Raymond Kāne | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaʻoleohelemanu Kāne |
Born | Koloa, Kauaʻi | October 2, 1925
Died | February 27, 2008 Honolulu | (aged 82)
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Slack-key guitar |
Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaʻoleohelemanu [a] Kāne [1] ( /ˈkɑːneɪ/, Hawaiian: [ˈkaːne]; October 2, 1925 - February 27, 2008), [2] was one of Hawaii's acknowledged masters of the slack-key guitar. Born in Koloa, Kauaʻi, he grew up in Nanakuli on Oʻahu's Waiʻanae Coast where his stepfather worked as a fisherman. [3]
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".[ citation needed] 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 awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. [4]