Gabby Pahinui Essentials

Gabby Pahinui Essentials

If Don Ho was the face of a Westernized Hawaii catering to mainland tourists, Charles Philip "Gabby" Pahinui represented the native spirit of old Hawaii. Born into poverty in Honolulu in 1921, Pahinui taught himself steel and slack key guitar. He dropped out of school to embark on a career playing clubs where he drew inspiration from jazz. Undeniably, however, his unique falsetto was perfectly suited for singing traditional Hawaiian music, and he used it to full effect. Even today, Pahinui is remembered as the godfather of slack key guitar and is cherished as a champion of Hawaiian culture.

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