From "Hawaiian guitar" to "steel guitar"

Bob Stone · Post by **Bob Stone** » 25 Feb 2004 6:02 am

I'm interested in perspectives on how "Hawaiian guitar" faded from popular use and was largely (but by no means entirely) replaced by "steel guitar" when referring to music of the mainland U.S.

My understanding is that the change occured slowly as the instrument became more common in country music and increasingly played by non-Hawaiians.

Comments by those who were on the scene in the 1930s-50s should be especially interesting.

I'll start with a bit of a tangent. Many people--musicians and non-musicians--in the House of God (the sacred steel church) who are say 65 or older call the instrument the "Hawaiian guitar" or even just the "Hawaiian." In some cases the terminology has been passed down to younger musicians who have probably never heard Hawaiian-style steel guitar music. For example, I have one of Robert Randolph's calling cards circa 2000 that says: "Steel Hawaiian Guitar." Of course his manner of playing is is far from sounding "Hawaiian." I'm convinced the use of "Hawaiian guitar" by the House of God folks is a result of first being aware of the instrument through the Eason brothers, especially Troman, who took lessons from a Hawaiian in the 1930s in Philadelphia.

I hope this thread doesn't turn into heated discussion about what is Hawaiian, what to call the instrument, etc. I'm just looking for historical perspectives on when the terminology began to shift.

Keoki? Jody?

[This message was edited by Bob Stone on 25 February 2004 at 06:04 AM.]

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 25 Feb 2004 8:05 am

POSSIBLY back around 1946 when the STEEL GUITAR RAG was heard in most every juke box throughout the U.S. and Canada, the name stuck. Hard to say. Prior to SGR top hit popularity, 'john-average' was probably aware of Hawaiian music and the guitar association to it, but didn't care all that much. (Nothing has really changed in that respect). SGR may have brought a new awareness of the term "Steel" to the Hawaiian Guitar..and conversly, Hawaiian music....JMHO

Bob Stone · Post by **Bob Stone** » 25 Feb 2004 8:18 am

Interesting point Keoki. Thanks.

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 25 Feb 2004 8:32 am

Back in 40=41 my dad was a tech rep at pearl and I got to talk with Kelii, Pua, Jake and others. The hawaiians refered to the instrument as "steel geetah" never hawaiian. All instructional material I had from the mainland said "hawaiian guitar.

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 25 Feb 2004 11:34 am

CCJ is correct. All the old folios, books, et al, published on the mainland, and some in Hawai'i, referred to the instrument as the "Hawaiian Guitar" (which is the correct terminology IMHO). If you wanted a plectrum guitar folio or method, they carried the name "Spanish Guitar". One could then assume the Spanish Guitar originated in Spain, the Hawaiian Guitar originated in Hawai'i. (duh !)

I merely mentioned the "Steel Guitar Rag" as being a POSSIBLE source for the popularity of the term, "Steel Guitar". I'm sure, as CCJ pointed out, many old time Hawaiians were using that terminology also. However, "SGR" certainly made everyone very conscious of what that great instrument was they were hearing on the juke boxes of the day.

I wonder, what would have happened had they called it the "Hawaiian Guitar Rag" ?

[This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 25 February 2004 at 11:37 AM.]

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 25 Feb 2004 2:24 pm

Keoki, SGR introduced the steel as a solo instrument to mainland folks. If sgr had been named hgr, Bob would have fired Leon and we would have never heard all the good stuff Leon and Bob put out later. Tom Morrell tells the story that yrs ago in Dallas all the fellows were broke and were taking any paying job. They took a Haw gig even though they only knew less than a dozen Hapa-Haole songs. They soon exhausted their repertoire and played SGR as Honolulu rag, Faded Love as Aloha Kuuipo etc. Some gig

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 25 Feb 2004 9:18 pm

Well, CC, I guess when you are hungry, you'll do anything...right?

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 26 Feb 2004 12:16 am

It's funny, over here they still don't get what it is till I say guitar Hawaiian.
Then the light bulb goes on over their heads.

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 26 Feb 2004 7:30 am

Two words....

1. Hawaiian Guitar

2. Hillbilly Music

Were anathema to many when it comes to what we call country music today. Those who wanted to take hillbilly music "uptown", almost simultaneously forced the use of:

1. Steel Guitar

2. Country Music

To in their words, remove the negative "stereotyping" that they felt was real (or unreal) as the promoters tried to take hillbilly music to a wider audience.

It spread quickly, and was almost as though someone had touched a big nerve that just about everyone went along with; willingly or silently. It was as though someone through a switch and the two terms went by the wayside almost in the twinkling of an eye.

No indeed, it was not gradual and it was not evolutionary. Rather it was calculated and deliberate; AND it worked. Even today there are many that are horrified to hear the terms "hillbilly music" or "Hawaiian Guitar" when it comes to the more politically correct term "country music" and "steel guitar".

