| Raymond Kāne | |
| Birth Name: | Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaʻoleohelemanu Kāne |
| Birth Date: | 2 October 1925 |
| Birth Place: | Koloa, Kauaʻi |
| Death Place: | Honolulu |
| Instrument: | Slack-key guitar |
| Occupation: | Musician |
Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaʻoleohelemanu Kāne (in Hawaiian ˈkaːne/; October 2, 1925 - February 27, 2008),[1] was one of Hawaii's acknowledged masters of the slack-key guitar. Born in Koloa, Kauaʻi, he grew up in Nanakuli on Oʻahu's Waiʻanae Coast where his stepfather worked as a fisherman.[2]
Kāne's style was distinctive and deceptively simple. He played in a number of ki ho'alu tunings always plucking or brushing the strings with only the thumb and index finger of his right hand. He also played hammer-ons and pull-offs in a unique way; his finger moving up and out, instead of down and in, after striking a string. He emphasized that one must play and sing "from the heart". He was never flashy or fast. In Hawaiian, his sound is described as nahenahe (sweet sounding).
He was a recipient of a 1987 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.[3]