Sol Hoopii

Sol Hoopii (* 1902 in Honolulu , Hawaii Territory , as Solomon Ho'opi'i Ka'ai'ai ; † November 16, 1953 ) was an American singer and musician, who was considered one of the most successful interpreters of Hawaiian music of the 20th century applies. He often mixed traditional Hawaiian music with blues and jazz elements. Because of his virtuoso nature, he influenced many other musicians, not only in the field of Hawaiian music. His solos were copied by American country musicians well into the 1950s.

Life

Sol Hoopii was born in Honolulu, where he also grew up. He was the youngest of their parents' 21 children. In 1919, Hoopii moved to mainland North America via a freighter. He initially lived in San Francisco , but later moved to Los Angeles . There he performed with his Novelty Trio in bars and clubs such as the Hula Hutt and the Seven Seas . The increasing popularity of Hawaiian music gave him the opportunity to record records. In the following years he recorded over 200 records, most of them in Los Angeles, and became one of the most famous Hawaiian musicians of the 1920s and 1930s. He first played an acoustic Martin Hawaii guitar and later an electric Rickenbacker guitar. He was called the king of the steel guitar . Meanwhile, he also appeared in many different movies, such as Waikiki Wedding from 1937, in which he starred with Bing Crosby . From 1938 he devoted himself to gospel music . Until his death in 1953, Hoopii continued to record.

Sol Hoopii died on November 16, 1953 at the age of 51. Hoopii was posthumously inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1979.

Publications

• Master of the Hawaiian Guitar, Vol. 1 and Vol.2
• Classic Hawaiian Steel Guitar Performances 1933-1934
• Sol Hoopii in Hollywood
• King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar by Sol Hoopii

Web links

• Biography on Answers.com
• Sol ho'opi'i in the Internet Movie Database (English)