It is tantamount to the terms: Negro (or Nigrah as was said by the "goodfolk" throughout the south--I won't say what the "badfolk" used), colored, black and now, african-american. Each of these terms (excluding Negro) was calculated and deliberate; and in EACH case worked. Sadly in the case of the latter one.

I often wonder, whatever happened to "American"? I imagine it went down the same drain with "hillbilly" and "Hawaiian guitar".

This is my take on it; having "been there, done that". Others may disagree, but IMO, this is what happened.

carl

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 26 Feb 2004 8:26 am

The old Grand Ole Opry radio shows back in the late 1940's used to refer to mainstream country music as "HILLBILLY" while Eddy Arnold's type of ballads were then called 'Folk Music'.

eBay now has a beautiful record of my friend Howard White's great playing and it is identified as being "HILLBILLY STEEL GUITAR".

Jeff Lucas · Post by **Jeff Lucas** » 26 Feb 2004 10:26 am

It seems to me that the steel guitar that we *now* know became identifiable or unique from the 40s on. To my understanding and ears it is a unique synthesis of Hawaiian slide, bottleneck blues, jazz, and folk (hillbilly) styles. And although each player's tastes and techniques might favor one of the above influences more highly than the others, the synthesis of all of them outweigh the whole. A new sound and way of playing came into being. I think a new term was needed on this basis alone.

I favor the term Western Steel Guitar as all the country music left Nashville awhile ago

and Honky-Tonk and Western Swing brought the steel guitar to such prominence and gave us so many great players... AND Hawaii is about as far west as you can get: The land of the original greats.

My 2¢.

JL

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 26 Feb 2004 12:32 pm

I'll differ here a bit with some of the other opinions. Hawaiaan music and steel guitar (acoustic) in particular, were hugely popular in the 20-30's. Check Brad's Page of Steel for some info: http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/steel.html

From there, the Hawaiian guitar slowly migrated to country music through the Light Crust Doughboys, Milton Brown's Musical Brownies, Bob Wills Texas Playboys and other similar bands. These bands played a wide variety of music including tin pan alley, dixieland jazz, blues, swing and country fiddle music, which combined into a form that eventually came to be know as western swing. The already popular Hawaiian guitar became an integral part of this music when Steel Guitar Rag hit the charts. Then, as Carl ably describes, the Hawaiian aspect was de-emphasized. Especially some of the techniques employed, such as the wide vibrato, were often looked down upon in favor of the emerging "western" style. The word "Hawaiian" began to be viewed as corny or old fashioned and these prejudices led to the popularization of "steel guitar" in favor of the older name.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 26 Feb 2004 12:41 pm

Tim Whitlock writes:

"...the Hawaiian aspect was de-emphasized. Especially some of the techniques employed, such as the wide vibrato, were often looked down upon in favor of the emerging "western" style. The word "Hawaiian" began to be viewed as corny or old fashioned "

Thanks a lot guys, now you tell me...

So what have you been doing all these years? Just humoring me? I thought you were my friends.

------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 26 February 2004 at 12:51 PM.]

Jeff Lucas · Post by **Jeff Lucas** » 26 Feb 2004 1:38 pm

I didn't mean to imply that Hawaiian and acoustic steel music wasn't popular before the 40s, Tim. I meant to say that the synthesis you mentioned via Western Swing became "more than the sum of its parts" by then. Why continue calling an instrument by a name that only denotes one of its aspects? Just a idea; sadly I wasn't around back then to see it all happening with all that great, great music.

Bob Hickish · Post by **Bob Hickish** » 26 Feb 2004 4:15 pm

I'm not sure if you all are getting the Guitar mixed up with various types of music or not here !! for instance ! a Violin verses a Fiddle its all in who and where it being played ! if its the Steel Guitar playing a Hawaiian tune it may be referred to as a Hawaiian Steel ! Ect ! you get my point . I started playing the steel in 48 and it has always been referred to as a Steel Guitar . What I think is going on to day is , the way the world looks at words !! some one always has to put a new meaning on them , the bottle neck { slide } stile has confused the stile of playing with the Steel Guitar ! Its my opinion that even the Dobro or resophanic guitar is a Steel Guitar if played with a bar. forgive me for this ! But ! a rose by any other name would still smell a sweet . Long Live The Steel .

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 26 Feb 2004 4:18 pm

My first (steel) guitar, a single neck with six strings, was ordered from a catalogue in 1945, and it was listed as a Hawaiian Guitar. The only available "how to play" books in the catalog or the local music store was for Hawaiian music. The first songs I learned to play on the insrument was Aloha and Harbor Lights.

I don't remember the exact evolution, but somewhere between 1945 and 1950 it became commonly known among musicians as a steel guitar.

www.genejones.com

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 26 Feb 2004 5:53 pm

I don't know, Bob, I just call it "Deja Vu"...

http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum2/HTML/004867.html

------------------
Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com
[This message was edited by Mark van Allen on 26 February 2004 at 05:53 PM.]

