Post #70552 by Tiki_Bong on Sat, Jan 17, 2004 2:01 PM

Origin of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar -

Joseph Kekuku is credited with the 'invention' of the Hawaiian steel guitar. He was born in La'ie, near Honolulu, in 1874. It was in the year 1885, when Kekuku was 11 years old, that he originated the Hawaiian method of playing the guitar with a steel held in the left hand.

While walking along the railroad strumming on a guitar of the regular type, he stopped to pick up a bolt, and somehow or other he slid this bolt on the strings of his guitar, thus producing, in embryo, the well known slur so characteristic of the Hawaiian guitar.

The bolt was far from being a success, and Kekuku tried the back of a penknife and various things, until he settled down to using the blade of an ordinary single-edge razor with the edge ground down.

Mr. Kekuku practiced in secret, but it was not possible, and before long other locals were playing in the same manner. Of course this created a sprit of friendly competition and made Kekuku more determined than ever to be the first to master this method of playing. It took him 7 years to master the instrument.

In 1904 Kekuku left Hawaii for the mainland, and he played in all the major theatres from coast to coast. In 1919 he left the US for an eight year tour of Europe.

In about 1927/28 Kekuku returned to the US and settled in Chicago, where he opened a music school. Mr. Kekuku died in 1932 at the age of 58 due to a brain hemorrhage.