Tau Moe
Encyclopedia
Tau Moe (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.
to an American
Mormon
missionary family of Samoan
descent. He was raised in Laie, near the 1919 Mormon Laie Hawaii Temple
. Tau was a graduate of McKinley High School
and from his travels learned to speak 10 languages.
Tau's nephew Josefa Moe
(born 1933 – died 2006) was himself a legendary stage performer in Polynesian revues. Josefa was also the original Moki from the Hawaiian Punch
commercials.
and vocals; Dorian Moe, second guitar and vocals; and were accompanied at least once by Bob Brozman
, Hawaiian guitar and harp guitar. The Tau Moe Family was included in the American Folk Music and Folklore Recordings. The troupe performed for international figures including Winston Churchill
, Adolf Hitler
, Aristotle Onassis
, Mohandas Gandhi and King Farouk.
Moe was an influential pioneer of the Hawaiian steel guitar
who along with his wife Rose formed the core of troupe. The group's success coincided with increased interest in Polynesia
due in part to colonialism, and exemplified by cultural fads like Tiki bar
s and Tiki culture
. The Tau Moe Family helped break the race barrier in the United States. In the late 1940s, the troupe assisted paramedics during riots in India
.
When the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
opened in 1927, Moe was a steel guitar player in the hotel. He met his wife Rose Kaohu, she of Hawaiian ancestry, when she was a singer-dancer with Madame Riviere's Hawaiians that Tau and his uncles had joined. In 1928, Tau and Rose joined Madame Riviera in Manila
and married shortly thereafter. By 1930 they had broken away to form The Tau Moe Family. Tau and Rose spent the next half century touring the world and raising their children Lani (born in Japan
) and Dorian (born in India
). Rose was afflicted with Alzheimer's disease
in late life and died in 1998.
car during a parade.
The Moe family helped smuggle a friend's valuables out of Germany
, partially by Rose wearing three fur coats and explaining to the border guards that people from Hawaii were not acclimated to the cold in Germany. Tau and Rose and family were very compassionate, helping Jews
escape from Germany prior to World War II
, by dressing them up in the Tau family's stage costumes. During one horrific event, when the family lived over a Jewish-owned bookstore, the Moe family were forced to be helpless witnesses when the Gestapo
made a late-night raid burning the store's contents and eventually tossing the Jewish owners on top of the fire to be burned alive. The Gestapo had learned of the Moe family's underground efforts on behalf of the Jews and were in transit to arrest the family when, warned by friends, the family slipped out the stage back door and escaped.
- Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
Biography
Tau Moe was born in American SamoaAmerican Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
to an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
missionary family of Samoan
Samoans
The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Due to colonialism, the home islands are politically and geographically divided between the country of Samoa, official name Independent State of Samoa ; and American Samoa, an...
descent. He was raised in Laie, near the 1919 Mormon Laie Hawaii Temple
Laie Hawaii Temple
Laie Hawaii Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on the northeast shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The temple sits on a small hill a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean in the town of Lāie, from Honolulu...
. Tau was a graduate of McKinley High School
President William McKinley High School
President William McKinley High School, more commonly referred to as McKinley High School, is a public, co-educational college preparatory high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education and serves grades nine through twelve...
and from his travels learned to speak 10 languages.
Tau's nephew Josefa Moe
Josefa Moe
-Early life:Moe was born "on the road" in Jubbulpore, India to Samoan father Pulu and Filipino/Hawaiian mother Louisa, then musical stars touring with Felix Mendelssohn’s Hawaiian Serenaders. The Moes were a major force in introducing Hawaiian entertainment to Europe and Asia in the early 1900s...
(born 1933 – died 2006) was himself a legendary stage performer in Polynesian revues. Josefa was also the original Moki from the Hawaiian Punch
Hawaiian Punch
Hawaiian Punch is a brand of fruit punch drinks owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. . It was created in 1934 by A.W. Leo, Tom Yates, Ralph Harrison as an ice cream topping in a converted garage in Fullerton, Calif.; customers later discovered that it made an appealing drink when mixed with water...
commercials.
