Cyril Pahinui

Cyril Pahinui (April 21, 1950 – November 17, 2018)[1] was an American slack-key guitarist and singer of Hawaiian music.

Slack Key with Cyril Pahinui & Friends, a program of traditional Hawaiian music developed for PBS Hawaii.

[2] In 2014, he received a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award for perpetuating the craft of slack key music through performance and teaching.

In 1968, Pahinui made his first record with The Sunday Manoa, a loose association of like-minded young people intent on helping perpetuate the classic Hawaiian sound.

At the age of 19, his musical career was interrupted when he was drafted to Vietnam, where he served as a sergeant and section chief in the 101st Airborne Division Artillery for two years.