Edwin “Eddie” Tadao Suzuki, veteran musician, composer, guitar maker, talent manager and small-business man, died of pulmonary fibrosis March 23 at the Queen’s Medical Center. He was 87.

Born Oct. 6, 1928, in Honolulu, Suzuki’s entrepreneurial pursuits began in his youth. At age 12 he was a downtown shoeshine boy. In the 1940s, he would station himself at the busy intersection of Nuuanu Avenue and Pauahi Street to attract more customers. While in high school he learned piano tuning and eventually owned and operated the Hawaii Piano Co. Later on, in the wake of the post-Elvis Presley rock guitar craze, he opened the Hawaii Pro Guitar shop in Kaimuki.

As a musician he was an accomplished composer of such hits as “Maunalani Hale,” recorded by Sam Kapu Jr., and “Maile Lei,” a blockbuster recorded by Ben Vegas in a fusion with Helen Desha Beamer’s “Pupu Hina Hina.” He performed and recorded with his group, Eddie and the New Hawaiians; his last CD, released in 2014, was titled “Collectors Edition” and featured his versions of “Maile Lei” and “Maunalani Hale.”

“He had the ability to befriend anyone,” fellow musician Jimmy Funai, a longtime ally, recalled. “Back in the 1960s, when I was in high school with a music group, I went to Eddie to buy a guitar, and we’ve been friends since. He was very generous with his compliments of those who worked with him, and he had a lot of stories to share because he knew a lot of entertainers. He called me up one day to go have a drink with the Dave Brubeck Quartet at the Golden Dragon at … the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Then off they went to a concert.”

Suzuki was acquainted with many big-name musicians. He once hung out with Carlos Santana at a (rented) Diamond Head house and he also befriended singer-guitarist George Benson because his guitar shop distributed and sold the Ibanez guitar, Benson’s instrument of choice. The shop touted framed photos of celebrities he met, such as Benson and Nat King Cole.

“Many people didn’t know that Eddie was the first manager of Kui Lee, when he performed at the Queen’s Surf,” said Funai. “At that time, Eddie was a real entrepreneur, providing musical instruments to bands and doing musical arrangements.”

Suzuki also managed pi-anist Ernie Washington.

In addition, Suzuki collected and restored classic vintage cars, including a Rolls-Royce, and owned a home and a ranch at Waikii on Hawaii island.

Johnny Kai, executive director of the Brown Bags to Stardom competition, who hosts the “Let’s Go Hawaii” show at the Treetops Restaurant at Paradise Park in Manoa Valley, said Suzuki was instrumental in launching the solo career of entertainer Ben Vegas, a former member of the Krush, when “Maile Lei” emerged as a hit. Vegas and his musical partner, Maila Gibson, performed bedside at the hospital before Suzuki’s death.

Suzuki received a 2006 Legacy Award from Brown Bags to Stardom for his songwriting; he was one of a handful of Hawaii musicians honored that year.

He is survived by sons Dwight, William and Edwin Jr.; daughter Dawn Taka- tsuki; brothers Howard, Donald, Glenn and Dennis Suzuki; sisters Emiko Watanabe and Deanna Hayashida; seven grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Services and visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Oahu Cemetery Chapel; burial will be Friday. A celebration of Suzuki’s life, arranged by Kai, will be presented 6 p.m. Friday at Treetops Restaurant.