Auld Lang Syne, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong … Bruddah Iz

Yes, that was Hawaii’s own Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwoole’s singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” as the ball dropped in New York City’s Times Square for the 100th year in a row.

The million-plus revelers in midtown Manhattan and millions more watching on TV around the world got to hear the late great vocalist about 8 minutes after midnight from massive loudspeakers set up around the Square.

The ball drop gave way to “Auld Lang Syne,” Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” Ray Charles’s “America The Beautiful,” Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” then, finally, Bruddah Iz.

The YouTube video we found of the festivities has just eight seconds of Iz and a roar of recognition from the masses near its end. 

If anyone out there has a better clip with “Rainbow’s” end, we’d love to post it.