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Ledward Kaʻapana

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ledward Kaʻapana · Ledward Kaapana was born in 1948 and grew up in Kalapana, a small village on a black sand bay on Hawaii, which was largely destroyed in 1986 by an eruption of Kilauea. There was no electricity, no television and hardly any radio, so the family made its own music. His mother Tina and his uncle Fred Punahoa, a rarely recorded master of slack key, taught him to play. Slack key is a Hawaiian guitar style in which the strings are tuned to open tunings.

Music and breakthrough

As a teenager he founded the group Hui Ohana with his twin brother Nedward and his cousin Dennis Pavao, which released fourteen albums. Later he led the trio I Kona. His first solo album, Lima Wela from 1983, won a Na Hoku Hanohano Award in 1984. Led Live in 1994 and Black Sand in 2000 were among those that followed. He also recorded with the lap steel player Bob Brozman.

Influence

Kaapana plays with thumb and forefinger and uses fingerpicks. He combines old phrases with modern influences and improvisation into polyphonic arrangements. He sings as a baritone and in falsetto. The country guitarist Chet Atkins was so impressed that he gave him his guitar. In 2011 Kaapana received a National Heritage Fellowship, the highest American honour for folk art. In this way he preserves a Hawaiian tradition and keeps it alive.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Radio Hula and notice how the guitar plays a melody, a bass line and a rhythm at the same time. Try to hear whether the voice is singing in falsetto.

Discography

Studio albums

See also

Categories: ArtistsHawaiian slack key and steel guitar