Tau Moe Family

• Genre: Hawaii

About

The Tau Moe Family (pronounced "Mo-ay") never became very well known in Hawaii, but they spent nearly five decades on the road, introducing Hawaiian steel guitar and singing to countries as diverse as India, China and Germany. Initially formed with Tau Moe and three of his uncles, the group incorporated singer Rose (who later married Tau) in 1927. They toured under the auspices of a French university professor who introduced them to Asia as "Mme. Riviere's Hawaiians." In 1934 the group broke up, but Tau, Rose and son Lani continued to tour, picking up high-paying gigs in Shanghai and beyond. Their resume from the years before and after World War II reads like a who's who of European culture -- they performed at the Moulin Rouge, appeared in shows with singers like Maurice Chevalier and Josephine Baker. The group even (famously) were forced to meet Hitler, Goering and Goebbels before fleeing Germany before the outbreak of the war. In the 1970s the group retired to Laie, Tau's childhood home in Hawaii. In 1989 they recorded one last record with Bob Brozman, who encouraged them to play the songs as they'd first performed them over 60 years before.

- Sarah Bardeen