Steel guitar virtuoso headlines celebration

By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 15, 2012

~~<p>During the dark days of World War II, weekend jam sessions were bright times for Henry Kaleialoha Allen's family. Friends and relatives would pack their Manoa home to eat, "talk story," sing and play music until the wee hours of the morning, including Albert Merseburgh, Allen's uncle, who was a renowned steel guitar artist.</p>
<p>After the guests had left and his parents and uncle had gone to bed, Allen would sneak into the living room and "practice" on the steel guitar. One night in 1943, Allen's uncle woke up and caught him with picks in hand.</p>
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During the dark days of World War II, weekend jam sessions were bright times for Henry Kaleialoha Allen's family. Friends and relatives would pack their Manoa home to eat, "talk story," sing and play music until the wee hours of the morning, including Albert Merseburgh, Allen's uncle, who was a renowned steel guitar artist.

After the guests had left and his parents and uncle had gone to bed, Allen would sneak into the living room and "practice" on the steel guitar. One night in 1943, Allen's uncle woke up and caught him with picks in hand. Login for more...