19 Facts About Gabby Pahinui

Gabby Pahinui was born with the name Charles Kapono Kahahawai Jr.

Gabby Pahinui was later hanaied with his brother and one of his sisters to Emily and Philip Pahinui, and they were raised in the impoverished district of Kaka'ako in Honolulu in the 1920s.

Gabby Pahinui spent his childhood supporting his family by selling newspapers and shining shoes.

Gabby Pahinui dropped out of school after 5th grade at the Pohukaina school.

Gabby Pahinui was age seventeen and she was age nineteen.

Gabby Pahinui quickly mastered the steel guitar even learning to read music.

At the 1st Annual Seattle Slack Key Guitar Festival, his son, Cyril Gabby Pahinui, related a story about how Gabby Pahinui got his name.

Gabby Pahinui took to wearing gabardine pants, reinforcing "Gabby" as a nickname.

In 1946, Gabby Pahinui made his first recording, "Hi'ilawe," for the Bell Records label.

Gabby Pahinui played with many of the great bands and musicians of his time, including Lena Machado and Ray Kinney.

Gabby Pahinui appeared on Hawaii Calls, a popular international radio show that began in the 1930s.

The all-weekend jam sessions at the Gabby Pahinui home were legendary.

Gabby Pahinui made ends meet by working for City and County of Honolulu road crews, doing pick and shovel work alongside fellow Hawaiian musician Eddie Kamae.

Gabby Pahinui played a very important part in the rise of this Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance.

Gabby Pahinui died of a stroke while playing golf on October 13,1980, aged 59.

Gabby Pahinui received the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Artists Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

Gabby Pahinui received a second Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for his work as a member of the Sons of Hawaii.

Gabby Pahinui was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 2002.

Gabby Pahinui is buried at Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery in Kaneohe, Hawaii in the Lakeside Garden musician area.