About Ledward Kaapana
Ledward Kaapana (born August 25, 1948) is a Hawaiian musician, best known for playing in the slack key guitar style. He also plays steel guitar, ukulele, autoharp, and bass guitar, and is a baritone and falsetto vocalist. In 2011, he received a National Heritage Fellowship, the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. He received Na Hoku Hanohano Awards from the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA), and has been nominated for Grammy Awards. In 2024, Kaapana was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. == Early life == Born on August 25, 1948, Led grew up in a musical family living in the small black sand bay village of Kalapana (mostly destroyed by the 1986 volcanic eruption of Kilauea), where he states there were few distractions. "We didn't have electricity, not television, not even much radio, so we entertained ourselves. You could go to any house and everybody was playing music." He was taught by his mother, Tina, and his uncle, the rarely recorded slack-key master Fred Punahoa. == Professional career == In his teens, Kaapana formed the musical group Hui 'Ohana (means "Family Group"), with his twin brother, Nedward Kaapana, and his cousin, falsetto-great Dennis Pavao. Hui 'Ohana released fourteen albums, each of which was a commercial and critical success.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.