Sam Ku West was an American steel guitar

Steel guitar

Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...

 player from Honolulu, Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 he died in Neuilly sur Seine near Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Career

West first performed professionally as a member of Irene West's touring band, adding the "West" surname to his birth name, Sam Ku, Jr.. After playing in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 in 1926, Prince George of England gave him the name "the Kreisler

Fritz Kreisler

Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler was an Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most famous violin masters of his or any other day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately...

 of the steel guitar". He also played concert harp live, though he never recorded with it.

West toured America on the vaudeville

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

 circuit and also performed abroad throughout East Asia

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

 and Europe. He recorded in 1927 and 1928 for several labels; 27 recordings are still extant. He died in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 at the age of 23 in 1930.

Discography

Year	Title	Notes
"'Banner Records"'
ca. 1926 (?)	"St. Louis Blues" / "Memphis Blues The Memphis Blues "The Memphis Blues" is a song described by its composer, W.C. Handy, as a "Southern Rag." It was self-published by Handy in September, 1912 and has been recorded by many artists over the years.-"Mr. Crump":... "	with James Kohono
"'Gennet Records"'
1927	"Farewell Blues Farewell Blues "Farewell Blues" is a 1922 jazz standard written by Paul Mares, Leon Roppolo and Elmer Schoebel. The song was recorded on August 29, 1922 in Richmond, Indiana and released as Gennett 4966A. It was first released by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and soon was covered by several jazz bands... " / "Sweet Georgia Brown Sweet Georgia Brown "Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard and pop tune written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey .The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925 by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week No. 1 for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra... "
1927	"Old Joe Clark" / "Ua Like No Alike"
1927	"Cunha Medley" / "Cunha Medley"	A-side by "Kulani Trio"
1928	"Happy Heinie March" / "Walalae"
1928	"Aloha Oe" / "Strange Isles Medley"	B-side by the "Keole Brothers"
"'RCA Victor"'
1928	"Le Ilima" / "Huehue Huehue"	A-side by "Holouha Trio"
1928	"Kawaihua Waltz" / "Maoani Ke Ala"
1928	"Palolo" / "Lepe Ulaula"
1928	"Wang Wang Blues" / "Stack O’Lee Blues"
1928	"Sunkist Hawaii" / "Na Le O Hawaii"	B-side by "Kane’s Hawaiians"
1928	"The Rosary" / "Old Black Joe"
1928	"Minnehaha" / "Drowsy Waters"
"'Vocalion Records"'
1927	"Someday Sweetheart Someday Sweetheart "Someday Sweetheart" is a jazz standard written by Los Angeles-based musicians John and Reb Spikes in 1919. It was the biggest hit the brothers wrote, and was performed by many recording artists of the period. The first one to record the tune was blues singer Alberta Hunter... " / "Honolulu Blues"
1927	"Hawaiian Hula" / "Sweet Hawaiian Dreams"