Celebrating Larry Ramos, the First Asian American to win a Grammy

It’s a trivia question you likely don’t even know the answer to but probably should: who was the first Asian American to win a Grammy award? A new documentary short that's out now has the answer: Larry Ramos, a Filipino American musician from Hawaiʻi who's been overlooked in American music history far too long.

Along Comes Larry: The Larry Ramos Story shows his remarkable journey, from a musical prodigy growing up in Waimea, Kauaʻi, to his rise to fame in the 1960s folk scene. Ramos made history in 1963 when he took home a Grammy for Best Performance by a Chorus as part of the folk group The New Christy Minstrels. After his Grammy win, Ramos joined the beloved vocal group The Association in 1967, lending his smooth tenor to hits like the timeless classic “Never My Love.”

Directed by Emmy-winning journalist Rick Quan, the film showcases Ramos and his talent, also digging into what it meant for him to be one of the few nonwhite musicians in a top-charting American band during the 1960s. It’s an amazing story that reflects Ramos’ persistence and grace while being in an industry that hardly ever carved out any space for Asian Americans.

"People are just astonished, saying, 'I didn't know this about Larry coming from Kauai and being the first Asian to win a Grammy Award'," Quan said in a recent interview with Hawaii News Now. "I'm getting a lot of satisfaction of educating people and giving him the recognition he deserves."

Along Comes Larry is making its way through the film festival circuit, including screenings at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival (HIFF) as part of its “FilAm Frames” program in Honolulu (October 21–22) and Kauaʻi (November 2). The film also hits the mainland with a screening at the Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival in Sunnyvale on October 19. No news yet on distribution, but hopefully, you’ll be able to catch this enlightening and important short on streaming soon.

Watch the trailer below: