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Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop

Tiki Central / General Tiki / Tiki Country (or Hillbilly) Music?

Post #22530 by Tiki_Bong on Mon, Feb 10, 2003 8:59 AM

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As a steel player, I MUST provide a little edification as to the origins of this sweet little instrument.

Steel guitars were originally invented and popularized in Hawaii. Legend has it that Joseph Kekuku, a Hawaiian schoolboy, discovered the sound while walking along a railroad track strumming his guitar. He picked up a bolt lying by the track and slid the metel along the strings of his guitar. Intrigued by the sound, he taught himself to play using the back of a knife blade.

Hawaiian groups were a big hit at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. From there the sound of the HAWAIIAN guitar spread throughout the US. The sound of the steel guitar was picked up and incorporated into blues and country music.

The Hawaiian word for the steel guitar is Kika Kila.

(Man, now I've got a woodie for my steelie)