[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 78 (Thursday, June 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF FREDDIE AND ERNEST TAVARES

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. COLLEEN W. HANABUSA

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 2, 2011

  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the tremendous 
accomplishments of Hawaiian music legends Frederick ``Freddie'' and 
Ernest Tavares and congratulate them for receiving the Hawaii Academy 
of Recording Arts' Lifetime Achievement Award.
  The brothers were born and raised on Maui and from early on their 
passion for music and creativity was evident. Over their distinguished 
careers these two men helped popularize Hawaiian music throughout the 
United States and their innovations changed the world of music.
  In his career, Freddie performed with some of the biggest stars of 
the era including Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and Dean Martin. In the 
1950s, Freddie was hired by guitar legend Leo Fender to help design the 
Fender Stratocaster, a guitar for which Eric Clapton commented, ``I 
would challenge anybody to come up with a better design for a guitar. 
It's about as close to being perfect as any electric guitar can be.'' 
For his contributions to the guitar industry, Freddie was inducted into 
the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and the Fender Hall of Fame.
  Ernest was Freddie's older brother and was a versatile multi-
instrumentalist. Ernest played the steel guitar, ukulele, flute and 
piano, among many others. He was an accomplished songwriter, conductor 
and choreographer and his creativity and engineering skills led to 
development of the pedal device that led to the pedal steel guitar. His 
career included work with the Harry Owens Royal Hawaiian Orchestra and 
Paul Page's South Sea Serenade.
  The Tavares brothers were true musical renaissance men, and as their 
careers show they made a marvelous impact on modern music. Freddie and 
Ernest Tavares are treasures to the state of Hawai'i.

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