Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaʻoleohelemanu Kāne (, ; October 2, 1925 – February 27, 2008), was one of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

's acknowledged masters of the

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. This style of guitar playing, which has been used for centuries, involves altering the standard ...

. Born in Koloa,

Kauaʻi Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 mi ...

, he grew up in Nanakuli on Oʻahu's Waiʻanae Coast where his stepfather worked as a fisherman. Kāne's style was distinctive and deceptively simple. He played in a number of ki ho'alu tunings always plucking or brushing the strings with only the thumb and index finger of his right hand. He also played hammer-ons and pull-offs in a unique way; his finger moving up and out, instead of down and in, after striking a string. He emphasized that one must play and sing "from the heart". He was never flashy or fast. In Hawaiian, his sound is described as ''nahenahe'' (sweet sounding). He was a recipient of a 1987

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

Discography

*''Slack Key he "Black and White Album"'' (1958) *''Party Songs, Hawaiian Style, Vol. 2'' (1959) *''Nanakuli's Raymond Kane'' (1974) *''Master of the Slack Key Guitar'' (1988) *''Punahele'' (1994) *''Hawaiʻi Aloha'' (1996) *''Waʻahila'' (1998) *''Hawaiian Sunset Music, Vol. 1'' (1998) *''Cherish the Mele of our Elders (with Elodia Kāne)'' (1998) *''Maikaʻi No Blues'' (1999) *''Tribute to Lena Machado (with Elodia Kāne)'' (1999) *''Holoholo Slack Key'' (2000) *''He Leo ʻOhana (with Elodia Kāne)'' (2000)

Notes

References

External links

* *
Raymond Kane biography at Dancing Cats Records
* ttp://www.taropatch.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=40 Review of "That's Slack Key Guitar" film featuring Raymond Kane at the Taropatch.net online communitybr>Slack-key guitar legend Raymond Kane dies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, Raymond 1925 births 2008 deaths Slack-key guitarists Guitarists from Hawaii 20th-century American guitarists National Heritage Fellowship winners People from Kauai County, Hawaii