MEL ABE

Masao Abe was born in Waimea, Kauai and early on, learned to play the steel guitar by watching and listening to the greats, especially Jules Ah See. He became enough of a virtuoso even without formal training, that in 1960, he joined the band at the Hawaiian Village's Tapa Room, where he played for six years. He moved on to the Royal Hawaiian's Surf Room and other venues, playing for virtually every legendary Hawaiian entertainer.

Biographical material from Tony Todaro, The Golden Years of Hawaiian Entertainment (Tony Todaro Pub., 1974).