The Tau Moe Family (musical troupe)
The Tau Moe Family touring troupe, consisted of Tau Moe, guitar and bass vocals; Rose Moe, lead vocals; Lani Moe, ukuleleUkulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
and vocals; Dorian Moe, second guitar and vocals; and were accompanied at least once by Bob Brozman
Bob Brozman
Bob Brozman is an American guitarist and ethnomusicologist.He has performed in a number of styles such as Gypsy jazz, calypso, Blues, ragtime, Hawaiian and Caribbean music. Brozman has also collaborated with musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds such as India, Africa, Japan, Papua New Guinea...
, Hawaiian guitar and harp guitar. The Tau Moe Family was included in the American Folk Music and Folklore Recordings. The troupe performed for international figures including Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Sokratis Onassis , commonly called Ari or Aristo Onassis, was a prominent Greek shipping magnate.- Early life :Onassis was born in Karatass, a suburb of Smyrna to Socrates and Penelope Onassis...
, Mohandas Gandhi and King Farouk.
Moe was an influential pioneer of the Hawaiian 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...
who along with his wife Rose formed the core of troupe. The group's success coincided with increased interest in Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
due in part to colonialism, and exemplified by cultural fads like Tiki bar
Tiki bar
A tiki bar is an exotic–themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the "mai tai" or "Zombie cocktail". Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their Tiki culture décor which is based upon a romanticized conception of primitive tropical...
s and Tiki culture
Tiki culture
Tiki kitsch culture is a 20th-century theme used in Polynesian-style restaurants and clubs originally in the United States and then, to a lesser degree, around the world...
. The Tau Moe Family helped break the race barrier in the United States. In the late 1940s, the troupe assisted paramedics during riots in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
When the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Royal Hawaiian Hotel, also known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific, is a hotel located at 2259 Kalākaua Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. One of the first hotels established in Waikiki, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is considered one of the flagship hotels in Hawaii tourism...
opened in 1927, Moe was a steel guitar player in the hotel. He met his wife Rose Kaohu, she of Hawaiian ancestry, when she was a singer-dancer with Madame Riviere's Hawaiians that Tau and his uncles had joined. In 1928, Tau and Rose joined Madame Riviera in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and married shortly thereafter. By 1930 they had broken away to form The Tau Moe Family. Tau and Rose spent the next half century touring the world and raising their children Lani (born in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) and Dorian (born in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
). Rose was afflicted with Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
in late life and died in 1998.
World War II
Son Lani (born in Japan 1929 – died in Honolulu 2002), a child celebrity in his time, had helped raise funds for a German orphanage charity and was selected to ride in Adolf Hitler'sAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
car during a parade.
The Moe family helped smuggle a friend's valuables out of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, partially by Rose wearing three fur coats and explaining to the border guards that people from Hawaii were not acclimated to the cold in Germany. Tau and Rose and family were very compassionate, helping Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
escape from Germany prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, by dressing them up in the Tau family's stage costumes. During one horrific event, when the family lived over a Jewish-owned bookstore, the Moe family were forced to be helpless witnesses when the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
made a late-night raid burning the store's contents and eventually tossing the Jewish owners on top of the fire to be burned alive. The Gestapo had learned of the Moe family's underground efforts on behalf of the Jews and were in transit to arrest the family when, warned by friends, the family slipped out the stage back door and escaped.
Discography
- Twilight in Hawaii: Legends of Hawaiian Music (2002) CD 90203 (Sounds of the World)
- Paradise Isle (2001) CD HQ CD 162 (Harlequin UK)
- Ho'Omana'o I Na Mele O Ka Wa U'i (Remembering the Songs of Our Youth) (1992) CD 6028 (Rounder)
- E-Liliu-E, Hula / South Sea Sadie 78 RPM F.B. 3512 (Columbia Graphaphone)
Awards
2004 (Tau Moe as an individual) Living Treasures of Hawai'iLiving Treasures of Hawai'i
The Living Treasures of Hawaii program was created by the Buddhist temple Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i to honor residents of Hawaii. The criteria for selection are, "First, the designee must demonstrate continuous growth in his or her field; second, the potential Living Treasure must have...
- Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii