Ghost Train RadioJoseph Kekuku and Lap Steel
Joseph Kekuku, from Oahu, invented the lap steel guitar when he dropped his comb on his guitar and liked the sound. He then tried various bits of metal and also tried several open tunings, called Slack Key, because when you tune this way, some of the strings become more slack than they would a normal guitar tuning.
I’ll get back to my Fall color theme, but I will have a chance to learn more about the history of the lap steel soon. Ironically, just this past week I finally figured out how to really play lap steel after (very) casually playing it for the last 2 years.
As it turns out, Joseph Kekuku introduced America to Hawaiian music and there was so much interest, he moved to the mainland and ended up in Dover, NJ, very close to where I grew up. He is buried very close to where I attended Community College – (which was before I transferred to Lock Haven State College in PA).
Just some fun serendipity with coffee this morning.
There are so many interesting stories, very human stories in history. I think to look forward it always makes to every now and then look back a bit. This leads to discovering connections to others, no matter how indirect they are.
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