Dennis Kamakahi

Dennis David Kahekilimamaoikalanikeha Kamakahi (March 31, 1953 – April 28, 2014) was a Hawaiian slack-key guitarist (kī hōʻalu), composer, and ordained minister born in Honolulu, Oʻahu. He grew up in a musical family — his grandfather played slack key on a Martin guitar and his father was a member of the Royal Hawaiian Band — and learned in the traditional way from his elders, drawing early inspiration from Gabby Pahinui and Sonny Chillingworth. Around 1973 he was invited by Eddie Kamae to join the ensemble the Sons of Hawaii, taking the guitar chair previously held by Pahinui, and his tenure with the group through the mid-1990s established him as a leading traditional musician.

Kamakahi became one of the most prolific songwriters in Hawaiian music, credited with composing roughly 500 songs, many in the Hawaiian language. His best-known compositions include 'Wahine ʻIlikea,' inspired by the mists of Kamakou on Molokaʻi, as well as 'Kōkeʻe,' 'Pua Hone,' and 'Ka ʻŌpae.' As a solo recording artist on Dancing Cat Records he released albums such as Puaʻena (1996) and ʻOhana (1998), the latter featuring his son David Kamakahi on ʻukulele. His songs entered the standard repertoire of Hawaiian music and hula.

Kamakahi won three Grammy Awards in the Hawaiian music category as a featured slack-key artist on the compilation albums Legends of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar (2007), Treasures of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar (2008), and The Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Vol. 2 (2010). He also received the 2005 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Kīhōʻalu (Slack Key) Award, and in 2009 was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. He died of lung cancer in 2014 at the age of 61.