Gabby "Pops" Pahinui (slack-key guitar)

The father of modern slack-key guitar (kī hōʻalu). Born in Lahaina in 1921 and raised in Honolulu, Gabby Pahinui made the first slack-key instrumental record ("Hula Medley," 1947, now in the National Recording Registry). With the Sons of Hawaii and later the Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band, he became a central figure of the 1970s Hawaiian Renaissance. He died in 1980.

• Born April 22, 1921, in Lahaina, Maui; died Oct. 13, 1980, in Honolulu.
• Played slack-key and steel guitar and sang; learned slack-key from Herman Keawe.
• "Hiʻilawe" (1946) was an early slack-key vocal recording; "Hula Medley" (1947) was the first slack-key guitar instrumental record and was added to the National Recording Registry in 2011.
• Bands: Sons of Hawaii with Eddie Kamae (early 1960s); the Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band (from 1972).
• Classic album: Gabby (1972), known as the "Brown Album."
• Honors: Living Treasure of Hawaiʻi (1979); Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame (2002). His sons Cyril, Bla and Martin are also well-known musicians.

Sources: Wikipedia: Gabby Pahinui · UH Mānoa Hawaiian Music Collection: Gabby Pahinui

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