12 Facts About Tau Moe

Tau Moe was a singer and musician who formed The Tau Moe Family musical troupe which toured the globe for decades.

Tau Moe was born August 13,1908 in American Samoa to Savea Aupiu Moe and Talalupelele Lupe Tuitogama'atoe.

Tau Moe enjoyed listening to early recordings of Joseph Kekuku and others who were proficient on the instrument.

Tau Moe soon crafted his own version of the kika kila by adapting a mail-order Montgomery Ward guitar.

Tau Moe moved from Laie to Honolulu and worked at a full-time job.

Tau Moe took steel guitar lessons from M K Moke, a friend of one of his uncles.

Tau Moe went into labor in the middle of a performance in Kyoto, and their son Lani was born on July 13,1929.

The Tau Moe family spent the next decade performing around the world before World War II broke out, staying long enough in several areas to become fluent in multiple languages.

The Tau Moe family helped smuggle a friend's valuables out of, 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 Moe and Rose and family were very compassionate, helping Jews escape from Germany prior to World War II, by dressing them up in the Tau Moe family's stage costumes.

Tau Moe was an influential pioneer of the Hawaiian steel guitar who along with his wife Rose formed the core of troupe.

Tau Moe was afflicted with Alzheimer's disease in the last few years of her life.