History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars

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The National Steel Guitar Part Four

by Al Handa

Black Ace, Sol Hoopii, and the Hawaiian Slide Style

One of the few Bluesmen to play their National in the Hawaiian style (on the lap, using a slide) was B.K. Turner, better known as Black Ace. He was born in Hughes Springs, Texas in 1907, and was first exposed to music through his local church. This stimulated his interest in music, and he became a self-taught guitarist on a homemade instrument.

Ace worked with Smokey Hogg in the early 30's, then met Oscar Buddy Woods in Shreveport, Louisiana. Oscar played his National Hawaiian style, and this convinced Turner to adopt that method also. He bought a Style 2 squareneck tricone, and after an abortive attempt to play it in the standard position, switched to playing it on his lap. In addition, he worked out special tunings to complement the type of slide used, in his case, an empty medicine bottle.

Oscar Buddy Woods

Oscar Buddy Woods was the direct line from the great Hawaiian slide guitarists to Black Ace. As Bob Brozman relates in his book, "The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments," "It is said that Woods decided to play lap-style after seeing a performance by a traveling Hawaiian show in the early 1920s.

Before continuing with the story of Turner, aka Black Ace, it would be a good idea to understand a little about the Hawaiian style of slide, which would be such an influence on the Blues. For most, the picture that the term "Hawaiian style" conjures up is of Hula Girls, swaying to this mellow, liquid smooth slide music (a staple of 50's films).

This would hardly seem like a major influence on Blues slide, but that is because that Hula Girl image is only a small cinematic image, a tourist industry stereotype. In reality, Hawaiian steel guitar music in the 20's and 30's was a major, and very sophisticated genre, that also encompassed Jazz, and Blues.

Early Hawaiian Guitar

To go back into the early history of Hawaiian guitar is like the early Jazz days. Before King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, you had Buddy Bolden, one of the first giants of the genre who lived and died before the era of mass produced records. In the case of Hawaiian music, you have, as Brozman states, "the first generation guitarists like David Kaili, Joseph Kekuku (who is generally recognized as the inventor of Hawaiian guitar), and Pale K. Lua, all who were touring anrecording on the mainland by 1912.

Sol Hoopii, The Greatest Hawaiian National Player

However, the best known National player of that genre was Sol Hoopii, who Brozman states "is without a doubt the most important and musically influential Hawaiian guitarists of this century. In addition to affecting all Hawaiian guitarists, Sol also had great influence on Western Swing and Country music. He was a great traditional Hawaiian stylist, but was the first to really blend jazz and blues with the Hawaiian steel sound."

Sol was born Solomon Hoopii Kaai in Honolulu in 1902, and was one of 21 children. He began playing the ukulele at at the age of three, and had moved on to guitar by age six. His heroes were Kaili, Kekuku, and Lau, and at the age of 17, decided that their success was connected to their tours on the mainland.

So, he stowed away with two friends on a liner heading for San Francisco, which almost ended in disaster as they were soon discovered. However, they so charmed the passengers with their music that they all chipped in to pay the fares for this new Hawaiian trio. This may not be 100% true, but to paraphrase Rousseau, we aren't interested in facts, but in the truth. The story stands in this account.

Sol moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles in the early 20's, and made his official debut at a local chop suey house. He met Lani McIntire and Glenwood Leslie and formed the Sol Hoopii Novelty Trio which became a famous recording group by the late 20's. Bob Brozman states that "his records of 1926-1938 were issued in many countries worldwide, and his name is still legendary among all Hawaiian steel players all over the world."

Sol's Style and Influence

The main elements of his slide style were incredibly fast single string work, the ability to play Jazz and Blues as well as any artist of the time, and a relaxed, yet powerful sense of melody, all keyed by blazingly fast and powerful right hand picking technique.

One other effect Sol had was to make the National a popular instrument. Sol used a prototype tricone, and was later given two by John Dopyera, one of which had Sol's name engraved on it. The story has less than a happy ending, as Dopyera later found that Sol had pawned one of the pair.

Sol's effect on the popularity of the National was immense. By 1929, three years after his first recordings with a National, 90 percent of Hawaiian recording artists were using this type of guitar.

Brozman sums up Sol's effect on American music: "Sol stands alone as the acknowledged king of the Hawaiian steel guitar. The other top players of Nationals were Tau Moe, Sam Ku West, Jim and Bob, Sol K. Bright and Benny Nawahi. They came close to having Sol's abilities and they stand above the rest. However the suriving players on the list will certainly grant Sol his title. He alone popularized the National more than these other players put together, and forever changed American popular music.

Brozman adds, "Very few other musicians come to mind who were both influenced by American music AND went on to greatly influence American music."

Back To Black Ace

So, this was the music that influenced Oscar Buddy Woods, who in turn influenced Black Ace. Ace and Woods mainly played in open G and D tunings. Both were fine players, although Ace was the less technical of the two.

The trademarks of Ace's style were carefully thought out lyrics and structures supported by guitar work that was simpler than the Hawaiian style, and closer to bottleneck slide Blues. However, the smooth tone he got with his style 2 tricone was a sharp contrast to the harsher tone of the Delta.

Black Ace found more opportunities as the Depression began to ease in the mid-1930s, and he began to tour as far as Louisiana and Oklahoma. He settled in Ft. Worth, Texas, and it was there a talent scout for Decca Records signed him to a contract. This resulted in six sides, including the song that gave him his professional name, "I Am The Black Ace."

Vocalion also recorded him, but only issued two sides under a different name, Buck Turner. Ace also did frequent radio performances between 1936 and 1941, and even appeared in the 1937 film, "The Blood of Jesus," as a performer."

World War II interrupted his career in 1943. After his term, he didn't return to music, and he and his wife were picking cotton for a living. In 1950, he was working as a janitor at the Ft. Worth Airport.

In 1960, he was re-discovered by Chris Strachwitz, and he recorded an album for Arhoolie Records. Also in 1962, he appeared in another film, "The Blues." That was the last of his music until he passed away in Ft. Worth in 1972.

Black Ace remains one of the more obscure artists in the Blues, yet his music is still esteemed by fans of slide guitar. In Texas, he is still being re-discovered by new generations of Blues slide fans who seek out artists like Ace, Hop Wilson, and others who played guitar in the Hawaiian style.

In part 5, we'll continue to discuss Blues artists who played Nationals, and in the future, cover the Hawaiian artists in more detail.

-Al Handa
July 1998

Read Part One: "Some Background"
Read Part Two: "More on the different types and a list of Blues artists who played Nationals"
Read Part Three: "Tampa Red, Son House, and Bukka White"

Special Thanks:

This article, and the series that will follow it rely heavily on the classic book, "The History and Artistry of NATIONAL Resonator Instruments" by Bob Brozman. Brozman is also one of the foremost National Steel Guitar players in the world.

Check out Bob Brozman's web site. Also, a series of this depth wouldn't be possible without the cooperation of the National Reso-Phonic Guitars company, who have provided advice and materials in the research phases. The photos used in this piece are courtesy of National Reso-Phonic. Special thanks to Peter Bachner, Don Young, and Marie Gaines of National Reso-Phonic for their help and cooperation in creating this series.