Joseph Kekuku

Joseph Kekuku (1874–1932) is regarded as the inventor of the steel guitar.

Kekuku was born in Lāʻie, a village on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii. As a boy, he would experiment with guitar technique, sliding ordinary household objects across the strings to see what sounds could be produced. By the time he was an adult, he had developed a unique style of playing. He traveled extensively, teaching and performing throughout the USA and Europe.

Joseph Kekuku was born in 1874 in the small village of Laie on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii. When Joseph was 15, he and his cousin, Sam Nainoa left for a boarding school in Honolulu, about 40 miles (64 km) south of Laie. In 1889 while attending the Kamahameha School for Boys, Kekuku accidentally discovered the sound of the steel guitar.

According to C.S. DelAno, publisher of the "Hawaiian Music In Los Angeles" whose "Hawaiian Love Song" was the first original composition to be written for the Hawaiian Steel Guitar,

"Joseph told me that he was walking along a road in Honolulu 42 years ago, holding an old Spanish guitar when he say a rusty bolt on the ground. As he picked it up, the bolt accidentally vibrated one of the strings and produced a new tone that was rather pleasing. After practicing for a time with the metal bolt, Joe experimented with the back of a pocket knife, then with the back of a steel comb and still later on with a highly polished steel (bar) very similar to the sort that is used today."

In 1904 at the age of 30, Joseph left Hawaii and in his 58-years of life, would never return to his native islands. But he would instead, bring his native islands, through his music, to the rest of the world. He started in the United States by performing in vaudeville theaters from coast to coast. His group was "Kekuku's Hawaiian Quintet" and were sponsored by a management group called "The Affiliated."

In 1919 at the age of 45, Kekuku left the U.S. for an eight-year tour of Europe traveling with "The Bird of Paradise" show. During this time, Kekuku played before Kings and Queens in many different countries. "The Bird of Paradise" show had been on Broadway with brilliant Hawaiian scenery, dazzling costumes, plus authentic Hawaiian music. The show traveled in Europe for eight years and was a total sellout and European hearts were captured by the sweet teasing sounds of the steel guitar. "The Bird of Paradise" show was so popular that it became a film in 1932 and again in 1951.

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