Interviews

1. Living in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor

2. Mother taught him how to play the ukulele

3. Inspired to play ukulele after hearing Eddie Kamae

4. How he got on the All-Navy show on Ed Sullivan

5. Friend convinced him to make a record

6. Number 1 Hit "Sushi"

7. Playing 3 shows a night in Waikiki

8. "Song for Anna"

9. Performing in Japan

Ohta,Herb

(b. 1934) Ukulele player from Hawaii

Inspired to play ukulele after hearing Eddie Kamae

Then I met Eddie Kamae when I was twelve years old. He was like late teens, like about nineteen. And the amazing thing is, he played for me in this coffee shop, and I was shocked that the ukulele could sound that good. To play all that…those intricate and difficult thing.

He did a lot of things, like playing double picking. [plays ukulele] So I bugged him every weekend, after we were there, didn’t have school, to play for me. He didn’t actually say, do this, do that, do this. You know, he played for me, and by watching, I learned more.

All these things, he started, like Latin music. [plays ukulele]

So in the end, I ended up sounding like him, you know, his style. He told me, you better find your own way of playing, you know, style, because copying somebody isn’t such a great thing, you know. But like anything else, you have to do that in the beginning, I guess. Copy somebody, you know, who you admire or something.

So he took me under his, you know, under his arm, and he really gave me a chance to learn, you know.

Hawaii music musical instruments musicians ukulele United States

Date: August 2012

Location: Hawai`i, US

Interviewer: John Esaki

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

78-years-old, is known by ukulele fans in Japan and around the world as "Ohta-san." Ohta-san is a master ukulele player who learned to play the instrument from his mother in the pre-World War II era in Honolulu. He played a major role in popularizing the ukulele in the 1960s and 70s, expanding the repertoire of the instrument beyond Hawai`ian songs to include international pop and jazz. In his interview, Ohta-san vividly demonstrates his stylistic development by playing excerpts from songs that were significant to his career. (June 2014)