Jules Ah See

Jules wouldn’t take up the steel guitar until he was 13 years old in 1937, but he learned quickly and was soon able to mimic such steel guitar legends as Sol Ho`opi`i, Dick McIntire, Andy Iona, Tommy Castro, Jake Keli`ikoa, and David Keli`i. Jules would eventually also take up the pedal steel guitar – often considered anathema in Hawaiian music, but his approach with the instrument was tasteful and restrained and uniquely Hawaiian. After a stint in the USO from 1941 through 1945, Jules returned to Honolulu and played with Ray Andrade at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, with Herb Low at LeRoy’s, and with Andy Bright at the Moana Hotel. But his heyday would come in the mid-1950s when Jules would join both the cast of the Hawaii Calls radio show and the Hawaiian Village Serenaders backing Alfred Apaka at the then new hotel for which the band was named. While Jules was largely occupied with his roles with Hawaii Calls and backing Apaka and the numerous recordings both generated, he still found time to go into a recording studio a few more times with the likes of Benny Kalama, The Surfers, Mahi Beamer, Japan’s Ethel Nakada, and Felix Slatkin which yielded the unique Paradise Found where Jules was accompanied by a full orchestra.

The steel guitar was once the signature sound of Hawaiian music, and Jules Ah See was one of its most capable practitioners. Ho`olohe Hou Radio honors Jules on his centennial with a three-part radio program focusing on his rarest recordings, particularly those on which he was not identified as a participant and which you have likely heard but never knew you were listening to Jules. You will hear him both in the studio and in rare live performances. More than 100 songs over nearly 6 hours – only a handful of which remain in print in the digital era, making these recordings rarities deserving of being heard again.

Click “PLAY” below on one of the segments to start listening. Enjoy!

~ Bill Wynne, HOST, Ho`olohe Hou Radio

PART ONE – A Tribute to Jules Ah See (1947-1958)

PART TWO – A Tribute to Jules Ah See (1956-1960)

PART THREE – A Tribute to Jules Ah See (1959-1960)