Before her life as a Kailua real estate broker, Barbara J. Kauahi, then Barbara Taylor-Goss, rock 'n' rolled with the likes of Carole King and Herb Alpert.

The Los Angeles native got her start in 1969 at A&M Records, where she quickly moved up the ladder to director of advertising and marketing and worked until 1976.

Kauahi died July 4 of lung cancer at her Kailua home. She was 72.

Louise Barnum, a best friend since age 15, recalls Kauahi's story of when she first met Herb Alpert, the “;A”; in A&M.

“;When she first met him, she walked right into a pole, he's so drop-dead gorgeous,”; related Barnum, who later became director of production at A&M.

Kauahi worked directly with artists including Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Burt Bacharach, the Carpenters, the Captain & Tennille, Quincy Jones, Joan Baez, Carole King, Sting and Liza Minnelli.

She developed close friendships with King, the Captain and Tennille, Davey Jones and Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.

“;We were a tiny company when Barbara and I both started there, but everything we touched turned to platinum,”; Barnum said.

After A&M, Kauahi worked at Steve Binder Productions as a personal manager for major acts till the early 1980s.

She left show business for real estate, joining Malibu Realty. In 1983 she moved to Hawaii and married Bobby Kauahi in 1988.

Close friend Billy Boyle, owner of Century 21 Kailua Beach Realty, said: “;She was my right hand in business and one of the most talented people I've met.

“;She was the heart, core and conscience of Century 21,”; he said of Kauahi, who was broker-in-charge at Century 21, where she worked for 23 years.

Boyle will host a celebration of Kauahi's life at his home tomorrow.

“;She definitely didn't want anything somber, just a good old rock 'n' roll party at our house,”; he said.

Kauahi is also survived by daughter Christine Wilson, sons Christopher and Gus Taylor, brother Fred Perlin, sister Zodie Stewart and eight grandchildren.