Jeff Lucas · Post by **Jeff Lucas** » 26 Feb 2004 6:04 pm

You're right, Mark! And Gene, even if we go by a style as a prefix, i.e. Hawaiian steel, Western steel, Sacred steel, etc., we have to look at it and go, "Well, they're ALL playing steel guitars!"...

I'm not sure if that helps...

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 26 Feb 2004 8:57 pm

Back around 1936 , We all called it the Hawaiian guitar.

When Alvino Rey started with Horace Heidt Orchestra with an Electric. we called it the" Hawaiian Electric Guitar." That took for a few years.

Then when Alvino got his own band and his D9 Gibson Console Grande, he called it his "Singing Guitar". We still called it "Console Grand Guitar".

Then when Alvino got his Gibson Electra-harp, we called it "Electra-Harp and also started calling it Pedal Guitar.That was around 1941.

After that "Steel guitar" started coming into vogue with more exposure of Hillbilly ,Country, and Western music.

I started playing a wood Hawaiian guitar, then on to a supro 6 string electric, then to a D8 Console Grand, then on to a Gibson Electra-Harp 8 string 6 pedal guitar.

Now I play a "Pedal Steel Guitar" and have been playing?? one since 1947.....al

------------------
My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

Bob Stone · Post by **Bob Stone** » 27 Feb 2004 11:28 am

As I said in my original post above, at this time I'm not looking for discussion about what to call the instrument, but rather historical perspectives on the shift from "Hawaiian guitar" to "steel guitar."

Carl, as I recall it took a little longer to shift from "hillbilly" to "country" than from "Hawaiian" to "steel." Didn't we still have the Hillbilly Hit Parade, etc. well into the 1950s? By then the instrument was popularly called "steel guitar", right? I was born in 1944, so don't have much first hand memory of 1940s music.[This message was edited by Bob Stone on 27 February 2004 at 11:29 AM.]

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 27 Feb 2004 11:59 am

Bob,

Indeed you may be correct. I was born in 32, and to the best of my recollection the two demises and newlyy coined words evolved almost over night (in purely evolutionary terms).

I guess I have a person ax to grind here as I was a victim of both scenarios on many an ocassion. In fact I had to hide my "hawaryun Git' tar" to keep them some from making fun of me. And these were the same ones that made fun of "hillbilly music".

So again you may be correct. I do know this. As I recall, it appeared the two terms simply vanished quickly and about the same time, without a whimper; albeit both were IN vogue prior to that time.

Since my teacher taught me to play mostly NON Hawaiian type songs, I never looked at the term "hawaiian guitar" as referring to the type of music that was played on the instrument; rather where it hailed from.

I am suprised the Hawaiians have not strongly tried to safe-guard and laud it; since it is one of but two musical instruments that can be claimed by Americans.

Oh well, thanks for posting that dear friend,

carl[This message was edited by C Dixon on 27 February 2004 at 12:01 PM.]

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 27 Feb 2004 1:39 pm

As was typical of the old Hawaiian's, and the finest of today's, they gave freely of what they had, and never worried about it after the fact. Once the 'Hawaiian craze' died down in the late 30's, and country music became huge(in part, because of the steel), the term of 'Hawaiian guitar' became passe' by American players/listeners/producers(especially after the war), whom by then/eventually claimed the instrument their own. With the popularity of Alvino Rey(who called it many things), the evolving invention of pedals, and the lessening of Hawaiian music in daily focus, it no longer was an applicable term. Only those from the era(or a sect such as the 'sacred steeler's'), are going to bother with, or even remember the term, and now it's become merely a nostalgic reference, or one to identify the instrument by. Ask any mainlander under 40 what a 'Hawaiian guitar' is, and very few will connect it with a steel guitar today.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 27 Feb 2004 3:26 pm

As I recall from my initiation into western-swing in the late 1940's and early 1950's, the term "hillbilly" was used to describe the music on the "Grand Ole Opry" and on records being produced in Nashville during that era.

Western Swing musicians (i.e. Boggs, Murphy, etc) described themselves as "Big Band and Jazz", and they were indignant and insulted to be included with hill-billy or country musicians.

They may very well have been responsible for changing the terminology from Hawaiian to Steel Guitar to describe what they played!
www.genejones.com [This message was edited by Gene Jones on 27 February 2004 at 03:29 PM.]

Jeff Lucas · Post by **Jeff Lucas** » 27 Feb 2004 10:38 pm

Just being a 'devil's advocate' here; but when you extend this discussion to include the terminology variants (or etymological shifts) of other instruments, for instance of "violin" to "fiddle", etc. you would go crazy! Every fiddler I know would say s/he plays "Irish", or "Texas Swing", or "Old Time", or "Bluegrass", etc. FIDDLE. Never "Bluegrass", etc. VIOLIN! So now we know how the Classical guys feel about their "violins". Just a thought that hit me...