AS TIME GOES on, I’ve become more acutely aware of the musical history that’s been lost with each new generation. People today can’t imagine not having access to a billion songs, instantly available via voice command, but the wealth of options on tap means many important artists from past eras are simply lost in the musical shuffle. I happily admit that most of the young musicians I know are significantly better informed — and qualified — than I was at their age. Still, some of our greatest guitar pioneers have been lost to time like needles in the proverbial haystack.
Sol Hoopii is one of them. He was born in Honolulu in 1902 and reportedly was playing ukulele by the age of three. By his teen years, Sol was fluent on Hawaiian steel guitar and on his way to becoming a virtuoso with a singular style that combined traditional Hawaiian music with blues, jazz, country-western swing and Tin Pan Alley. His musical endowment rightly earned him induction in the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1979.
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