UkeSolos: 100 Year Old Ukulele Star - Still Loves the Spotlight

ORANGE COUNTY, CA. (Top40 Charts/ UkeSolos PR) - Looking trim and sprightly, ukulele star Bill Tapia gets a round of applause when he enters a room - he's usually the best-dressed dude in the house.

Ninety years of performing have honed the skills of Bill, the "Duke of Uke." Entirely self taught, he began playing at age seven in Honolulu, was entertaining returning GIs at the end of the war - World War I. He was playing the Vaudeville circuit by age fourteen.

Bill's real love was jazz, so he made the switch to the more jazz-oriented guitar.

By the age of nineteen, he was in the house band at the opening of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and he never looked back. He's played with them all - Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and the Charley Barnet Band, and many times with Don Ho. He also has the distinction of having taught such luminaries as Shirley Temple and Clark Gable during the 20's.

Bill's ukulele was ignored until 1999, when he and his wife moved to Southern California to live near their daughter. While trying out a ukulele in an Orange Country music store, the owner was dumbfounded by Bill's skill. He introduced Bill to local uke players and his career took off again. Everyone wanted to sign up for lessons and hire Bill for playing engagements. He soon had feature articles on his activities in Southern California newspapers and TV stations.

Even at age 99.75 (he really won't be 100 until January 1), his calendar is booked in advance with performance engagements and personal appearances. On his birthday this year, there will be a huge celebration in Honolulu in his honor, and he'll perform with some of his favorite Hawaiian musicians.

Thirty years after most seniors have retired, his energy and love of jazz keep Bill going strong. "I'm a new person when I walk on that stage." "Don't tell them my age - it makes it harder for me to get dates with gals in the audience," he jokes.

He'll be honored this Saturday at the California Ukulele Festival in Cerritos, CA, where he will be the featured performer on the Oct. 6 evening concert. This year, it will be called "the Bill Tapia Festival."
For more information visit https://www.ukulelefestival.com