Dick Kaihue McIntire (1902–1951) was a

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 ...

-born

steel guitarist A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar ...

active in the 1930s and 1940s. During that era, Hawaiian music was quite popular in the U.S. to the extent of being a musical

fad A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors tha ...

. McIntire performed on hundreds of recordings with artists such as

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the ''Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing C ...

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nightinga ...

, Ray Kinney, and

Lena Machado Lena Machado (October 16, 1903 – January 23, 1974) was a Native Hawaiian singer, composer, and ukulele player, known as "Hawaii's Songbird". She was among the first group of musical artists honored by the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1995. N ...

and was featured in motion picture soundtracks. He was known for his smooth,

legato In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly, such that the transition from note to note is made with no intervening si ...

approach to the electric

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...

with his Los Angeles group, ''The Harmony Hawaiians''. His brothers Lani McIntire and Al McIntire were also musicians. According to music historian Andy Volk, Dick McIntire had a profound influence on steel guitar pioneer

Jerry Byrd Gerald Lester Byrd (March 9, 1920 – April 11, 2005) was an American musician who played the lap steel guitar in country and Hawaiian music, as well as a singer-songwriter and the head of a music publishing firm. He appeared on numerous radio p ...

in Byrd's formative years. McIntire was inducted into the

Steel Guitar Hall of Fame The Steel Guitar Hall of Fame is an organization established in the United States in 1978 to recognize achievement in the art of playing the steel guitar. The organization's stated purpose is: In 1984, the organization was incorporated as a nonprofi ...

in 1982.

Early life

McIntire was born in 1902 in Honolulu. His mother was Hawaiian and his father Irish. His two brothers, Alfred and Lani McIntire, also had musical talent. He served in the U.S. Navy in 1919 on the USS ''Birmingham'' and formed a Hawaiian orchestra while in the Navy with his brother, Lani who served on the same ship. After military service, McIntire lived in

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, Mexico for five years, then moved to California where the three brothers reunited to form an orchestra in 1929. By 1935, Dick began a career in radio with a show on KFSD in San Diego called ''Harmony Isle''.

Career

He opened several teaching studios in southern California, and gave lessons to movie stars of the day including

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included ''Jezebel'' and ''Dark Victory ...

. His orchestra played many upscale venues and, according to historian Lorene Ruymar, "He was one of the best-liked band leaders in hotels and night clubs throughout the nation". McIntire began performing in most of the Hawaiian films at the time. He made over 300 recordings with

, Ray Kinney, and

, mostly on the Decca label. Crosby's "Song of the Islands", "Flowered Isles", Kukuna O Ka La", and "Royal Hawaiian Hotel" showcase McIntyre's perfect tone and intonation on steel guitar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntire, Dick Steel guitarists Native Hawaiian musicians 1902 births 1951 deaths Decca Records artists Guitarists from Hawaii Musicians from Honolulu