100 Year Old Uke Man, Bill Tapia

Here is Bill Tapia in 1939 testing out a pineapple uke. He loooks pretty spiffy in his 30's attire."Young Willy, age 10, gave ukulele lessons to grown men. Willy was the first in the Hawaiian islands, or, for that matter, anywhere, to produce divine jazz from, yes, a ukulele.
He became Bill Tapia, the accomplished jazz guitarist, who jammed with such all-time greats as Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Billy Holiday, Fats Waller and Charlie Barnett. Now he's 100 years old, still elegant, in his tuxedo and shimmering silver hair and beard"...read the rest of the story at the

OC Register and be sure to check out the amazing slide show of Bill performing in Honolulu. (Thanks, Ukulele Hero )

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