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Rose Moe

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Rose Moe Famous memorial

Birth
Niulii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, USA
Death
18 Dec 1998 (aged 90)
Laie, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA
Burial
Laie, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA GPS-Latitude: 21.6513713, Longitude: -157.931724
Memorial ID
View Source
Entertainer. She received world-wide stardom as matriarch of the family who formed "The Tau Moe Family," a musical troupe that specialized in playing Hawaiian music on tour for over sixty years. She was the youngest daughter in the Kaohu family, who lived in the Kohala District on the "Big Island." Her family's history was deep in performing traditional Hawaiian music. As an exotic, petite teenager, she had performed with the "Royal Samoan Dancers" and in the Carnival Fair in Manila. In 1927, she joined her husband and two of his uncles to formed the musical group, "Madame Riviere's Hawaiians" traveling on tour to Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Philippines, India, Burma, and Indonesia until 1934. Presenting the 19th century sound of true Hawaiian music, the group made an eight-song record in Japan but was released in the United States on Columbia Records and then by RCA Victor. The recording had accompaniments of guitar, uke, steel guitar, and Rose's falsetto voice singing. Tau's Samoan songs and dance was often worked into their Hawaiian routine. The same year their son Lani was born. In 1934 the "Madame Riviere's Hawaiians" disbanded, hence she, Tau, and their five-year-old son made a musical trio; later. her son would play the ukulele. The songs "Ua Like No Ua Like," "Samoan Moon," and "Aloha Means I Love You" were recorded by Tau and Rose, in 1934. Since only rare copies of this 78 rpm recordings could be found in 1989, Moe's memory provided the music and lyrics for the award-winning release of these songs by Ethnomusicologist, Bob Brozman. A copy of this recording was archived at the American Library of Congress. Starting in 1935, the trio traveled to Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland, Russia, France, and Germany ending in 1938. At one performance to benefit an orphanage, they met Nazi leaders Adolph Hitler, Hermann Goering, and Joseph Goebbels. At this point, the American embassy advised him to leave Germany as war was pending, but he did aide Jewish musicians to escape Nazi Germany before leaving with his family. An attempt to return to Hawaii failed as Pearl Harbor was bombed and the Pacific was closed for civilian travel; the family found refuge in India during World War II, where he formed a big jazz band. The trio became a quartet when daughter Dorian was born in 1945 as she began to sing, dance, and later played guitar all at an early age. After the war in the 1950s and 1960s, the quartet toured Western Europe, Japan, Asia and Australia often booked on military bases. Besides performing in person, they appeared on television and films. This included the German film "Die Blumme von Hawaii," the French film, "Les fleurs de Hawaii" and the English version "Flower of Hawaii" in 1953. Over the years, their traditional Hawaiian music had evolved into a modern rock sound, which could be heard on their many European recordings, the last recording was in Yugoslavia in 1982. The family continued to tour until the l early 1980s when her husband retired to his hometown of Laie and the group disbanded. Besides Hitler, the family performed for Sir Winston Churchill, Aristotle Onassis, Mahatma Gandhi and Egypt's King Farouk. Her biography was published along with her husband's by Debashish Bhattacharya as "Hawaii To Calcutta: A Tribute To Tau Moe." In addition, the recording of "Remembering the Songs of Our Youth," was produced by the "Tau Moe Family" and Bob Brozman in 1989.
Entertainer. She received world-wide stardom as matriarch of the family who formed "The Tau Moe Family," a musical troupe that specialized in playing Hawaiian music on tour for over sixty years. She was the youngest daughter in the Kaohu family, who lived in the Kohala District on the "Big Island." Her family's history was deep in performing traditional Hawaiian music. As an exotic, petite teenager, she had performed with the "Royal Samoan Dancers" and in the Carnival Fair in Manila. In 1927, she joined her husband and two of his uncles to formed the musical group, "Madame Riviere's Hawaiians" traveling on tour to Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Philippines, India, Burma, and Indonesia until 1934. Presenting the 19th century sound of true Hawaiian music, the group made an eight-song record in Japan but was released in the United States on Columbia Records and then by RCA Victor. The recording had accompaniments of guitar, uke, steel guitar, and Rose's falsetto voice singing. Tau's Samoan songs and dance was often worked into their Hawaiian routine. The same year their son Lani was born. In 1934 the "Madame Riviere's Hawaiians" disbanded, hence she, Tau, and their five-year-old son made a musical trio; later. her son would play the ukulele. The songs "Ua Like No Ua Like," "Samoan Moon," and "Aloha Means I Love You" were recorded by Tau and Rose, in 1934. Since only rare copies of this 78 rpm recordings could be found in 1989, Moe's memory provided the music and lyrics for the award-winning release of these songs by Ethnomusicologist, Bob Brozman. A copy of this recording was archived at the American Library of Congress. Starting in 1935, the trio traveled to Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland, Russia, France, and Germany ending in 1938. At one performance to benefit an orphanage, they met Nazi leaders Adolph Hitler, Hermann Goering, and Joseph Goebbels. At this point, the American embassy advised him to leave Germany as war was pending, but he did aide Jewish musicians to escape Nazi Germany before leaving with his family. An attempt to return to Hawaii failed as Pearl Harbor was bombed and the Pacific was closed for civilian travel; the family found refuge in India during World War II, where he formed a big jazz band. The trio became a quartet when daughter Dorian was born in 1945 as she began to sing, dance, and later played guitar all at an early age. After the war in the 1950s and 1960s, the quartet toured Western Europe, Japan, Asia and Australia often booked on military bases. Besides performing in person, they appeared on television and films. This included the German film "Die Blumme von Hawaii," the French film, "Les fleurs de Hawaii" and the English version "Flower of Hawaii" in 1953. Over the years, their traditional Hawaiian music had evolved into a modern rock sound, which could be heard on their many European recordings, the last recording was in Yugoslavia in 1982. The family continued to tour until the l early 1980s when her husband retired to his hometown of Laie and the group disbanded. Besides Hitler, the family performed for Sir Winston Churchill, Aristotle Onassis, Mahatma Gandhi and Egypt's King Farouk. Her biography was published along with her husband's by Debashish Bhattacharya as "Hawaii To Calcutta: A Tribute To Tau Moe." In addition, the recording of "Remembering the Songs of Our Youth," was produced by the "Tau Moe Family" and Bob Brozman in 1989.

Bio by: Linda Davis



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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Originally Created by: Rudi Polt
  • Added: Nov 16, 2002
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6933638/rose-moe: accessed ), memorial page for Rose Moe (11 Aug 1908–18 Dec 1998), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6933638, citing Laie Cemetery, Laie, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.