Joseph Kekuku

Joseph Kekuku‘upenakana‘iapuniokamehameha Apuakehau Jr. (1874/75 – January 16, 1932), better known as Joseph Kekuku, was a Hawaiian-American musician and the inventor of the steel guitar. He discovered the sound of the steel guitar after tinkering with an old Spanish guitar. Born in the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kekuku later immigrated to the contiguous United States in 1904 to pursue a successful career in music, where he lived until his death. In 1993, he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.