old-style musician born and raised on Moloka'i who learned his craft of singing and 'ukulele-strumming the way many of his generation did: by watching and listening to kupuna perform in backyard kanikapila (songfests).

"When you sing Hawaiian music," he once said, "you sing from your na'au (gut) but you give from your pu'uwai (heart). That is how I was taught by my na kupuna."

Cockett, 67, died Wednesday night at a nursing facility in Kane'ohe after suffering complications from diabetes. He would have celebrated a birthday this Sunday.

"He's joining that big band in the sky," said Don "Flip" McDiarmid III, who produced Cockett's last CD, "Still Strumming." "And the gang is growing."

McDiarmid said he and Cockett had discussed recording another CD, but as Cockett struggled through losing some fingers to diabetes, he shunned the notion of singing without playing his chosen instrument. "After all, he was a 'uke player, too," said McDiarmid.

It was Don McDiarmid Jr., Flip's father and founder of Hula Records, who originally recorded Cockett and helped establish Cockett's reputation as one of the genuine articles of Hawaiian music.

"He was the sweetest Hawaiian and one of the best — pure of heart, always smiling, a wonderful musician and a rare one who knew the words and sang them correctly," said McDiarmid Jr. "Normally, Kawai would be here to perform," McDiarmid said. "I can't believe he's gone."

The entertainer's given name was Kawaikeaniani'ulaokalani Anderson Cockett, but close friends and fans called him Uncle Kawai.

From his first album in 1969, which established his trademark song "Beautiful Kaua'i," to his last recording in 2002, Kawai Cockett embraced na mele maoli — the traditional songs of Native Hawaiians. It was a path that endeared his kupuna and inspired future generations of musicians eager to trace their Hawaiian roots.

"Kawai Cockett was a tireless troubadour of the old-style traditional Hawaiian music," said Harry B. Soria Jr., long-time "Territorial Airwaves" radio and online host. "He played his 'ukulele with his hearty Puko'o, Moloka'i strum, singing every single verse of treasured Hawaiian mele in the hula style."

Cockett's career spanned four decades. He was a multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner (Best Male Vocalist in 1994 and 1999) and in 2004 was one of the honorees in the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts' Lifetime Achievement award.

Jacqueline "Honolulu Skylark" Rossetti — a well-known Hawaiian-music deejay now based in Hilo and an active board member of the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts — fondly remembered her early encounters with Cockett, who was a chanter for the Royal Court at Aloha Week (now Aloha Festivals) celebrations.

"I was age 6, 7, 8 or so, growing up in Aloha Week, and Kawai and Hoakalei Kamau'u were the chanters," Rossetti said. "I'd hear his chanting voice from the back of the room. He'd also chant and play music at 'Iolani Palace and the Waikiki Shell, always with such strong protocol; that's my lasting memory."

For several decades, Rossetti admired Cockett's artistry and shared his joy when he won several Na Hoku awards.

She mentioned one thing that most others seldom talked about directly with Cockett: his hairpiece. "He always wore that funny toupee and we'd kid him, 'Buy a new one,' because it was always black, not graying as he got older," Rossetti said. "You'd put a lei on him, and the toupee would slide. But that was so Kawai."

Hailama Farden, state president of Hale O Na Ali'i O Hawai'u and head of 'Ahahui 'Olelo Hawai'i, recalled Cockett's passion for traditional Hawaiian music.

"Uncle Kawai felt it insulting to refer to our music as chalang-a-lang," said Farden, whose father, Randy Farden, composed "Beautiful Kaua'i," recorded on Cockett's debut album.

"He was always willing to sing and share his music, never saying no," said Hailama Farden. "I will miss speaking Hawaiian with him; he used to call me, just to use his Hawaiian."

Besides his recording career, Cockett enjoyed a heyday on the nightclub and showroom circuit over the years. His music was always suitable for accompaniment by hula. With his Lei Kukui Serenaders, old-style Hawaiian shows became his forte, in gigs at the Imperial Hawai'i hotel's Aquarium Lounge, the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Tapa Room, the 'Ilikai hotel's Canoe House, the Kahala Hilton and the Sheraton Waikiki hotel's Ocean Terrace.

For many years, Cockett shared his talent as a state Department of Education kupuna, demonstrating traditional music for schoolchildren.

Cockett was born in Puko'o, Moloka'i, on Sept. 24, 1938, the sixth of 16 children of Francis and Carrie Ae'a Anderson. He was given to his father's cousin, John Kawai Cockett, and was raised as a hanai son.

Survivors include his wife, Kamala 'Aina Cockett, and son, Ha'aheo 'Aina Cockett.

Wake and funeral services will be held at two sites: at St. Patrick's Church on Oct. 6, with viewing at 5 p.m. and service at 7:30 p.m.; and at Mililani Mortuary's Mauka Chapel on Oct. 7, with viewing at 8 a.m. and service at 10 a.m.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.