Tau Moe´s Original Hawaiians
| Tau Moe | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Tau Moe |
| Born |
August 13, 1908 American Samoa |
| Died | June 24, 2004 (aged 95) Laie, Hawaii |
| Genres | Hawaiian |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, Steel guitar |
| Years active | 1920–2004 |
| Labels |
Decca Telefunken Rounder |
| Associated acts | Tau Moe Family Madame Riviere's Hawaiians |
Tau Moe ("Papa Tau") (pronounced Mo-ay) (August 13, 1908 – June 24, 2004) was a singer and musician who formed The Tau Moe Family musical troupe which toured the globe for decades.
Tau Moe (pronounced Mo-ay) was born August 13, 1908 in American Samoa to Savea Aupiu Moe and Talalupelele Lupe Tuitogama’atoe. The Moe family were of the Mormon faith. Some biographical details have variances from source to source. A 1947 item in the Honolulu Star Bulletin reported that Tau was sent alone to Hawaii for his education. Historian John W. Troutman, Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, stated that the entire family moved to Laie, Oahu, Hawaii in 1919, near the Mormon Laie Hawaii Temple. Troutman speculated that it was more likely the 1918 flu pandemic, rather than religion, that motivated the move.
Born into a family grounded in church music, Tau was influenced by the "kīkā kila" – the lap steel guitar – also known as the Hawaiian guitar. He enjoyed listening to early recordings of Joseph Kekuku and others who were proficient on the instrument. He soon crafted his own version of the kīkā kila by adapting a mail-order Montgomery Ward guitar.
Tau and his friends loitered around a music store, memorizing songs from demo records played by customers, trying to duplicate the music. He gravitated towards the stylings of guitarists Pale K. Lua, Frank Ferera and Sol Hoʻopiʻi. Decades later, he would recall being impressed when watching Hoʻopiʻi perform live.
At the time Tau met Madame Claude Riviere, she was a professor of the French language at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, who had traveled throughout the Asia-Pacific area. Riviere's home adjacent to McKinley High School was partially converted in 1927 into a theatre catering to the tourist trade. Local musicians, including Tau's uncles Tauvivi, Fuifui, and Pulu, were part of her show. In his 1990 biographical story for The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association Newsletter, Tau related how his uncle Pulu got him a $2-a-day job with Riviere to play on weekends. During the weekdays he still attended school in Laie; 1927 would have been his senior year of high school. The crowds soon grew to 200 attendees, and Riviere booked the show at the newly opened Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
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