Cyril Pahinui (April 21, 1950 – November 17, 2018) was an American

slack-key guitar Slack-key guitar (from Hawaiian ''kī hōalu'', which means "loosen the uningkey") is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii. This style of guitar playing, which has been used for centuries, involves altering the standard ...

ist and singer of

Hawaiian music The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent par ...

Biography

He was born in Waimānalo at the foot of the Ko'olau mountains on the Hawai'ian island of

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. He was the son of the Hawaiian guitarist (and

Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame is an organization dedicated to recognizing the cultural importance of the music of Hawaii and hula. Established in 1994, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame promotes the appreciation and preservation of Hawaiian cultu ...

inductee)

Gabby Pahinui Philip Kunia Pahinui (; April 22, 1921 – October 13, 1980), known as Gabby Pahinui, was an American Hawaiian slack-key guitarist and singer of Hawaiian music. He also went by Pops Pahinui. Early life and family Gabby Pahinui was born wit ...

. He has contributed to more than 35 Hawaiian musical releases and three

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Award-winning compilations of Hawaiian music. His 1994 album ''6 & 12 String Slack Key'' won the

Nā Hōkū Hanohano The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, occasionally called the Nā Hōkū Awards or Hoku Awards, are the premier music awards in Hawaii.Berger, John"A night of Na Hoku Hanohano" ''Honolulu Star-Advertiser''. May 22, 2011.Haug, Kawehi"Hoku awardees shine ...

award for Instrumental Album of the Year and contains "No Ke Ano Ahiahi", perhaps the greatest 12-string kī hō'alu (slack key) and vocal recording ever made. His 2007 album ''He'eia'' won the Nā Hōkū Hanohano award for Island Music Album of the Year. In 2013, Pahinui received a fellowship from the Native Arts & Culture Foundation to produce ''Let's Play Music! Slack Key with Cyril Pahinui & Friends'', a program of traditional Hawaiian music developed for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Hawaii. In 2014, he received a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award for perpetuating the craft of slack key music through performance and teaching. In 2017, he was awarded a

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

Early career

Pahinui began to play the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

at the age of 7 and learned how to play guitar from watching his father play with other Hawaiian musicians such as Leland Isaacs Sr. and

Sonny Chillingworth Edwin Bradfield Liloa Chillingworth, Jr., known as Sonny Chillingworth, (July 14, 1932 – August 24, 1994) was an American guitarist and singer. Widely influential in Hawaiian music, he played slack-key guitar and is widely regarded as one of the ...

. He joined his father's band in the early 1970s, and performed on his father's early recordings for

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. Cyril and his older brother Bla started a rock band, after which, Cyril Pahinui joined Sam and the Samlins, and continued to sit in with his father at shows. In 1968, Pahinui made his first record with

The Sunday Manoa Peter Moon (August 25, 1944 – February 17, 2018) was an American ukulele and slack-key guitar player. Career Peter Moon was born in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Oʻahu to parents of Korean and Chinese descent, Wook Moon and Shay-Yung Moon ( ...

, a loose association of like-minded young people intent on helping perpetuate the classic Hawaiian sound. At the age of 19, his musical career was interrupted when he was drafted to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, where he served as a sergeant and section chief in the

101st Airborne Division Artillery The 101st Airborne Division Artillery (DIVARTY) is the force fires headquarters for the 101st Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The DIVARTY has served with the division in World War II, Vietnam ...

for two years. In 1975, Pahinui formed The Sandwich Isle Band, one of the first young bands to feature steel guitar and revive the jazz-inflected songs of the 1920s and 1930s. In 1979 he joined the Peter Moon Band, which also included his brother Martin. Throughout the 1980s, he continued to expand his musical horizons, especially in the C major tuning he inherited from

Atta Isaacs Leland "Atta" Isaacs Sr. (1929–1983) was an American, Hawaiian slack-key composer, known for his C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used ...

Death

Pahinui had been hospitalized since February 2016 for pneumonia and a collapsed lung. He died on November 17, 2018, at

The Queen's Medical Center The Queen's Medical Center, originally named and still commonly referred to as Queen's Hospital, is the largest private non-profit hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. The institution was founded in 1859 by Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV, and is ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

at the age of 68. He was survived by his wife Chelle, two daughters, two brothers, two sisters, and 19 grandchildren.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pahinui, Cyril 1950 births 2018 deaths People from Honolulu County, Hawaii Guitarists from Hawaii Slack-key guitarists Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American male guitarists National Heritage Fellowship winners 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians