youtube Billy Hew Len "Alekoki" on Fender 400

[Scott Thomas]

I did not see where this was already posted, but this is new to me. Billy Hew Len with Myrna English and Sonny Chillingworth in a club performing "Alekoki"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDfAdRlWEYE

[Ray Montee (RIP)]

I for one, surely appreciate this fine post and example of what can be accomplished on the steel guitar, even with a severe physical handicap.

His fretting was precise, his SLANTS were without compromise! This man was truly "A MUSICIAN"!

Several other great examples are also there on You Tube for you to enjoy. Be sure to give a listen.

[Barney Roach]

[quote="Scott Thomas"]I did not see where this was already posted, but this is new to me.


Perhaps there are posts in the PEDAL STEEL section.

( A little humor- come on. . . . )

[Don Kona Woods]

Great video find.

While this may be a pedal steel by design, it is being played as a non-pedal steel, meaning he is not using the pedals. Billy's style is to pick single string with harmonics with occasional two string, three string chords. The pedals were not necessary for his style of playing.

So this should remain in the non pedal section. IMHO

Most Hawaiian steel guitar players have experimented with pedal steels, but none stuck with them. They always went back to non-pedal steels because it is much more fluid and sounded better for Hawaiian music.

Aloha,
Don

[Barney Roach]

A little history on Billy-
http://www.pedalpro.co.uk/folderIndex/f ... Len01.html[/url]

[Don Kona Woods]

Barney,

I cannot access the site>

It reads:


ERROR 404 PAGE NOT FOUND
Deze pagina bestaat niet (meer)

[Barney Roach]

[quote="Don Kona Woods"]Barney,

I cannot access the site>

http://www.pedalpro.co.uk/folderIndex/f ... Len01.html

( I tried to use the URL button to make a hyperlink-
but don't know how on this site. Same link- W/O
'URL' at the end of the address- sorry Don )

[Don Kona Woods]

Thanks, Barney, it now works.

I have read this article before, but it was good to read it again.

It mentions that Billy played the pedal steel in the 1960's. I do not dispute this assertion, however, I was a frequent visitor to many of the shows where he played from 1961 to 1974 since I lived in Hawaii, and not once did I see him playing a pedal steel guitar.

Aloha,
Don

[Ron Whitfield]

I too appreciate rereading the article, Barney, thanx!
I'm betting that photo of JB/Billy/Lorene on the Waikiki lanai is at Frank/Donna Miller's apt., where many an all-star jam was held, with a focus on steel guitar.

[Dennis Peterson]

Billy Hew Len with Myrna English and Sonny Chillingworth in a club performing "Alekoki"

Sweet, sweet Hawaiian. No get moah bettah.

[basilh]

The full video is very entertaining, but Billy DID use the pedals throughout the performance, except of course when he played a solo on his "fryPan"..

As for pedal guitars NOT being Hawaiian sounding, I dispute that, and the recordings of the 50's and 60's bear witness to that..It's a matter of perspective as to what's "Hawaiian Sounding" it depends what yardstick one uses. Do we use the sound of the 20's as being "Hawaiian" if so then we rule out the electric Hawaiian Guitar..

The sounds of the "Golden Years" of Hawaii Calls would probably be the epitome of what the world in general has been indoctrinated with, and accepting that, one would then have to conclude that Jules Ah See, Barney (Alvin Kalanikau)Isaacs Jr, Danny Stewart, Billy Hew Len and many more played a pivotal role in establishing the more modern perception of the "Hawaiian Sound"..ALL using PEDAL Hawaiian Guitar on recordings.(Which of course were heard worldwide to a much larger audience that the visitors to Hawaii per se.
The Album Steel Guitar Magic bears testament to Bill Hew Len's familiarity and dexterity on a pedal guitar.

There is an EXTENSIVE article on the use of the pedal guitar on the Hawaiian music recordings of the 40's through to the demise of Hawaii Calls, in the next issue of "Aloha Dream"..

No need to wait with bated breath, I've outlined my position here..LOL

As specialist enthusiast of the instruments we oft forget that the rest of the world are not such aficionados as we, and THEY only know what they hear, not how it was created. Having said that I must point out that what they have heard the most of is undoubtedly the Hawaii Calls series of records/broadcasts and the plethora of the Webley Edwards material on records. The worldwide sales of which are most substantial.

Recently a student asked me "Do you loose the "Hawaiian Feel" by playing a pedal guitar? .. So I thought I'd try and lay this MYTH finally to rest and also discover the origins of it.
Defining the "Hawaiian Feel" is problematical, BUT a general consensus CAN be found, that is presuming that we are referring to the world's perceived concept of Hawaiian Steel Guitar sound/style.

No.1. The most recognisable Hawaiian Guitar sound that has been heard for almost 80 years and played to millions of people millions of times is the Glissando/Portamento at the beginning of the 'Looney Tunes' cartoons.(Freddie Tavares played that.) Indoctrinating as it did, the sound of the ELECTRIC Hawaiian Guitar to generations of the young and not so young. The conclusion of this is that the ACOUSTIC Hawaiian Guitar can be placed in the "Passenger Seat" for the rest of this analysis.

From the Hapa Haole (Hollywood Hawaiian) of the late 1930's up until the demise of the Kodak Hula Show and the "Hawaii Calls Shows and albums, the definitive sound that Hawaii exported WORLDWIDE was that of the electric Hawaiian Guitar as played in that environment. So, lets study how it was played and by whom:- Initially just one player in the group it quickly changed to two players, but from the start of the electric Hawaiian Guitar' Golden Days the players used MULTIPLE tunings and/or multiple neck instruments. David Kelii, Danny Stewart, Sam Koki in fact all of the top players from that era played and were conversant with more than one tuning and invariable recorded using multineck instruments.

In the Heyday of the Hawaii Calls Era Jules ah See, Barney Isaacs Jr., Billy Hew Len, Eddie Pang, Ernest Tavares (from the late 40's onwards,) and others used PEDAL Hawaiian Guitar on the recordings whilst mainly playing multineck guitars in the live environment. The reasons for this are many, but in a nutshell, Magnatone was sponsoring the guitars for the Hawaii Calls Shows, so their name was to be mentioned by Webley Edwards in the broadcasts: consequently they had to be seen on stage, later the Fender Stringmasters took their place in the Hawaii Calls line-up along with Jules and his Fender 1000 PEDAL Steel Guitar. Also, at that time the Waikiki hoteliers preferred the band to be seen standing, so to be seated at a pedal guitar was a "No No". Billy Hew Len found a way out of that dilemma by having Fender supply him with longer legs and rods, he played it HALF sitting on a high bar stool (As in the Myra English PBS Video) Jules always sat when playing his Fender 1000, and looked quite impressive on the Hawaii Calls stage seated in front of Barney Isaacs' three necked Fender Stringmaster.


Unfortunately with the death of Alfred then Jules and then the demise of the Hawaii Calls Show, the top players became thin on the ground as did regular RESIDENT work for them. Whilst a residency would make it viable to have a pedal guitar, nightly gigging at varied venues made it impractical because of the weight and setting up time involved. The Pedal Hawaiian Guitar became relegated to JUST the recording studio, where, it still was in use (albeit limitedly) on the popular Hawaiian recordings of the day.

Sadly today, (with the exception of a brace) there are no players in Hawaii either capable or willing to play Pedal Hawaiian Guitar in that style in public..

THIS(click) is relevant to what I say..
Billy Hew Len playing Pedal Hawaiian Guitar on the album Steel Guitar Magic can be heard HERE (For educational purposes ONLY.. Please Do NOT right click and "save as"

[Bill Creller]

Everybody to their own poison, as the saying goes. Pedal tone isn't for my taste, but fine for folks who like it.

[David Matzenik]

Another candidate to support Basil's analysis would have been Jake Keliikoa who played a Harlin Multi-Kord with Alfred Apaka. I wonder if we can hear him on any of the Alfred records? I tend to think of Hawaiian Steel Guitar as an evolution, and I think there probably would have been more pedal-steel used as that instrument developed if the audiences of the 1960s had not been distracted by the myriad happenings in popular music. In defense of that generation I should point out that some of us did eventually discover Hawaiian music,and even took it up, though we took a rather long way around to it.

[basilh]

Everybody to their own poison, as the saying goes. Pedal tone isn't for my taste, but fine for folks who like it.

