Raymond Kāne

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)