Witt Shingle

Hawaiian Music Record Producer Born 1951 Passed 2000 Witt Shingle, 49, a Honolulu-born Hawaiian music record producer who was noted for his promotion of Gabby Pahinui and other artists, died May 2000. One of Shingle's career highlights occurred in 1971 when he, Steve Siegfried and Lawrence Brown produced a "Sons of Hawaii" release often known as the "red album" because of its colorful packaging. Dubbed the "folk music of Hawaii," it spotlighted Eddie Kamae, Gabby Pahinui, Moe Keale, Joe Marshall and David Rogers. It was reissued in 1998 on Panini Records, Shingle's label, as a compact disc. The original 1971 release coincided with the Hawaiian Renaissance, a golden era of Hawaiian music. Pahinui was at that time a legendary stylist who defined a genre of grass-roots ethnic Hawaiian melodies. Other Panini releases showcased The Sunday Manoa and The Peter Moon Band.