Sorry you feel that way Bill, because most of us professionals feel that tone is the domain of the player rather than the instrument.(Hence the profusion of different makes of guitar BUT a comparative standardised tonality)

I feel you may be confusing the thin sound preferred by "Country" stylists (and necessitated by the string gauges used and the required position in the mix in that genre.) with the "Hawaiian Style Pedal" which is almost always full toned and deep.
BUT that debate probably belongs elsewhere (Though I see no platform within this forum, and certainly not within this thread.)

Parting shot or we MAY get this thread locked)
Tom Tohma, The Lion Kobayashi, Frank Baum and others are carrying on the LONG established tradition of PEDAL Hawaiian Guitar stylings, I feel sure that the animosity to this STYLE is based on a false premise.
Comments (Based on lack of familiarity with the style and its players), like: "Mechanical," "Easy Way Out," and "Not having Hawaiian Feel," don't apply to To, the Lion Frank and the present day exponents, just as they don't apply to myself or our predecessors in Hawaii.

Trust me, Pedal Hawaiian Guitar is MUCH more difficult, but is, and has always been, an INTEGRAL part of the definitive "Golden Era" Hawaiian soundscape.

But I'd like to ask Bill a question first: Bill, is THIS the tone you dislike ?

So, to stay within the guidelines of the specific section here, we could continue and discuss Billy Hew Len's tuning(s) and proficiency on his 'FryPan' LAP STEEL..

[Mike Neer]

Frankly, without pedals Billy Hew Len would not have been able to use all of the wonderful harmonies that added so much color to his playing. Yes, he could get more out of a non-pedal instrument than most, but having pedals enabled him to fulfill his vision of how the chords should sound without having to re-tune his instrument every other measure. Who could argue with that?

Thanks Basil for that wonderful example of Billy's playing "Beyond the Reef". I find the tone to be divine. Could you provide Billy's pedal setup, I'd certainly like to analyze it? I have listened closely to the Hal Smith recordings and got quite bit from it.

[basilh]

100% my view re the harmonies and chords. As for his copedent, it was A7 based. I'll post it later, needles to say it had to take into consideration the 400's limiting factors: i.e. single raise and single lower limited to two strings per pedal.
His copedent Gave him all the tunings he was familiar with and some new ones to try out.
I'm not sure where the story came about him adding two extra pedals to a STOCK 400, he had 9 pedals (Factory built) Adding extra pedals to a stock Mk1 400 would have been pretty tricky and probably could only be accomplished correctly by a Fender dealer/shop.

The A7th tuning he used on his 'FryPan' was the base for all his changes and he thought A7th whilst playing. i.e. fret 3 = C etc., so his "Home position" was a 5th on top with the pocket of two up and two down supporting his other chords.
Again, i.e. down two and revert to chord with root on top = 4 chord, or alternatively up two for a 4 chord with a 3rd on top (Which reverted to a "Faux" 5 9th by dropping string 4)
It encompasses A6th, A7th, E6th,E13th, C6th, C13th, D9th and more.
Billy and Jules collaborated on copedents in their genre', just like Buddy and Jimmy did in theirs.

By request for all to analyse, here AGAIN is the Jules Tapa Room Tapes.
CLICK

[Mitch Druckman]

Thank you Basil for sharing your knowledge and insight. We are indeed fortunate to have your participation on this forum.

[Michael Lee Allen]

Deleted

[Michael Lee Allen]

Deleted

[basilh]

Thank you Basil for sharing your knowledge and insight. We are indeed fortunate to have your participation on this forum.

Yeah, and also Michael Lee Allen to keep the postings diligent..The 400 I was refering to was a MK2 with the Cast pedals and the Jaguar style pickup, seized up mechanism and sun-bleached... found in a pawnshop sale in Oahu many years ago.

[basilh]

I will come back to this in more detail after I finish the analysis of the serious bad edits on material of Billy Hew Len, Barney Isaacs and Hawaii Calls performers in general.
The discussion doesn't belong here, it's at
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=212155

http://www.hsga.org/talkstory/cgi-bin/y ... 476395/0#1

http://www.taropatch.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10059

http://www.taropatch.net/forum/topic.as ... 057&#69123

[Michael Lee Allen]

Deleted

[Scott Thomas]

Yeah, this is the picture from the Carvin catalog with the mistaken name caption.

[Michael Lee Allen]

Deleted

[Scott Thomas]

White pants and shoes RULE! Add a long sleeve Aloha shirt (or 70s chic orange), and BHL was one stylin' steel player. He was just so cool.

Thanks for the pics!!