![]() Sonny Chillingworth: Waimea Cowboy (1964) Despite his objections, the album was lauded as a classic when it was released in the thick of the Second Hawaiian Renaissance, solidifying Pahinui’s status as a central figure in the movement and finally showing the world his mastery of the art. In the time the project remained in stasis, Pahinui soured on it his playing had improved significantly, and most of the tracks were recorded in rushed takes between the ringing of a church bell. As a result, Pure Gabby, recorded in 1961, was shelved and forgotten for 17 years. Still, labels remained unconvinced that albums featuring slack key as the centerpiece rather than accompaniment would sell. Natives of the island, estranged from most things traditionally Hawaiian due to decades of cultural suppression, were beginning to see the value in hearing the songs of old-all they needed was a boost in fidelity, presenting the music with the slick modern production of rock’n’roll. Leonard Kwan: Slack Key (1960)įollowing Gabby Pahinui’s successful debut album with the Sons of Hawaii, the perception was beginning to shift on Hawaiian music. From the 1940s and throughout the Second Hawaiian Renaissance, Namakelua taught slack key guitar as a public service, keeping the art alive even when recordings and instructional materials-much less willing instructors-were scarce. Though she didn’t record until decades after developing her simple and unadorned style, it is the oldest ever documented, and demonstrates many of the basic rhythms the generation of players after her would build upon. Namakelua was not far removed from a time before Hawaii’s annexation: She was born a year before the monarchy was overthrown, spoke Hawaiian natively, and regularly performed songs for the deposed Queen Liliʻuokalani as a teenager. But she had been playing the instrument since childhood, learning from students of the original Hawaiian cowboy players. Her first and only album of slack key was released in 1974, when she was 82 years old. Alice Namakelua: Auntie Alice Kuʻuleialohapoina‘ole Namakelua (1974)Īlice Namakelua is one of the most celebrated female Hawaiian musicians in history, but still doesn’t quite get the credit she deserves for her work in preserving slack key guitar. That influence underscores an important fact: While these are the first slack key recordings, they are not necessarily representative of where the genre began. Influence from contemporary popular music is plain to hear all over these recordings, with Gabby himself being particularly enamored with the big band swing rhythms of Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman. The majority of musicians on these records would only appear here, with one notable exception: a young Philip “Gabby” Pahinui, whose recording of the classic mele “Hi’ilawe” was the first-ever recording of slack key guitar. Because slack key wasn’t popular outside of backyard jams and family gatherings, careers weren’t expected to blossom. Most tracks were initially released as B-sides to more commercially marketable songs in hula and big band styles, and sales were low. The first 20 slack key recordings were released on the long-defunct 49th State, Bell, and Aloha labels, collected on this compilation. If they don’t, fine,” he said when asked about his philosophy on teaching. Gabby Pahinui, slack key’s most influential player and standard-bearer, famously refused to instruct his own sons, insisting they learn only by careful observation and develop their own unique voices. The particulars of slack key would remain fiercely guarded secrets, with fingering techniques, tunings, and the history, mythology, and meaning of songs sometimes being known only to a single family. Many players developed their own tunings to suit their performance needs or styles of play, which would often become defining hallmarks of each teacher-student lineage. While hula and steel guitar were weaving themselves into the fabric of American popular music, slack key stuck close to home, propagating the same way it has ever since its humble beginnings on the ranch: as an oral tradition, through a strict relationship between a master and a student. Even then, its commercial appeal remained limited. Despite existing for over a century prior, slack key wouldn’t find its way onto recordings until 1946, decades after other styles of Hawaiian music already made the leap across the Pacific Ocean to the contiguous United States.
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