Charles Philip "Gabby" or "Pops" Pahinui (April 22, 1921 - October 13, 1980) was a slack-key guitarist. April 22 is the 112th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (113th in leap years). ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX in Roman) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Slack-key guitar or Ki ho‘alu is a style of music originating in Hawaii using an acoustic guitar fingerpicking style. ...

Gabby was raised in the Kaka'ako area of Honolulu in the 1920s. It was impoverished at the time, very much resembling a shanty-town with small cluttered buildings and tin roofs falling apart. He spent his childhood supporting his family by selling newspapers and shining shoes. He dropped out of school after 5th grade at Pokukaina School. Nickname: Motto: Official website: Location Location of Honolulu within the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii. ... Shanty towns (sometimes called bidonvilles) or the academic term informal settlements, are units of irregular low-cost and self-constructed housing built on terrain seized and occupied illegally — usually on lands belonging to third parties, most often located in the periphery of the cities. ...

Gabby landed a gig as a back-up guitarist for Charley 'Tiny' Brown. He quickly mastered the steel guitar without ever learning to read music. Because most musicians of the time only played in bars, Gabby also formed a drinking habit that stuck with him throughout his life. A Dobro style resonator guitar Steel guitar, strictly speaking, refers to a method of playing using a metal slide (or steel) on a guitar played horizontally, with the strings uppermost. ...

Gabby later became known for his mastery of the slack-key guitar. He claims to have learned it from a mystery man named "Herman." It is not known who Herman was, but Gabby claimed that he was also from the Kaka'ako area and was the greatest slack-key player of all time. After the success of slack-key guitarist Ray Kane, some believed that his father, Herman Kāne, was the Herman to whom Gabby was referring. Slack-key guitar or Ki ho‘alu is a style of music originating in Hawaii using an acoustic guitar fingerpicking style. ... Ray Kane (born on October 2, 1925), is one of Hawaiis acknowledged Masters of the Slack Key Guitar. ...

Gabby married Emily at age 17 in 1938. They had ten children, four daughters and six sons. 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1946, Gabby made his first recording, "Hi`ilawe," for the Bell Records label. This may be the first record of a Hawaiian song with slack-key guitar. The following year came "Hula Medley," the first record of a slack-key guitar instrumental. During this period he made two other influential sides for Bell, the vocal "Wai O Ke Aniani" and the instrumental "Key Koalu" (a misspelling of "Kī Hō`alu," the Hawaiian term for "slack key"), plus another version of "Hi`ilawe" for Aloha Records. 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Professionally, Gabby played with many of the great bands and musicians of his time. They include Andy Cummings, Lena Machado, and Ray Kinney. He also appeared on Hawaii Calls, a popular international radio show of the 1950s. Eventually, Gabby moved Emily and the children to Waimanalo, which had become a popular second home location for many musicians. The all-weekend jam sessions at the Pahinui home were legendary. Waimānalo is a census-designated place located in the City & County of Honolulu, in the District of Koolaupoko on the island of Oahu. ...

Examples of his session work from the late 1950s through the 1960s can be found on the two volumes of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar (Waikiki Records 319 and 320) and two more LPs titled Kani Ka Pila! Let's Play Music! Volumes 1 and 2 (Hula Records 517, 1966; Hula 531, 1969). These are combo recordings (steel guitar, slack key guitar, uke, bass, vocals, sometimes percussion) made with bandmates such as Atta, Barney, and Norman Isaacs, Charles Kaipo Miller, and a young Peter Moon, and they reflect the style of nightclub music popular around Waikīkī at the time.

A 1961 solo session organized by Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio features just Gabby, with bass and `ukulele backing, doing some of his classic material, including new versions of three of his four 1946-47 tracks. No record company was interested the material, however, and it was not released until 1978. The final package was Pure Gabby (Hula 567), a two-record set, one LP consisting of the music and the second of an interview conducted by Guard.

With his success, Gabby still had financial trouble. He made ends meet by working for City and County of Honolulu road crews, doing pick and shovel work.

The Hawaiian Renaissance of the '70s launched a cultural reawakening of all things Hawaiian. Gabby played an important part in the rise of this Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance. First there were the albums recorded through the 1960s with the enormously popular and influential Sons of Hawaii, which he started with `ukulele virtuoso Eddie Kamae: their self-titled debut album (Hula HS 503, 1961); Music of Old Hawai`i (Hula HS 506, 1964); and Folk Music of Hawai`i (Panini 1001, 1971). This article contains information that has not been verified. ... Official language(s) Hawaiian and English Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 43rd 28,337 km² n/a km 2,450 km 41. ... Eddie Kamae was born in Honolulu in 1927. ...

Then, starting in 1972, he made four albums with what came to be called the "Gabby Band." The first album featured Gabby backed by four of his sons plus old friends Atta Isaacs and bassist Manuel "Joe Gang" Kuhapu, but the group eventually expanded to include Sonny Chillingworth, younger-generation players Peter Moon and Randy Lorenzo, and mainland admirer Ry Cooder. The albums are: Ryland Ry Cooder (March 15, 1947—) is a guitarist especially well known for his slide guitar work. ...

• Gabby (1972; often called "Brown Gabby" because of its sepia cover photo)
• Rabbit Island Music Festival (1973)
• Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band, Vol 1 (1975)
• Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band, Vol 2 (1976)

As he enjoyed his new success in the '70s, his life-long drinking and a bad road crew accident left his health failing. He retired from road work but took up teaching in the City and County's cultural programs. He passed away in 1980 at the age of 59. 1980 (MCMLXXX in Roman) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Gabby's children are active in the Hawaiian music scene, notably Cyril Pahinui, Bla Pahinui and Martin Pahinui, all of whom played on the Gabby Band recordings and have since become professional musicians. (Philip, who played on the first two "Gabby Band" albums, chose not to pursue music professionally.)

References

• The History of the Slack Key Guitar (1997, Hana Ola Records)
• Hawaiian Music and Musicians, ed. George S. Kanahele (1979, University Press of Hawai`i)
• Hawaiian Son, James D. Houston with Eddie Kamae (2004, `Ai Pōhaku Press)
• "Gabby Pahinui" [interview] in Da Kine Sound: Conversations with People who Create Hawaiian Music, Burl Burlingame and Robert Kamohalu Kasher (1978, Press Pacifica)

External links

• Gabby Pahinui
• Hawaiian musician a slack-key master