Kika Kila: How the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Changed the Sound of

Kika Kila: How the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Changed the Sound of Modern Music
Since the nineteenth century, the distinct tones of kikaÂ kila, the Hawaiian steel guitar, have defined the island sound. Here historian and steel guitarist John W. Troutman offers the instrument's definitive history, from its discovery by a young Hawaiian royalist named Joseph Kekuku to its revolutionary influence on American and world music. During the early twentieth century, Hawaiian musicians traveled the globe, from tent shows in the Mississippi Delta, where they shaped the new sounds of country and the blues, to regal theaters and vaudeville stages in New York, Berlin, Kolkata, and beyond. In the process, Hawaiian guitarists recast the role of the guitar in modern life. But as Troutman explains, by the 1970s the instrument's embrace and adoption overseas also worked to challenge its cultural legitimacy in the eyes of a new generation of Hawaiian musicians. As a consequence, the indigenous instrument nearly disappeared in its homeland.

Using rich musical and historical sources, including interviews with musicians and their descendants, Troutman provides the complete story of how this Native Hawaiian instrument transformed not only American music but the sounds of modern music throughout the world.
- The Organization of American Historians named Kika Kila the winner of the 2017 Lawrence W. Levine Award for the Best Book in American Cultural History.
- The Association for Recorded Sound Collections named Kika Kila the winner of the 2017 Award for "Best Historical Research in Recorded Popular Music."Â
Country USA
Brand The University of North Carolina Press
Manufacturer The University of North Carolina Press
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber 74998
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781469627922
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	The University of North Carolina Press
Manufacturer	The University of North Carolina Press
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	74998
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781469627922
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Kika Kila: How the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Changed the Sound of Modern Music

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