Keola Beamer (born Keolamaikalani Breckenridge Beamer February 18, 1951)
is a
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
an
slack-key guitar
Slack-key guitar (from Hawaiian ''kī hōalu'', which means "loosen the uningkey") is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii after Portuguese cowboys introduced Spanish guitars there in the late 19th century. The Hawaiian ...
player, best known as the composer of "
Honolulu City Lights
"Honolulu City Lights" is a song composed by Hawaiian singer/songwriter Keola Beamer (b. 1951) in the 1970s which opens an album by the same name. The album won several of the Hawaiian music industry's Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in 1979, among ...
" and an innovative musician who fused Hawaiian roots and contemporary music. Keola Beamer descends from one of Hawaii's most respected musical families.
Family
Keola was born in Hawaii on February 18, 1951.
His mother,
Winona Beamer
Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer (August 15, 1923 – April 10, 2008) was a champion of authentic and ancient Hawaiian culture, publishing many books, musical scores, as well as audio and video recordings on the subject. In her home sta ...
("Auntie Nona") was one of the most important figures in the revival of Hawaiian culture. She was a composer, dancer and educator.
His ancestors were musicians for the previous five generations.
He can trace his roots to the
House of Kamehameha
The House of Kamehameha ''(Hale O Kamehameha)'', or the Kamehameha dynasty, was the reigning Royal Family of the Kingdom of Hawaii, beginning with its founding by Kamehameha I in 1795 and ending with the death of Kamehameha V in 1872 and Lunalilo ...
and
Ahiakumai, 15th century rulers of Hawaii.
His great-grandmother was
Helen Desha Beamer
Helen Kapuailohia Desha Beamer (September 8, 1882 – September 25, 1952) was a musician, composer of songs in the Hawaiian language, hula dancer and coloratura soprano of Hawaiian ancestry. Her descendants have also become accomplished artist ...
, an influential songwriter and
hula
Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of t ...
dancer.
His father is Odell Steppe.
Beamer is also a cancer survivor.
Career
Beamer's
career began in the early 1970s. His debut recording in 1972 was headlined "Jack de Mello presents Keola Beamer" and titled "Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar in the Real Old Style",
followed in the same year by an album with his brother Kapono in 1972. This second album was headlined "Jack de Mello presents Keola and Kapono Beamer" and titled "This Is Our Island Home - We Are Her Sons," and subtitled "Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar in the Real Old Style". The album featured traditional songs as well as songs composed by Keola, Kapono, and Winona. Keola and Kapono performed as a duo, mixing traditional materials and styles with mainland pop influences. In their seven albums over the next decade, they played an important part in establishing the style that came to be called "Hawaiian contemporary," rooted in Hawaiian language and tradition but open to influences from elsewhere, incorporating rock, pop, Latin, folk-revival singer-songwriter, Hollywood soundtrack, and more. Their ' 1978 LP ''Honolulu City Lights'' title song was a popular single in Hawaii, and in 2004 ''
Honolulu Magazine
''Honolulu'' is a city magazine covering Honolulu and the Hawaii region. It dates back to 1888 when it was called ''Paradise of the Pacific.'' It is the oldest magazine in the state of Hawaii and is the longest published magazine west of the Missi ...
'' placed the album first on a list of the fifty most important Hawaiian albums. In the 1980s, the brothers separated professionally, each producing award-winning records. After several pop-oriented albums, Keola connected with
George Winston
George Winston (born December 26, 1949) is an American pianist, guitarist, harmonicist, and record producer. He was born in Michigan and raised mainly in Montana ( Miles City and Billings), as well as Mississippi and Florida. He is best known fo ...
's
Dancing Cat recording project for five releases between 1994 and 2002, emphasizing slack key guitar and Hawaiian lyrics, but without abandoning "contemporary" influences.
![Keola and Moana Beamer - Workshop at SEHC (13068757583)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Keola_and_Moana_Beamer_-_Workshop_at_SEHC_%2813068757583%29.jpg)
Beamer is influential as a teacher. He started offering lessons in the early 1970s, at a time when most players would only play for family members. About 1972, Keola and Kapono provided slack key guitar lessons at the
Guitar and Lute Workshop
The Guitar and Lute Workshop (GLW) was a manufacturer of custom guitars, ukuleles, and period stringed instruments based in Honolulu, Hawaii between 1970 and 1976. The workshop was known primarily for the talented luthiers employed in either constr ...
, a custom guitar manufacturer and recording studio located near
Ala Moana Shopping Center on Piikoi Street. "In my early twenties, I was making guitars with George Gilmore and Donald Marienthal. We had the wild idea we could make nice guitars out of
koa and
mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
wood so we took out a loan from the
Small Business Administration
The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stren ...
and started the Guitar and Lute Workshop on Waimanu Street in Honolulu. People started coming in to ask about slack key. There were very few teachers back then, so I agreed to try it." Keola published an instruction manual entitled "Hawaiian Slack Key". Teaching became his occupation for several years until he turned to full-time performing and composing.
In 1973 he published ''First Method for the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar'' (the first instruction book for the form), and in the 1990s he produced several more instruction books and videos and started offering lessons on-line via his website. Since 2001, he has run a series of "cultural immersion" workshops dedicated not only to slack key but other aspects of Hawaiiana. Meanwhile, he has continued to tour and to release CDs on his own 'Ohe Records label. In 2014, he was honored with a NACF Artist Fellowship for Music. He lives in
Lahaina, Hawaii
Lahaina ( haw, Lāhainā) is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States and includes the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a resident population of 12,702. Laha ...
.
Beamer was nominated for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
in 2012 under the
Best Regional Roots Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 as the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the regionally based traditional Americ ...
category, which includes
Hawaiian music
The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent part ...
. The same year the musical soundtrack for the motion picture movie
''Descendants'' was nominated for the
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
. Beamer played on and contributed to the work.
Beamer has influenced many guitar players.
Discography
* ''Keola Beamer & Raiatea'' (2013)
* ''Malama Ko Aloha'' (Keep Your Love) (2012)
* ''Kahikina O Ka Hau'' (The Coming of the Snow) (2011)
* ''Keola Beamer & Raiatea'' (2010)
* ''Our Beloved Land'' (with
R. Carlos Nakai
Raymond Carlos Nakai (born April 16, 1946) is a Native American flute, Native American flutist of Navajo people, Navajo and Ute people, Ute heritage. Nakai played brass instruments in high school and college, and auditioned for the Armed Forces ...
) (2005)
* ''Ki Ho'alu'' (Loosen the Key) DVD (2003)
* ''Mohala Hou'' - Music of the Hawaiian Renaissance (2003)
* ''Ka Leo O Loko'' - Soliloquy (2002)
* ''Island Born'' (2001)
* ''Kolohane'' - From the Gentle Wind (1999)
* ''
Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is ...
'' - White Mountain Journal (1997)
* The Golden Lehua Tree (narrated by Nona Beamer) (1996)
* ''Moe'uhane Kika'' - Tales from the Dream Guitar (1995)
* ''Wooden Boat'' (1994)
* ''Sweet Maui Moon'' (1989)
* ''Honolulu City Lights'' (1978)
* ''Keola and Kapono Beamer'' (1976)
* ''Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar in the Real Old Style'' (1972)
References
External links
Keola Beamer Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beamer, Keola
Native Hawaiian musicians
Slack-key guitarists
Living people
1951 births
Songwriters from Hawaii
Mountain Apple Company artists
Guitarists from Hawaii
20th-century American guitarists
21st-century American guitarists