Sol Hoopii
|
Sol Hoopii (1902 - November 16, 1953) was perhaps the most famous Hawaiian steel guitarist of the 20th century. The youngest of twenty-one children from Honolulu, Hawaii, he came to the mainland in 1919 as a stowaway in an ocean liner to San Francisco, California and later began recording in Los Angeles. The distinctively rhythmic slide techniques he invented later influenced country music steel guitarists.
He appeared in a few movies, such as Waikiki Wedding with Bing Crosby and a some Charlie Chan films.
He joined the crusade of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson in 1938, and from then on made few music recordings until his death in 1953 in Seattle.