Joseph Kekuku

Joseph Kekuku (1874-1932) is regarded as the inventor of the steel guitar.

Kekuku was born in LāOkinaie, a village on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii. As a boy, he would experiment with guitar technique, sliding ordinary household objects across the strings to see what sounds could be produced. By the time he was an adult, he had developed a unique style of playing. He traveled extensively, teaching and performing throughout the USA and Europe.

He died in Dover, New Jersey January 1932 and is buried in the Orchard Street Cemetery.

UPDATED HISTORY OF JOSEPH KEKUKU 8/5/08

DOVER'S JOSEPH KEKUKU, INVENTOR OF THE HAWAIIAN STEEL GUITAR

It all began in 1874 about 5400 miles from Dover. Joseph Kekuku was born in a small village of Laie on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii. When Joseph was 15, he and his cousin, Sam left for a boarding school in Honolulu, about 40 miles south of Laie. In 1889 while attending the Kamahameha School for Boys, Kekuku accidentally discovered the pleasing sound of the steel guitar.

According to C.S. DelAno, publisher of the "Hawaiian Music In Los Angeles" whose "Hawaiian Love Song" was the first original composition to be written for the Hawaiian Steel Guitar, "Joseph told me that he was walking along a road in Honolulu 42 years ago, holding an old Spanish guitar when he say a rusty bolt on the ground. As he picked it up, the bolt accidently vibrated one of the strings and produced a new tone that was rather pleasing. After practicing for a time with the metal bolt, Joe experimented with the back of a pocket knife, then with the back of a steel comb and still later on with a highly polished steel (bar) very similar to the sort tht is used today."

In 1904 at the age of 30, Joseph left Hawaii and in his 58-years of life, would never return to his native islands. But he would instead, bring his native islands, through his music, to the rest of the world. He started in the United States by performing in vaudeville theaters from coast to coast. His group was "Kekuku's Hawaiian Quintet" and were sponsored by a management group called "The Affiliated."

In 1919 at the age of 45, Kekuku left the U.S. for an eight year tour of Europe traveling with "The Bird of Paradise" show. During this time, Kekuku played before Kings and Queens in many different countries. "The Bird of Paradise" show had been on Broadway with brilliant Hawaiian scenery, dazzling costumes, plus authentic Hawaiian music. The show traveled in Europe for eight years and was a total sellout and European hearts were captured by the sweet teasing sounds of the steel guitar. NO OTHER INSTRUMENT HISTORY BECAME THE DARLING OF SO MANY COUNTRIES SO QUICKLY. (Lorene Ruymar) "The Bird of Paradise" show was so popular that is became a film in 1932 and again in 1951.

In a more conventional vein, one of the greatest influences in spreading the "gospel" of Hawaiian music and the steel guitar was the very popular radio show called "Hawaii Calls" rated the most popular program in radio history. The broadcasts from Waikiki Beach from 1935 to 1975 were carried by more than 750 radio stations around the world at its peak. "Hawaii Calls" was never broadcast with the sweet sounds of the steel guitar which became the signature sound of Hawaii.

In the 1930s the steel guitar went electric. Electrification attracted other musical forms such as western, big band, jazz and country. The electyrified steel guitar made its greatest breakthrough into country music. Little Roy Wiggins was the first widely known electric steel guitar player to back a major Nashville artist, in his case Eddie Arnold. Another influence was the rise in the use of the pedal steel guitar, where the player could produce a correct change in harmony by pushing a pedal or kneeing a lever.

Kekuku returned to the United States and at the age of 53, settled in Chicago and ran a popular and successful music school. Around 1930 he left Chicago and visited Dover. Some think he came to Dover as part of a traveling musical troupe that appeared at the Baker Theater. Hawaiian groups on these vaudeville tours usually consisted of 5 or 6 musicians with the steel guitarist seated in the center. Why Kekuku settled in Dover no one yet knows. Perhaps he like the rolling hills of Dover and the bustling downtown district in the valley. Perhaps he liked the proximity to the shows at the Baker Theater and the trains that ran to New York City. Perhaps his wife Adeline was tired of traveling and wanted to settle down and this was the long sought after spot. In any event, in 1932 Joseph Kekuku was living in Dover, New Jersey with his wife at 88 Prospect Street and giving Hawaiian guitar lessons. Around town he was ofter referred to as "the Hawaiian." On January 16, 1932 at the age of 58, Joseph Kekuku passed away in Morristown of a brain hemorrage.

His obituary appeared in the Dover Advance on January 18, 1932 and read: "Funeral services will be held tomorrow at 1:00 o'clock for Joseph Kekuku, fifty-eight years old from the home of Mrs. Mary Stone on Prospect Street. Rev. Hedding B. Leach will officiate and interment will be in the Orchard Street Cemetery. Mr. Kekuku is survived by his wife. He died after a lingering illness at Morristown on Saturday. Mr. Kekuku, an Hawaiian, resided with Mrs. Stone last summer and gave lessons on the steel guitar which he claimed to have originated."

A small marker at the Orchard Street Cemetery reads: JOSEPH KEKUKU JAN. 16, 1932 marking his final resting place.

In 1993, Joseph Kekuku was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame with full honors as the inventor of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar.

The Dover Area Historical Society salutes this genius musician, this artist, this teacher, this ambassador of Hawaii and the Aloha spirit around the world. His passion brought him far from his birthplace of Laie, Hawaii to his final resting place in Dover, New Jersey.

The story of Joseph Kekuku and his Hawaiian Steel Guitar is now part of Dover's long, rich history. We have the responsibility to "remember." Sincerely, Joan Bocchino.DOVER AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY(973) 361-3525

External links

* [http://www.hawaiimusicmuseum.org/honorees/1995/kekuku.html HMHFM Honorees - Joseph Kekuku ] at www.hawaiimusicmuseum.org
* [http://www.owanasalazar.com/steelguitar.php Owana Salazar - About Hawaiian Steel Guitar ] at www.owanasalazar.com