Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaʻoleohelemanu Kāne (, ; October 2, 1925 – February 27, 2008), 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.

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". 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.

Discography

  • Slack Key [the "Black and White Album"] (1958)
  • Party Songs, Hawaiian Style, Vol. 2 (1959)
  • Nanakuli's Raymond Kane (1974)
  • Master of the Slack Key Guitar (1988)
  • Punahele (1994)
  • Hawaiʻi Aloha (1996)
  • Waʻahila (1998)
  • Hawaiian Sunset Music, Vol. 1 (1998)
  • Cherish the Mele of our Elders (with Elodia Kāne) (1998)
  • Maikaʻi No Blues (1999)
  • Tribute to Lena Machado (with Elodia Kāne) (1999)
  • Holoholo Slack Key (2000)
  • He Leo ʻOhana (with Elodia Kāne) (2000)

Notes

References

  • Raymond Kane biography at Dancing Cats Records
  • Instructional video featuring Raymond Kane at The Guitar Workshop
  • Review of "That's Slack Key Guitar" film featuring Raymond Kane at the Taropatch.net online community
  • Slack-key guitar legend Raymond Kane dies