William Tapia (January 1, 1908 – December 2, 2011), known as "Uncle Bill" and "Tappy", was an American musician, born to Portuguese parents. At age 8, Tapia was already a professional musician, playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

troops in Hawaii. In his long career beginning in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and quickly expanding as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

guitarist and

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

player he performed with names such as Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and Hawaiian musicians such as King Bennie Nawahi, Sol Hoʻopiʻi, and

Andy Iona Andy Iona (born Andrew Aiona Long, January 1, 1902 – November 9, 1966) was an American musician and one of Hawaii's most influential musicians. He was a composer, songwriter, conductor, saxophonist, and steel guitarist. He went to the Kameha ...

. The Chiang & Coates documentary "To You, Sweetheart, Aloha" was created to celebrate 94 year old Tapia's life. Tapia was an associate of Sonny Cunha and played with the Johnny Noble Band at the opening of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 1927. He taught Shirley Temple and Clark Gable to strum the ukulele. He was also the ukulele player on Bing Crosy's hit "Blue Hawaii." Despite his long life, Tapia did not record any music until 2004 when he put out his first CD at the age of 96. On March 23, 2004, he provided a detailed interview for the

NAMM Oral History Program The NAMM Oral History Program is a collection of one-on-one interviews with people involved in the music products industry, including music instrument retailers, instrument and product creators, suppliers and sales representatives, music educators ...

collection about his impressive career and life in music. He recalled designing several instruments for many of his luthier friends as well as improvement and adjustments to the uke he had over the years. He continued to perform and record at an advanced age, all the while remaining in vigorous health and driving a car until his 100th birthday when he began suffering eyesight problems. Tapia was a featured performer in ''Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog'', a 2010 documentary on the ukulele. In 2011, he was awarded The Academy of Recording Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. Tapia died in his sleep on December 2, 2011, a month short of turning 104.

Discography

* Tropical Swing, 2004 * Duke of Uke, 2005 * Livin' It Live, 2009 * Young at Heart: Japan Live, 2009 * Live Warner Grand Theatre: 100th Birthday Concert, 2009

References

External links

Interview with Uncle Bill Tapia – Part I
– Free internet podcast featuring interview with Uncle Bill Tapia (part 1).
Interview with Uncle Bill Tapia – Part II
– Free internet podcast featuring interview with Uncle Bill Tapia (part 2).
Uncle Bill Tapia Official Home PageAward-winning PBS documentary film about Bill Tapia: "To You Sweetheart, Aloha"Interview with Bill Tapia
NAMM Oral History Library (2004) 1908 births 2011 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians Musicians from Honolulu American people of Portuguese descent Hawaiian ukulele players Mountain Apple Company artists {{US-jazz-musician-stub