Fred Punahoa
Encyclopedia
Fred Punahoa was a Hawaii
an musician and slack key guitar player from Kalapana, Hawaii. Though only two known recordings exist of "Uncle Fred," he remains one of the most influential slack key artists of all time.
His legacy as a teacher can be attested to by such prominent students as Ledward Kaapana
and Sonny Lim
, both now-famous slack key guitarists who credit Uncle Fred as a primary teacher and inspiration.
The only known recordings of Uncle Fred consist of two songs from the 1974 Waimea Music Festival CD, which were given generic titles on the track list but have since become known as "Mauna Loa Slack Key", and "Punahoa Special". These songs are now standards in the slack key cannon, covered by Led, Sonny Lim, Makana
, Nick Borho, and many other slack key guitarists.
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an musician and slack key guitar player from Kalapana, Hawaii. Though only two known recordings exist of "Uncle Fred," he remains one of the most influential slack key artists of all time.
His legacy as a teacher can be attested to by such prominent students as Ledward Kaapana
Ledward Kaapana
Ledward Kaapana is a Hawaiian musician, best known for playing in the slack key guitar style. He also plays steel guitar, ukulele, autoharp and bass guitar, and is a renowned falsetto singer.-Early life:...
and Sonny Lim
Sonny Lim
Elmer "Sonny" Lim is a Hawaiian musician and slack key guitar player from Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii. Sonny is part of the musical Lim Family, which is also famous in the 50th State....
, both now-famous slack key guitarists who credit Uncle Fred as a primary teacher and inspiration.
The only known recordings of Uncle Fred consist of two songs from the 1974 Waimea Music Festival CD, which were given generic titles on the track list but have since become known as "Mauna Loa Slack Key", and "Punahoa Special". These songs are now standards in the slack key cannon, covered by Led, Sonny Lim, Makana
Makana
Makana is a mountain located on northern shore of the island of Kauai, where it rises above Limahuli Valley at .Makana is a Hawaiian language term meaning gift or reward. It is often used as a person's name or as part of a name....
, Nick Borho, and many other slack key guitarists.