Wai O Ke Aniani - Music

Charles Philip "Gabby" Or "Pops" Pahinui April 22 1921 - October 13 1980 Was A Slack-Key Guitarist. 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. 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. 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. Gabby Married Emily At Age 17 In 1938. They Had Ten Children Four Daughters And Six Sons. 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. Gabby Played With Many Of The Great Bands And Musicians Of His Time Including Andy Cummings Lena Machado And Ray Kinney. He Also Appeared On Hawaii Calls A Popular International Radio Show That Began In The 1930s. 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. 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 . 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 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 Died In 1980 At The Age Of 59. Gabby Was Memorialized In Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Haunting Performance Of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World" On His 1993 Facing Future Album. In The Opening Moments Of The Song Israel Can Be Heard Saying "'Kay This One's For Gabby." 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. Edit References
"Gabby Pahinui" Interview In Da Kine Sound Conversations With People Who Create Hawaiian Music Ed. Burl Burlingame And Robert Kamohalu Kasher 1978 Press Pacifica Hawaiian Son James D. Houston With Eddie Kamae 2004 `Ai Pōhaku Press The History Of The Slack Key Guitar CD Booklet Notes By Jay Junker Harry B. Soria Jr. And George Winston 1997 Hana Ola Records "Pahinui 'Gabby' Charles Philip " Unsigned In Hawaiian Music And Musicians Ed. George S. Kanahele 1979 University Press Of Hawai`i "Sons Of Hawai`i " Keith Haugen In Hawaiian Music And Musicians read less