The Sons of Hawaiʻi

The Sons of Hawaiʻi were formed in 1960 in Honolulu after ʻukulele player Eddie Kamae was introduced to slack-key guitarist Gabby Pahinui in 1959. The original lineup paired Kamae and Pahinui with bassist and vocalist Joe Marshall and steel guitarist David 'Feet' Rogers. After opening at The Sandbox in Honolulu, the group focused on traditional Hawaiian music and released its debut LP, 'Gabby Pahinui with the Sons of Hawaiʻi,' on Hula Records in 1961.

The band is closely associated with the Hawaiian cultural renaissance of the 1960s and 1970s. Their 1971 album 'The Folk Music of Hawaiʻi' -- widely known as the 'Red Album' or 'Five Faces' album for its Herb Kāne cover portraits -- is regarded as a landmark recording of the revival and was the last to feature the original members. Over its history the group went through many lineups with Eddie Kamae as the constant leader; later members included Moe Keale, Dennis Kamakahi, and George Kuo. Gabby Pahinui went on to his own influential solo and Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band work.

A Nā Hōkū Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts was associated with the Sons of Hawaiʻi in 1992, and their anthology 'Eddie Kamae and the Sons of Hawaii' won the 2005 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for Album of the Year. Eddie Kamae, who also became a documentary filmmaker through the Hawaiian Legacy Foundation, retired from performing in 1992 and died in 2017; the group and its recordings remain a touchstone of traditional Hawaiian music.