The origins of slide guitar are often traced back to Hawaii, where in the late 19th century, native Joseph Kekuku invented the Hawaiian steel guitar. Kekuku also popularised the use of a steel bar to slide across the strings, often in open tunings.
This technique of using a hard metal object against a string first originated in Africa, with the single-stringed diddley bow. However, it was our man Kekuku who established slide guitar as we know it today.
